Team
US National Collegiate Taekwondo Team Participates in Week-Long Training Camp in Korea
0The US National Collegiate Taekwondo Team traveled to South Korea to participate in a national team training camp from August 4 to August 12, 2013. The camp was sponsored by the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) and Mooto USA, and coordinated by NCTA president Russell Ahn in collaboration with the Korean University Taekwondo Federation. Fifteen sparring and six poomsae athletes traveled to train and scrimmage with their Korean counterparts.
(The US National Collegiate Taekwondo Team at Korea National Sports University)
Regarding the trip, President Ahn, “We were very fortunate to have KUTF’s generous hospitality and coordination. On behalf of NCTA, I will continue to expand our international exchanges with various countries that are strong in Taekwondo to elevate our techniques and level of international competition experience. I appreciate all of our staff and athletes who worked hard to make this trip successful.”
The team was fortunate to visit elite Taekwondo programs at Korea National Sports University (KNSU), Yong In University, Woosuk University, and Nazarene University. Each of these collegiate programs have produced Taekwondo world champions or Korean national team members within this past year. The US team participated in rigorous sparring/poomsae training sessions and match sparring with each of these schools.
Said women’s team captain Aziza Chambers, “I really enjoyed this experience. We … got to focus on training and gaining knowledge about how others train, so we could incorporate it into our own training/fighting style.”
Men’s sparring team member Jensen Ishida said, “The [Korean athletes’] training ethic and intensity was amazing, which really motivated me when I got back home. I was able to learn a lot about myself as a fighter.”
Regarding the poomsae training, Carissa Fu said, “Having the opportunity to train this entire week with elite poomsae athletes afforded us the chance to not only learn from the best, but also incorporate our newly acquired knowledge in practice immediately.”
In addition to the University programs, the team had the unique opportunity to train with the Korean Unconventional Warfare Task Force sparring competition team, which contained several former Korean national team members. The US collegiate team was the first national team to visit the Task Force base and had the opportunity to meet the base commander, Korean Lt. Gen. Jun Gyu Jang.
On August 9, the US collegiate team participated in a televised friendly sparring and poomsae scrimmage with some elite Korean collegiate sparring and poomsae athletes in Chungyang city. The sparring team won 8 and lost 7 matches for an overall winning record, and split the male (loss) and female (win) tag team matches. The poomsae team went 0-3 against their Korean counterparts, who included two former world champions.
(Sparring and Poomsae scrimmage in Chungyang City)
Said head coach Dan Chuang, “All of the athletes really rose to the occasion at the scrimmage. After 3 days of hard training and match sparring, the athletes weren’t at 100% but still performed very well and matched up very well with the Korean athletes.”
The team also had an opportunity to visit important Taekwondo sites, including the new Taekwondowon park in Muju, which the team visited in advance of its opening in early 2014. The US team was the first national team to receive a tour of the new $500 million complex. The team also visited the Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo Headquarters.
(The US Team at the new Taekwondo stadium in the Taekwondowon in Muju)
The men’s sparring team was represented by Jonathan Nguyen (Mesa Comm. Coll.), Simon Rodriguez (U. of Utah), Jensen Ishiida (U. of Hawaii), Thomas Rahimi (North Lake College), Alex Ahlstrom (Los Angeles Comm. College), Cameron Weber (Colorado State Univ.), and Phillip Yun (U. of the Pacific). Nguyen, a 6-time team member and two-time world collegiate medalist, was the men’s team captain.
The women’s sparring team was represented by Samery Moras-Angeles (U. of Utah), Jessie Lynn Bates (Central New Mexico Comm. Coll.), Aziza Chambers (Write State University), Gina-Louise Williams (Orange Coast College), Tasha Pruter (U. Missouri, Kansas City), Alexandra Cinque (Fordham University), Jacqueline Galloway (ITT Technical Institute), and Adrienne Ivey (Stanford University). Chambers, a 7-time consecutive team member and world collegiate medalist, was the women’s team captain.
The poomsae team was represented by Jonathan Nguyen (Mesa), Megan Yi (U. California, Irvine), Brandon DeSouza (Middlesex Comm. Coll.), Miyako Yerick (U. Texas, Austin), Carissa Fu (Boston Univ.), and Michelle Chen (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). DeSouza, a 2-time team member, was the poomsae team captain.
Team members who were unable to travel with the team were sparring athlete Tyler Sawyer (Santa Clara U.) and poomsae athletes Hazel Cruz (Santa Clara U.), Lance Supnet (Evergreen Valley Coll.), Alvin Jong (U. of California, Davis) and Albert Jong (San Jose State Univ.).
