Ultimate Taekwon-Do Challenge 2017…
28 students from the International Taekwon-Do Academy took part in the Ultimate Taekwon-Do Challenge in Tenafly, New Jersey. This is our first competition of the year, and our team was comprised of new competitors. It was definitely an exciting feeling for me as well for all of the new competitors who were representing our academy.
A competition is not about winning or losing; but instead it is about learning from your mistakes and competing with oneself to become a better student of Taekwon-Do. It is about testing your mindset and your practice on a spiritual level. When you compete with yourself, you bring out the best in yourself. Time, focus, determination, dedication and patience are examples of a great student.
HARD WORK PAYS OFF!
Their efforts are shown and proven at the event, because every ITA student puts their time and dedication to practice without any excuse or expecting a reward. ITA students understand that this is a discipline, an art guided by rules and regulations and by the 5 tenets of Taekwon-Do. Knowing this at a very young age puts them ahead of their peers as an athlete, academically, socially; but most importantly spiritual growth.
Many can see the difference between schools, and many of us can see the respect one has for another. In martial arts, one must always remain humble. Always show good sportsmanship. Win with dignity, lose with grace even if your opponent loses self control. Always respect the art. Remember, you are there to test yourself and your abilities. Nothing more but a training session against other schools. Give your best, but most importantly have fun and love what you do!
Our Academy participated on the following events:
Sparring – Mr. C. Hernandez, Ms. A. Shanghbag and Mr. M. Amy took 1st place. Ms. C. Martinez, Ms. G. Gomes (2x), Ms. R. Mhajan, Mr. J. Uriostegui, Mr. E. Cuevas and Ms. M. Amy took 2nd place. Ms. A. Martinez, Ms. I. Gomes, Mr. W. Rodriguez, Ms. P. Chen, Ms. A. Somwaru, Mr. Patrick Bebawy, Mr. Shvut Mahuwala, Ms. F. Ranghel, Mr. C. Clarke, Mr. A. Barragan, Mr. I. Diaz and Mr. D. Challa took 3rd place.
Patterns – Ms. C. Martinez, Mr. J. Uriostegui, Mr. G. Cruz, Mr. C. Belichian, Mr. E. Cuevas and Mr. D. Challa took 1st place. Ms. A. Martinez, Ms. G. Gomes, Ms. A. Somwaru took 2nd place. Ms. I. Gomes, Mr. W. Rodriguez, Ms. P. Chen, Ms. R. Mhajan, Ms. A. Shanghbag, Mr. S. Mahuwala, Mr.M. Amy, Ms. M. Amy, Ms. F. Ranghel, Mr. P. Bebawy and Mr. Christian Clarke took 3rd place.
Overall International Taekwon-Do Academy took 42 wins with 9 Golds, 10 Silvers and 23 Bronzes. In addition, our academy was awarded the “Best School 2017” at the Ultimate Taekwon-Do Challenge. Great team effort by everyone on Saturday’s competition. I am very proud of our team.
CONDUCT OF JUDGES / BIAS INTERPRETATION
We may encounter a bias judge(s) from time to time, but that should never affect us. I am very proud of our students, their performance and believe in their abilities. I hope everyone was able to see the difference between our school and others, as well as our own student’s character. Our school promotes kind heart, fairness and care for others no matter where they are from or what school they belong to.
A lot of instructors have lost the essence of being a true martial artist. I intend our school to continue promoting it with dignity, respect and love for the art! No matter the outcome from competitions and judges, rest assure that our students sets the example for others to emulate.
I truly believe our Academy is here for a greater purpose, and I can only accomplish this with you.
I hope that a small rubble on the road doesn’t stop any of you from reaching a greater destination.
The biggest trophies you have is your heart and mind. Without that, everything else is useless! I am extremely proud of your hard work team. Keep up the amazing work!
Be the LION, not the sheep!
Our next event will be on Saturday May 20th in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. We are looking forward to an awesome event…
