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Black Belts and Boundary Lines:

        Professional Land Surveyor lives a double life of discipline and defense

        By Michel Sauret

          By day, Jeffrey Horneman, a professional land surveyor, is a real   As Horneman called out cadences in Korean, his voice carried
        estate specialist who defends federal lands against encroachments.  through the church auditorium like verbal jabs. The students responded
          By night, he is a blackbelt Taekwondo instructor who teaches youths   with recited movements called patterns. They attacked the space
        to defend themselves in the art of the foot and the fist.  around them in a series of strikes, forming a dance of elbow thrusts,
                                                                hip twists, wrist snaps and balanced kicks.
          On Monday evenings, Horneman can be found roaming barefoot
        around a formation of students. He hosts his dojang inside a church   Horneman has been teaching free Taekwondo classes to kids and
        auditorium in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania.               teenagers for 20 years. He had also taught federal employees during
                                                                lunch breaks at work until the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many to
          Jeffrey Horneman works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers   temporarily work away from the office. His desire is to resume free
        Pittsburgh District as the deputy chief of the real estate office. Horneman   classes in the federal building downtown if enough employees show
        has volunteered to provide free Taekwondo classes to youth through a   interest again.
        martial arts nonprofit for the last 20 years.
                                                                  Jeffrey Horneman works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
          During a recent test night, the class wore white doboks, the   Pittsburgh District as the deputy chief of the real estate office. Horneman
        traditional Korean martial arts uniform students must earn. The smaller   has volunteered to provide free Taekwondo classes to youth through a
        boys and girls donned white belts, some as young as five years old.   martial arts nonprofit for the last 20 years.
        Older teenagers sported green or red belts, indicating they had been
        training under Horneman for years.                        “I’ve lost over half of my students since the pandemic, and trying to
                                                                get them back has been difficult,” he said.
          “We’re  teaching  kids  discipline  and  how  to  grow  mentally,”
        Horneman said about the class. “Every once in a while, you’ll hear me   Horneman teaches under a Taekwondo nonprofit founded by a
        say to the students, ‘With great power,’ and the student respond, ‘comes   catholic priest named Robert Connolly, whom he fondly refers to as
        great responsibility,’ a line  from Spider-Man. That’s what they’re   “Father.” Father Connolly instructed all age groups, including nuns.
        learning here.’                                           “Some people are already terrified of nuns,” Horneman joked. “And

          Jeffrey Horneman works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers   then Father goes and makes them into blackbelts. But he said they were
        Pittsburgh District as the deputy chief of the real estate office. Horneman   his best students because they were already mentally disciplined.”
        has volunteered to provide free Taekwondo classes to youth through a   Horneman became hooked on martial arts as a teenager living in the
        martial arts nonprofit for the last 20 years.           ‘80s at the height of kung fu and Chuck Norris movies. He discovered




















        Jeffrey Horneman helps Catherine Manko with her   Jeff Horneman, LS, the deputy chief of the Real Estate   Bob Price, surveyor for the U.S. Army Corps of
        dobok and belt before her martial arts test at a church   office for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh   Engineers Pittsburgh District, uses a laser scanner at
        in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2024. (U.S.   District. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh   Emsworth Locks and Dam on the Ohio River during
        Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District photo by   District photo by Michel Sauret)  de-watering operations. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
        Michel Sauret)                                                            Pittsburgh District photo by John Haas)






        22   EMPIRE STATE SURVEYOR / VOL. 61 • NO 2 / 2025 • MARCH/APRIL
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