NCTA President Russell Ahn was the team leader, and the head coach was Dan Chuang. Other staff included team director Han Jin Do, sparring coach Marcus Santos, poomsae coach Kristi George, team managers Heidi Fagerquist and Andrew Suh, and team doctor Sherri Lashomb.
World University Taekwondo Championships & WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
012 years
The US National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) is proud to present a $500 scholarship each to student-athletes Stephen Lambdin (Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma City, OK) and Johnny Nguyen (Mesa Community College, Meza, AZ), who brought back two bronze medals in the sparring competition for the US National Collegiate Taekwondo Team at the World University Taekwondo Championship in Pocheon, South Korea, held on May 25-30, 2012.
At the recent 7th WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Tunja, Columbia, on December 6-9, 2012, together with teammates Kody Han, Anh Nguyen, and Amber Rodriguez, 2012 US National Collegiate Taekwondo Team members Hazel Cruz (Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA) and Long Nguyen (San Jose State University, San Jose, CA) won bronze at the new Free Style poomsae competition (5-competitor team division). Congratulations!
NCTA Referee Chair Dr. Jun Yoon, appointed to represent the US at this event with his years of experience in teaching and judging world-class poomsae, is honored to be presented the Best Referee award.
2012 World University Taekwondo Championships Sparring Summary
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Day 3
Team USA opened up in spectacular fashion on the first day of sparring competition with thrilling fights
from finweights Kelsey Kitagawa (University of Hawai’i-Manoa) and Johnny Nguyen (Mesa Community
College) and featherweights Stepfon Westbrook (California State University of Northride) and Emilia
Morrow (Miami Dade College).
Both Kitagawa and Morrow fought with great passion and drive, but unfortunately they came up short
in their first rounds against Turkey and Chinese Taipei, respectively. Kitagawa scored the initial point and
kept her lead throughout the majority of the match. Turkey received both her points through warnings.
Kitagawa tied it up, but unfortunately fell one point shy of moving on to the next round. Morrow drew
a tough first round against eventual silver medalist from Chinese Taipei. She gave an extremely strong
effort, staying aggressive and throwing some hard cuts, but also fell short and did not advance to the
next round.
Westbrook had an uphill battle but lost to eventual silver medalist from Korea. The round was evenly
matched, with Korea slightly ahead near the close of the third round. Westbrook tied the match in the
final second, pushing the fight into overtime. After some exciting exchanges, Korea scored first. Despite
his loss, Westbrook’s reflection of his match is positive, “I gained a lot of confidence. Not only did I fight
on a world level, but I fought against a finalist from Korea.”
Nguyen emerged victorious in his first match against Japan. He took an early lead with a beautiful axe
kick and finished the round with a final result of 9-5. Next, Nguyen had an amazing comeback against
Thailand in the quarterfinals. Near the end of the second round, he was down 0-5. Within the last 30
seconds, Nguyen threw an impressive jump spinning hook to bring the score to 4-5. Nguyen increased
his lead with a solid back kick and eventually won the match with a final score of 10-8. He advanced
to the semifinals against Indonesia, ensuring the US our first medal of the tournament. Even though
Nguyen fought aggressively, Indonesia proved to be a formidable opponent, and he finished the evening
with a bronze medal. “It’s an honor to have been a part of this experience“ said Nguyen. “Having the
opportunity to wear the stars and stripes at medal ceremonies made the sacrifice, hard work, and
dedication all worth it.”
Day 4
Team USA had another exciting day with matches from welterweights Phillip Yun (University of the
Pacific) and Alex Cinque (Fordham University) and flyweights Haley Kong (Stanford University) and Tyler
Sawyer (Santa Clara University).
Cinque drew Australia first round. Despite taking an early lead, Australia fought back to tie up the score.
It was a riveting match with many exchanges, but Australia scored in the final seconds of the match,
preventing Cinque from advancing.
Kong drew eventual bronze medalist from Korea first round. She managed the match with great
composure the entire way through. No points were scored until the final round when Korea landed a
headshot in the last 30 seconds. Kong gave a strong effort but was unable to catch back up.
Sawyer drew a tough first round against a Chinese Taipei competitor who will be fighting at the
upcoming Olympic Games. Sawyer took an early lead, but Taipei evened the score in the second round.
The match stayed close with Sawyer showing great defense and nearly pulled away victorious but fell
short with a final score of 5-7.
