ASHLAND — What do a soon-to-be college graduate, an outdoors enthusiast, a happy-go-lucky high schooler, and a strong-willed middle schooler have in common?
They’re all sisters, and they’re all karate black belts.
Grace Slaven, 21, Ruth McCrea, 19, Hannah McCrea, 17, and Sarah McCrea, 12, all decided to start karate after a family friend suggested it as a way to build confidence and discipline, their mother Tracy Eglin said.
“Because we were young we were still learning who we were and our characters and being able to be in that type of environment where you’re lifted up and you’re also structured and shaped I feel like really contributed to who we are now as people,” the oldest daughter, Grace, said.
Now, four years later, they have all completed the climb to the rank of black belt.
“All four of them loved it. And they stayed with it all the way through,” Eglin said.
“As a parent, it’s odd to have your kids all interested in the same type of activity,” she continued. “So you’re running from one place to another to another five, six days a week, but my kids all mutually enjoyed it and they actually appreciated the structure.”
After years of karate, the McCrea sisters have a good work ethic and are widely respected by community members at church, 4-H, and college, Eglin said.
Grace and Ruth took classes at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences in Wooster during their high school years, and their professors respected them so much that they came to their high school graduation party.
“I mean, that’s just crazy,” Eglin said.
Eglin considers all of her daughters to be gifted, and attributes much of that to karate class, she said.
For Grace, her favorite part of the class is the community and the friendships she’s built over the years.
“I would say that it has become a really, really good community. It’s become a family for the four of us. Not only has it brought the four of us closer together, but it’s also formed a lot of lifelong friendships,” Grace said.
The youngest sister, Sarah, is the most strong-willed of the bunch. Without the karate classes, Eglin thinks she would have had a hard time listening to authority figures.
“So, a teacher telling her what to do, or a youth pastor telling her what to do, she’d buck ’em,” Eglin said.
The class is led by former Ashland County Sheriff Larry Overholt, who runs the class “like the military disciplines”, the sisters’ father Rob McCrea said.
“He doesn’t really put up with crap at all,” he said.
Overholt is assisted with teaching by other black belts that have earned the right to be called sensei.
One of the sensei, Amy Driscoll, 54, started taking the class in 2008. After four years of training, she too achieved the rank of black belt and decided to start teaching, she said.
“I like to see the students that I’m teaching progress and learn and they get that lightbulb effect and they’re just like ‘Oh, I get that, I get that’, that’s pretty fun,” Driscoll said.
Classes start at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and normally run until 7:30 or 8 p.m. Driscoll advises students get there early because Overholt is known for starting class early.
Kids under 12 can participate in a youth class, while kids 12 and up get to join the adult class.
