Nine-year-old Titus Hwang was overjoyed with his new trophy to add to his collection and showed it off to his friends and fellow competitors.
“I’m going to put it with my other trophies,” he said when asked about where he would place the new award, adding, that he hopes to participate in Taekwondo “forever.”
Like Hwang, approximately 200 students as young as 3 years old tested their physical and mental strength and simultaneously showed off their newest skills in Taekwondo to their friends and families in the large audience on Saturday.
The ONE TaeKwonDo hosted its sixth in-house competition at La Mesa Junior High, and the competition was a “positive Taekwondo experience for our students, where they get to compete amongst their own,” said master of ceremonies Kyra Kim.
But for Hwang it wasn’t just to gain more confidence and test his athleticism, said his mother Sarah Hwang. It was also to form a connection to his culture and heritage.
Sarah is a second-generation South Korean and sometimes it can be difficult to teach her kids about South Korean culture, she said. Her younger child, Abigail Hwang, 7, was also competing during the daylong event.
“Being able to have a piece of that culture here, particularly in the sport, it makes me happy and appreciated,” she said. “They’re able to learn simple things like counting in Korean … a lot of the terminology that we use here [in Taekwondo] is Korean so when their grandparents hear them using some of it, [they say], ‘Oh my goodness you know that word.’”
For Titus, the experience has been super beneficial ever since he joined four years ago. Known to be a shy kid, he has blossomed into a more confident person, Sarah said, adding that even when he may not have a skill fully correct, he continues to keep trying with the help of his uplifting coaches.
“You could see it spill over into his academics,” she said, referring to having confidence in accomplishing milestones even if it may include a few setbacks. “But [it’s] also [teaching him] in respecting those who are there to teach and respecting his peers.”
The athletes competed in forms, breaking boards, and sparring for a chance to win in the categories of outstanding, superior and commendable performances, added Kim. Many of the youth beginning their training recently as early as two months ago and some have participated for up to eight years.
“It’s martial arts, they are going to be displaying and showcasing the skills that they have learned over the years. This is really the time to really put those skills to the test and showcase them to their family and friends,” she added.
U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia, R- Santa Clarita, was in attendance and shared a few words with the athletes.
“Hopefully, what you are learning from these experiences are not just the forms and how to spar and how to fight and how to become stronger physically, but how to become stronger mentally, and how to not only sometimes lose with pride and with grace, but also win with pride and grace,” he said.
Representatives of South Korea’s Sangji University’s demo team, considered to be one of the best in the world, traveled across the globe to participate during the tournament as judges and delivered a highly skilled performance that included sparring, board breaking and backflips.
Nalina Franco, 13, beat her opponent during the sparring section, 3-0, which earned her loud cheers from her family that echoed through the gymnasium and turned heads from nearby attendees.
Her proud father, Jesus Franco, made sure he filmed every moment he could during her sparring moment. He couldn’t contain his excitement and lost his voice with his loud cheering.
“It makes me feel like I put my training to use after all these years,” she said after she beat her opponent. She began training in Taekwondo six years ago, adding that Jesus helps her with training.
“All odds were against her,” Jesus said adding that her sparring opponent was much older than her. “We got the whole family here [supporting her],” he said.
