On March 23rd, we had four of our team members compete in the USA Taekwondo National Qualifier in Grapevine, TX: Kyla, Logan, Will, and Rashid. All black belts 12 and older fought with electronic chest guards. The competition was difficult. Both Kyla and Logan fought much larger opponents who gave them a difficult time. Each fought hard but were not able to beat their opponents. Will and Rashid fought last. In order to be able to try for the USA team, Will and Rashid had to qualify for the worldclass division. They must place in the top four to qualify for worldclass. Will had six in his division and Rashid had five. As such, each had to win at least one match to qualify.
Will fought first and after a moment or two of not quite being on his game, Will tied the score in the last round. Regular time ended with a tied score. The match moved into overtime, a sudden death round. Will scored with a head shot but his opponent scored with a body shot just after. Because the body shots were scored electronically, Will's opponent's point went up before the head shot. Master De Los Reyes protested that the head shot was not scored and the referee polled the judges. They gave the three points to Will and after much consultation, Will was declared the winner. It appeared that Will's opponent's coach was going to protest the win but the opponent shook Will's hand and congratulated him on his win showing excellent sportsmanship. The match was over and Will advanced to the next round.
Rashid fought second. He handled his opponent will little trouble. Using excellent strategy and patients, Rashid gained the lead and maintained it throughout the match. He looked confident and in control.
Rashid's second opponent won his first match by knock out. This fighter is known for his spinning techniques to the head so one cannot "fall asleep" during a match with him or risk being knocked out. With a new game plan in hand, Rashid entered the ring determined to win. Keeping an eye out for spinning head shots, Rashid set up his plays and took advantage of openings with great timing and skill. Rashid won the match in regular time for the gold medal! After loosing several matches to people he was sure he should be able to beat, Rashid's confidence took a hit. Between his gold medal at the AAU Region 9 Qualifier and his gold at this tournament, he is ready to head to Chicago in July and make it to team trials!
Will entered his final match with great confidence. His opponent looked rather young and a bit on the smaller side. No one on our team had seen him before. Seconds into the match, Will's opponent scored the first two points. Will had a bit of trouble evening up the score until he pulled out his head shots. With a few head shots scored, Will quickly pulled ahead by 10 points. The cut kicks that Will throws can send an opponent flying. After eating a few of those cut kicks, Will's opponent was not fighting as aggressively as he was in the beginning. The match ended with Will up by 7 points for the gold medal.
Congratulations everyone!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Kick-a-Thon 2013
We will be holding a Kick-a-Thon
during the week of April 15th. The money raised from this
Kick-a-Thon will benefit both Hope-Help-Heal and our own Team Legacy. Hope-Help-Heal is a 501(c)3 non-profit
organization that raises money to support the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological
Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital. Take a moment…
Think of the families you know in our community that are affected by childhood
neurological disorders. We all know a child and a family that hope to benefit
from efforts of this new Neurological Research Institute (NRI) at Texas Children’s
Hospital. The NRI focuses on the study and treatment of pediatric neurological
disorders, including: autism, Down syndrome, childhood epilepsy, cerebral
palsy, mental retardation, language disorders, neurological malformations, and
genetic neurological diseases, to name a few.
Hope-Help-Heal was founded by
Jenny Tyler, Anita Trapnell, and Kathleen Riley to promote awareness of
pediatric neurological diseases and disorders. Anita Trapnell is the mother of
Payton Trapnell, a I Dan Black Belt and a member of Team Legacy, and the wife
of Master Mike Trapnell, IV Dan. Mike and Anita’s older child, Tyler, was born
with a neurological disorder. You may have seen him in his wheelchair at
taekwondo on occasion. Tyler will turn 14 this year.
We are asking all students to
participate in this Kick-a-Thon and earn at least $10 in sponsorships. We will
be splitting the Kick-a-Thon’s earnings between Hope-Help-Heal and Team
Legacy. There will be prizes for the top
three student earners of more than $50. Prizes will be posted in the lobby
(Please note that Team Legacy members are not eligible for these prizes.)
Please help us help both of these organizations. All students will participate
in the kicking during class; please get some sponsors for your kicks and make
them count for something!
Most of our instructors are Team
Legacy Members. Team Legacy is an incubator for the sparring lessons given during
classes at this Young Brothers location. You and/or your child benefits from
the experience our instructors gain at tournaments from the local to the
international level. Our fundraisers make it possible for us to go to
out-of-state tournament such as AAU Nationals, AAU Team Trials, and the US Open
to name a few. These are high level tournaments. We learn something new each
time we attend. Please assist us. It helps us be the best we can be and to make
this taekwondo school the best it can be.
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