After appearing in more than 80 television commercials and several popular television shows, including the Highlander series with Adrian Paul, WorldBlackBelt Member Tara VanDeusen is still in the spotlight, but performing on a different stage. Today the 22-year-old Tara is concentrating on adding a few more trophies to the more than 40 she has already won for Martial Art Grand Championships, but the truth be told, Tara, who started training in the Martial Arts and taking acting lessons at the age of 4, stopped counting her commercials and championships a long time ago.

“The Karate Kid I inspired me to explore both acting and the Martial Arts,” recalls Tara. “I was raised by a single mother and she was looking for something for me to get involved, I told her and she got me started with both.” Now it is Tara’s turn to return the favor by getting her mother Trish Alexander involved with the Martial Arts. “My mom told me she would start training after I got my black belt, well that was more than 12 years ago and I still intend to hold her to it.”

Through the Martial Arts, acting and being raised by a single mother, Tara grew up quicker than most children. “I never was interested in drugs or drinking like many of the other kids, I guess I matured early on,” said Tara. “Like most Martial Artists I am a control freak so I never wanted to do anything that would make me feel out of control.”

The Martial Arts also played a huge part in helping Tara deal with another enormous challenge. At the age of 13, Tara was diagnosed with having epilepsy and although she has suffered five Grand Mal seizures, it has never prevented her from competing and pursuing life with great zeal. “The epilepsy does not stop me from doing anything, but I need to take my medication and take some common sense precautions,” said Tara.

Colin and Tara were reminded of the seriousness of her condition about two years ago when she suffered her last Grand Mal seizure, but the first one that Colin had witnessed. “I had just returned from Niagara Falls where I had won three championships at the NBLs, and with all of the excitement I had neglected taking my medication,” recalls Tara. “I know it frightened Colin, but we got to the hospital and everything was fine, but I’ll never take my condition for granted again and for sure Colin won’t let me.”

Tara and Trish, who raised her daughter as a single mother, have always been very close, so close in fact that Trish, who is a science teacher at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, moved to California last year from her home in Vancouver, Canada just be closer to her daughter. Tara made the move about five years ago, finding the sun and surf of Malibu too irresistible. “I started coming to California every summer when I was pretty young to visit with the family of a television producer that I did a lot of work for, and then one day I just decided to stay,” explained Tara. “I enrolled for my senior year in high school, found good martial arts school and never looked back.”

It was surfing that initially captured Tara’s heart and it was the relationships that she had established as an actress that enabled her move south. “I just fell in love with Malibu, but without the close friends I had made through my acting I never would have discover it,” said Tara. Not long after her arrival, Tara also fell in love with Colin VanDeusen, the owner and operator of the Power of One Self defense Institute in Long Beach, California, and the two were married last year and work together running their school.

Tara earned her first junior black belt in Butokukan Karate when she was 9 and then received another black belt in Taekwon-do under Kelly Posener. Tara then started training in a more free Pancreation style with Simon Posener, who combined several styles including Kempo and Muay Thai. Once she settled down in California, Tara began training Kurt Lampson and WorldBlackBelt Member Joey Escobar. Tara only frustration today is that she does not get enough opportunity to go surfing.

At the Power One Self Defense Institute, Tara and her husband offer their students a very eclectic Martial Arts program that includes Ed Parker’s American Kempo, Tai Chi, Wu Dang and Siete Pares Philippine stick fighting style. Colin and Tara believe that the future of Martial Arts is in being receptive to all of the knowledge there is to be gained from all of the Martial Art disciplines, and so every year he hosts the very popular Power of One Martial Arts Weekend and brings in Martial Art luminaries from very different styles like WorldBlackBelt Founding Members Stephen K. Hayes, Gene LeBell, Gokar and Bill Wallace.

At the school, Tara takes a special interest in working with young women and has encouraged the use of the motto is “Girl’s Rule” to the chagrin of some of the boys. “It is just a fun thing, but I do feel that we need to see these girls as Martial Artists and there gender makes no difference,” explained Tara. When I was first starting there were no other girls involved in the Martial Arts, so I had to train with and fight against boys who were older and bigger, but it made be that much better.”

As for the future, Tara, who speaks fluent French, intends to return to school to study international business as soon as she receives her American citizenship, and then she and her husband and her mother are all looking forward to taking an incredible vacation to Africa next year. In the meantime, Tara has more girls to empower and more championships to win.

TARA’S MARTIAL ART CHAMPIONSHIPS

5X NBL (National BlackBelt League) World Champion
2001 American Nationals (New Jersey) Grandchampion- Women's
2001 Las Vegas Legacy Grandchampion- Women's
2001 Tornado Nationals (Kansas City) Grandchampion- Women's
2001 Compete Nationals: Naska 5A, Grandchampion-Women's
2001 Stan Witz's International Championships- Women's
2000 Las Vegas Legacy Grandchampion- Women's
2000 Pacific Jewel National Grandchampion (Oregon)
2000 San Jose Nationals Grandchampion
2000 Compete Nationals Sa Naska Grandchampion
1999 Ed Parker's Long Beach Internationals Grandchampion-Women's
1999 Las Vegas Legacy Nationals Grandchampion
Etc.

If you would like to contact Tara Van Deusen, you can Email her at colin@worldblackbelt.com.

To view previous honoree click here.

*If you wish to nominate a candidate for Female Martial Artist of the Month, please contact us by Email at nominees@worldblackbelt.com.

By: J. P. Koenig
jpk@worldblackbelt.com.

*Only WorldBlackBelt members can nominate and/or be nominated.