Karate propels woman to fame

The odds were squarely against Amy Benevento becoming a master-level black belt. As a child, her parents denied her karate lessons with the edict that karate was for boys. When she finally started lessons in college, she was so afraid of being hit that she stayed in a beginner class for four years.

And yet, last week, there she was: standing inside her martial arts studio in North Raleigh being inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame -- the same hall of fame to which Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris belong.

It raises the question: Could this mild-mannered Raleigh woman take on Chuck Norris?

"No, no, no," Benevento says modestly. "He could beat me."

Regardless, Benevento's accomplishments in more than two decades of studying martial arts have placed her among the elite. The Black Belt Hall of Fame, established in 1968, is among its highest honors.

Benevento says karate has been a lifelong journey that has changed her from a shy girl who struggled with self-confidence to a woman with passion and purpose. It all started in a church basement in Oswego, N.Y.

A friend persuaded her to take her first class. The class was held on a cold tile floor, her instructor was a stern former military man who terrified her, and students were regularly bloodied and bruised.

"It all seemed strange to me," Benevento remembers. "I didn't like the bare feet. But something made me stay, and I don't know what it was."

The friend who dragged her along soon dropped out. Benevento stuck with it, struggling to overcome her fear.

She stayed in karate classes for years, sometimes putting up with instructors who screamed and berated her. When she wasn't in class, she read every book she could find on the martial arts. She loved the idea of a code of honor that applied both inside and outside the dojo, a term for the place where martial arts are taught.

Benevento started her own dojo, Red Sun Academy, in 1989 with the hope of creating a community of people who lived by that code: sticking to their goals, honoring commitments, letting actions speak louder than words. Her style, known as jo kwon chi, drew a loyal following, which helped her go from teaching a couple of nights a week in Wake Forest to renting out a large studio in North Raleigh, where she teaches nearly every day.

In 19 years as a teacher, she has awarded 35 black belts -- and at her dojo, that is no small achievement. Black belts from "Sensei Amy" take at least five years to earn and are never awarded to children.

When she isn't training her students, she's bringing them together for barbecues, canoe trips or outings to the movies. She and her husband never had children, but she says her students are as much her family as blood relations.

"She's got an enormous heart," said Ginny Barrett, a black belt who has trained with Benevento for 12 years. "Teachers don't get much better than Sensei Amy."

Barrett, 56, said she hadn't been involved in athletics in years when she started training with Benevento. Now, she can break a brick with her hand.

"We girls say, 'let's line up and see who's going to get attacked first,' " Barrett said. "We'd laugh at the guy who tried."

Barrett was there last week when another Triangle teacher made a surprise appearance at one of Benevento's classes to induct her into the hall of fame.

Benevento said she was immensely honored, but that her biggest reward has been a lifetime of pursuing her passion.