Now that Dakota Arndt has finally made it, the next challenge for the talented martial arts athlete is finding out what comes next.

“It’s kind of like a dream come true,” he said of his qualifying for the U.S. National Senior Team in taekwondo.

“My whole life I’ve been training for it.”

Arndt, 19, has been a member of Big Sky Martial Arts since he was 8 years old.

That is where he mastered his mat skills, focus and mental toughness under the watchful eyes of Master John Paul Noyes and Debbie Noyes.

“Dakota has been to U.S. Team Trials twice, multiple U.S. Opens and Nationals many times, so winning the National Team spot is something special,” John Paul Noyes said.

“Last year he had to sit Nationals out due to a foot surgery, so he served as an official. This year he really put it all together. He managed his weight and conditioning perfectly and was a great team captain. I think the most rewarding part as a coach is to see a great athlete win, through planned work while remaining humble and appreciative of his opportunities. We could not be more proud for Dakota.”

Arndt just is the second member of Big Sky Martial Arts to earn a spot on the National Senior Team. Taylor Reed was the first.

“Dakota has had outstanding dedication and humility, for martial arts and Big Sky,” Debbie Noyes said.

“He has always been inspirational to students and teammates. As coaches, we enjoyed our relationship with him as an athlete and employee and we appreciate his parents for their work and dedication to him and us.”

Arndt is currently looking to keep his dream alive while attending Montana State University this fall. His first order of business on the taekwondo level in Bozeman is to find a new training partner and place to conduct his workouts. If he can’t do that, his hopes of competing for the U.S. team may be over.

“It’s been a goal ever since I got my first black belt,” he said of the National Team.

Arndt competes in the flyweight division (119-127 pounds) in the 18-32 age bracket. At the AAU National Championships in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, over the 4th of July weekend, he won his division by 12-pointing two foes.

He dominated the competition.

It was his ninth trip to nationals.

Last year he suffered a foot injury at that event, which set his training and competition schedule back. Surgery was also needed to repair a tendon.

Then a skiing mishap last winter — a rib and shoulder injury — set him back another three months.

Those two distractions, however, did not derail his championship focus.

“This year, this is the hardest I have ever trained,” he said.

“I knew it would be my last year training here with my coaches and training partners. Knowing it was my last year I pushed real hard.”

He said a positive attitude and not taking his eye off the prize kept him focused and driven.

“I told myself I was going to win this year,” he said.

“I’ve been to the team trials in the past. No matter what, I’m not going to lose.”

Arndt won a gold medal at Nationals as a red belt while he earned gold, silver and bronze medals as a third-degree black belt.

He said representing the U.S. at the German Open in March would be the highlight to his career.

“I’m still not sure,” he said of participating in that.

“High level Olympians from all over the world compete. I’ll see how school works for me and If I can find a training partner to work with.”

Arndt’s introduction to karate came at an early age — he was just 1 ½ years old and living in Whitefish.

“My parents wanted me to be able to defend myself,” he said.

“As a little kid I was hyper, was always talking.

“Taekwondo helped me become responsible, respectable,” he continued.

“It taught me to work hard, kept me out of trouble.”

And now he has joined an elite group.

“It was the best moment of my life,” he said of taking the flyweight title at the National Championships.

“I told myself I did it.”

To celebrate, he put his hand above his head and held it high.

“I was confident in myself, believed in myself,” he said.