{"podcast":{"title":"A Black Belt Way of Life","slug":"a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093","podcast_index_feed_id":7024093,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-belt-way-of-life/","website_url":"https://black-belt-way-of-life.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/6f5259d9-fecb-4686-b450-3a56829ba904/2ofo6tsemQuoaaH3nhWhqWgc.jpg","author":"New York Black Belt Center","episode_count":36,"summary":"The most important lesson Master Joseph Lupo Jr. received from his father was, \"A black belt is worn around your heart, never your waist.\" This quote became the foundation that Master Joe lives by, and the basis for his show. Master Joe is a sixth-degree Taekwondo black belt and owner of the New York Black Belt Center in Queens, NY since 2010. With over four decades of knowledge and insight, Master Joe interviews guests in and around the martial arts world, sharing their life experiences and philosophies to motivate listeners to become a black belt in whatever path they walk.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-24T14:18:42.376846+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093"},"episode":{"title":"Turning a Disability into a Taekwondo Superpower: Eleni Koutsilianos","slug":"turning-a-disability-into-a-taekwondo-superpower-eleni-koutsilianos","published_at":"2025-09-04T04:05:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093/turning-a-disability-into-a-taekwondo-superpower-eleni-koutsilianos","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093","url":"https://black-belt-way-of-life.captivate.fm","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/373e2073-fe3c-4336-86d7-f90332e294cf.mp3","summary":"Born with a tremendous amount of energy and a love for movement, topped with inspiration from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles, Eleni Koutsilianos desire to become a martial artist started at a very young age. Her Taekwondo journey began at the age of 8. However, it was not easy for a kid born fully deaf in her right ear and partially deaf in the left ear. A lack of confidence because of her disability did not help. Taekwondo gave her the confidence she much needed. She turned her disability into her own personal superpower. Her lack of hearing built, as she put it, a \"hyper focus\". She took this heightened sense of awareness into the competition ring and never looked back, becoming a 5x USA National Team member and International Champion. Today, her love for Taekwondo and teaching led her to becoming the owner and Master Instructor of Pulse Taekwondo in Astoria, Queens, while also pursuing a degree to become a Physical Education teacher and a career in the movie industry by way of stunt work. Eleni is a real life Taekwondo wonder woman!\" Pulse Taekwondo (Master Eleni Koutsilianos): pulsetkd.com Facebook -  https://www.facebook.com/Pulsetkdcenter YouTube -  https://www.youtube.com/user/Elenilianos Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/pulsetkdcenter For everything A Black Belt Way of Life, click below Watch on YouTube: A Black Belt Way of Life Listen on Spotify: A Black Belt Way of Life Apple Podcasts: A Black Belt Way of Life Amazon Music: A Black Belt Way of Life Show Producer: Press Record Studios Show Sponsor: Joseph Ferone Realty Official Apparel Partner: Best Martial Arts Kickfit Martial Arts Shoes. Use Promo Code BBWOL for 10% off: kickfit.us New York Black Belt Center: nybbc.org","meta_description":"Born with a tremendous amount of energy and a love for movement, topped with inspiration from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles, Eleni Ko…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3050,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093/episodes/turning-a-disability-into-a-taekwondo-superpower-eleni-koutsilianos/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093/turning-a-disability-into-a-taekwondo-superpower-eleni-koutsilianos.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}