- January 9, 2025
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Carl Delesdernier hopes to become a sensei one day and pass on his knowledge to students who will then pass it on to others. Photo by Jeff Dawsey
Nowadays, Carl Delesdernier —a system administrator at Daytona State College —carries himself with confidence, thanks to Jukido. He recognized his need for better self-defense skills at an early age.
Getting into a fight and watching his mother get attacked while pregnant helped Carl Delesdernier recognize his need for self-defense skills at an early age.
Growing up in Miami, Delesdernier got into a fight during grade school, and his mom was attacked while pregnant. Looking back on those instances, Delesdernier wish he would’ve known back then what he knows now.
To prevent anything similar from happening to himself or his family, Delesdernier began learning martial arts. After short stints with other practices, he joined the Jukido Academy at 16 years old. Throughout the last 12 years, Delesdernier has used his training to stop fights and to de-escalate would-be physical altercations.
“I do keep in mind that I only know what I know and nothing more,” Delesdernier assured me.
Between school, working as many as three jobs at one time and a bad knee injury that sidelined him for nearly two years, Delesdernier is currently training for his upcoming black belt testing, which he hopes to pass on his first attempt.
“It will be a feeling of accomplishment tempered by the fact that I know there is much more to learn,” he said. “It’s a big target for a lot of people, but it has never been my goal to get a black belt. I just want to go as far as I can go.
Having taught him for 12 years, Jukido Academy’s Sensei George Rego says Delesdernier used the old-fashioned way of sacrificing his time and energy to get to where he is today.
“In a culture that can't get things fast enough, and where instant gratification is king, Carl understands the traditional value and the real worth of long-term dedication,” Master Rego said. “He has been a student of mind for well over a decade, and It is a real pleasure to see him after these many years have the opportunity to test for the black belt. He is loyal to me as his teacher, loyal to the dojo, and loyal to his own quest of self-improvement.”