Yun started the day off against Spain, controlling the match the entire way through. He scored
with various techniques, including a couple strong punches which have barely been scored at this
competition. He won 12-2 to advance to the quarterfinals against Turkey. Yun gave a valiant effort
against Turkey keeping the score close, but fell slightly short of advancing to the next round.
Day 5
Team USA had another great day with exhilarating matches from lightweights Nicole Palma (University
of Miami, Lake Worth, FL) and Thomas Rahimi (North Lake Community College) and heavyweights
Danielle Harrison (Johnson and Wales University) and Stephen Lambdin (Oklahoma City Community
College).
Palma drew Korea in the first round. She had some great shots and gave her best, but Korea’s aggressive
tactics and strong defense prevented Palma from advancing to the next round.
Harrison drew Brazil in the first round. She had some amazing moments including a powerful cover
punch that wowed the crowd. Despite her determination, Brazil won the round.
Rahimi drew former World Champion from Iran in the first round. He started off strong with a quick cut
kick in the first few seconds of the match. Down a couple points in the third round, Rahimi came back
to push the match into overtime. In sudden death, Rahimi threw a strong cover punch which forced the
judges to convene, but it was not awarded. Rahimi sparred hard but eventually, Iran scored.
Lambdin started the day off against China, whom he fell to last year at the Universiade in Shenzhen,
China. The match stayed close and eventually went into overtime. Lambdin scored within the first five
seconds of sudden death, advancing him to the quarterfinal rounds against Russia. Russia had an early
lead with a headshot but Lambdin kept his composure looking for the right opportunity. “Even though
I was down early, if I stuck to our gameplay, I would be fine. I just needed to stay calm and wait for my
shots,” said Lambdin. Towards the end of the third round, Lamdbin tied the score with a fierce axe kick,
once again, pushing the match into overtime. There were some nail-biting exchanges, but Lambdin
pulled through with a solid body shot to advance him to the semi-finals against eventual gold medalist
Iran. Similarly to Russia, Iran started off strong and took an early lead with a headshot. Despite another
beautiful axe kick Lambdin scored towards the end of the third, Iran came away victorious with a final
score of 4-3. Reflecting on his matches, Lambdin noted, “I need to take more chances. Most of the
heavyweights couldn’t match my speed. I need to spend less time in my own head and just go for it.”
Lambdin earned a bronze medal and is the second person to medal on the US Team.
Day 6
The final day of sparring competition was another exciting day with matches from bantamweight Aziza
Chambers (Wright State University) and middleweight Kellie Fairbanks (Hillsdale Community College).
Chambers drew Korea and eventual gold medalist in the first match. She maintained an early lead in the
first round. She continued to fight aggressively, throwing some amazing headshots but unfortunately did
not land. Despite a strong effort by Chambers, Korea moved onto the next round.
Fairbanks drew Germany in the first round. She kept the score close but in the very beginning of the
third round, tragedy struck as Fairbanks completed tore her ACL as she landed an axe kick. Despite the
immense amount of pain, she continued to fight until Coach Brian Singer pulled her from the match to
protect her knee. She was rushed to the hospital immediately after. Fairbanks is in great spirits despite
the injury. She cannot wait to return to practice and get back into competition.
This concludes Team USA’s trip to the 12th World University Taekwondo Championships. Team USA
brings back two bronzes, new experiences, and a plethora of knowledge to bring forward into the
future.
2012 World University Taekwondo Championships Poomsae Summary
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The USA Poomsae Team opened the competition with a strong showing these first two days. Rene Chen
(Women’s Individual, Rhode Island School of Design, Medford, MA) and Long Nguyen (San Jose State
University, San Jose, CA) both advanced to the final round. The level of competition was extremely high
with many former medalists amongst the group.
Competing in the semifinal round, Chen performed pal jung and koryo to beat out many top nations to
advance. In the finals, she competed in keumgang and taebaek and showed much strength and stability
throughout both forms. All performances were very solid, and she finished the day in 7 th place overall.
This is the best result for a US female individual poomsae competitor at a world collegiate event, besting
her performance last year when she placed 8th at the Summer World University Games in Shenzhen,
China.
Nguyen, also in the semifinal round, performed koryo and keumgang to advance to the final round
where he performed taebaek and pyongwon. This is his first year representing the US in the Men’s
Individual category and showed great tenacity and rhythm throughout his performances. He finished the
day with an impressive 8th overall position.
