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17-year-old Brendon Flynn short on experience, big on talent
 Natural Born Fighter: Brendon Flynn, 17, throws a side kick as he practices Wednesday at James Reed Tae Kwon Do. Altough Flynn has only practiced martial arts for a little more than a year, he is already reaping trophies and gaining notice from experts who say he is a quick learner with natural ability.
Even though he’s only 17, Brendon Flynn is possessed of a sturdy work ethic that would be the envy of overachievers, strength and conditioning coaches and others in the goal-oriented, buckle-down-and-do-it set years his senior.
He’s applied this doggedness to martial arts — coming early and staying late to his dojo sessions, getting private instruction, spending as much time as he can mastering his craft — and it’s allowed him to advance through the ranks quickly. But hard work can only get you so far, be it in martial arts, the business world, darts or cards.
Good thing he also has a heaping dose of natural ability.
For some, it is hard to believe that it’s been only a little more than a year since he first stepped through the door of James Reed Tae Kwon Do. The 5-foot-7, sandy-haired kid came into the door barrel-chested after five years of weight training — and “stiff,” his instructors recall — and won a first-place trophy at his very first tournament, as a white belt.
“I didn’t think I was all that great — and there I was beating people at a tournament,” he said. “I was psyched — blood rushing, I couldn’t control myself. It was like the ending of Rocky.”
Now, he’s got enough trophies, plaques and certificates to fill an entire hutch — or two — at home. He’s now a blue belt, but defeats black belts at tournaments, his father, Richard, and Jim Reed, both say. Jim’s son, James Reed, the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame competitor and eponymous dojo owner, says he could easily be mistaken for a red belt — two rank above a blue belt and one below a black belt.
The home-schooled Los Gatos native is now setting his sights on international competition, specifically the National Black Belt League Super Grands in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in November, a weeklong affair that Richard Flynn, a former martial arts judge for the state athletic council, dubbed “the Super Bowl of martial arts.”
From there, it’s onto full contact fighting, kickboxing or perhaps mixed martial arts fighting. Whatever it is, Flynn’s mentors are confident he can do it.
“Some students are very natural,” observed James Reed. “He picked everything up the first time. You showed him something, and he got it.
“By the first month, you could tell he’d look good in tournaments.”
Ability and work ethic aren’t all. Another of Flynn’s instructors, black belt Karim Valloch, said he has a passion that was evident from the very beginning, a burning fire that led him through the rigorous extra training sessions and tournaments.
Why?
“It’s just to prove I’m good,” Flynn said. “I know I’m good, and I’m really in love with this sport. That’s where it comes from.”
There, but also a little closer to home.
“Basically, it’s not to disappoint my dad,” he said. “He’s put in all this time, and …”
“He never disappoints me,” Rich Flynn said.
A glimmer of a smile hits Brendon’s face: “… And to hear him say that is really great.”
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