Day 2 of competition consisted of three events. Starting off the day was the Mixed Pairs Division
represented by Hazel Cruz (Santa Clara University, Hayward, CA) and Long Nguyen. They opened with
keumgang and taebaek in the semi-final round. This is the first time the pair has competed together at
Collegiate Worlds and their performance was very solid and showed great power and synchronization
throughout both forms. They were shy of the final round by only 0.18, placing 9 th overall.
Women’s Team, comprised of Rene Chen, Carissa Fu (Princeton University, New York, NY), and Miyako
Yerick (Columbia University, Annandale, VA), competed second. Competing with keumgang and taebaek
in the finals, they represented the US well, despite slight wobbles in keumgang. They came back with a
strong taebaek to finish the day 7th overall. The women had a very tough draw competing with a group
of multiple former world medalists.
The final event of Day 2 was the Men’s Team Division, comprised of Alvin Jong (University of California,
Davis, San Jose, CA) Long Nguyen, and Lance Supnet (Evergreen Valley College, San Jose, CA). Performing
taebaek and pyongwon in the finals, they had the best result of all events across the 2 days: they
narrowly missed the medal stand by 0.16, finishing 5th overall.
All poomsae competitors showed great determination and focus. They did an amazing job against an
experienced international crowd and are working successfully to improve the international reputation of
poomsae in the United States. The caliber of competition has increased tremendously over the past few
years. US Poomsae Team Head Coach Huy Nguyen said, “With each competition, we are continuing to
learn from the top athletes and coaches in this discipline. There is definitely room for growth, however,
we continue to hang close with the top teams and increase our level with each passing year. We had a
great year, and it’ll be even better next year.”
US National Collegiate Taekwondo Team Selected at 37th National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships
0The National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) held the 37th National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships on April 7 and 8, 2012 in Cambridge, MA at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, hosted by tournament director Dan Chuang, and presided over by NCTA president Russell Ahn. An event-record 601 athletes participated from over 100 different colleges and universities. At the conclusion of the tournament, 23 athletes were selected to represent the United States at the World University Taekwondo Championships in Pocheon, Korea on May 25-30, 2012.
Seven athletes were selected to represent the United States in the poomsae divisions. Long Nguyen (San Jose State University) won the men's individual division, and Rene Chen (Rhode Island School of Design) won the women's individual division. Long Nguyen and Hazel Cruz (Santa Clara University) won the mixed pair division. Nguyen, Alvin Jong (University of California, Davis), and Lance Supnet (Evergreen Valley College) earned the men's team spot, and Chen, Carissa Fu (Princeton University) and Miyako Yerrick (Columbia University) earned the women's team spot. Long Nguyen, Chen, Jong and Fu are all returning members to the collegiate poomsae team from the 2011 World University Games. Fu is a three time collegiate poomsae team member and earned a bronze medal at the 2010 World University Taekwondo Championships in women's team poomsae.
The sparring divisions were contested in a single elimination bracket, with double elimination beginning at the semifinal rounds. In the men's divisions, the winners were Johnny Nguyen (54 kg, Mesa Community College), Tyler Sawyer (58 kg, Santa Clara University), Stepfon Westbrook (63 kg, California State University of Northridge), Jensen Ishida (68 kg, University of Hawaii-Manoa), Thomas Rahimi (74 kg, North Lake Community College), Phillip Yun (80 kg, University of the Pacific), Phil Drake (87 kg, East Carolina University), and Stephen Lambdin (over 87 kg, Oklahoma City Community College). Sawyer, Westbrook, Ishida, Yun and Lambdin are returning team members from 2011. Johnny Nguyen and Lambdin are both four time team members, with Nguyen earning a bronze medal at the 2006 World University Taekwondo Championships and Lambdin earning a bronze medal at the 2008 World University Taekwondo Championships.
In the women's sparring divisions, this year's team members are Kelsey Kitagawa (46 kg, University of Hawaii-Manoa), Haley Kong (49 kg, Stanford University), Aziza Chambers (53 kg, Wright State University), Emilia Morrow (57 kg, Miami Dade College), Nicole Palma (62 kg, University of Miami), Alexandra Cinque (67 kg, Fordham University), Kelly Fairbanks (73 kg, Hillsdale Community College), and Danielle Harrison (over 73 kg, Johnson and Wales University). Chambers and Harrison are both returning team members. Chambers is a 3-time team member and earned a bronze medal at the 2011 World University Games.
The male athlete of the year was Phillip Yun. Yun won the 80 kg division for the second year in a row and reached the quarterfinals at last year's World University Games. The female athlete of the year was Rene Chen. Chen has qualified 5 poomsae team spots during the past 2 years and reached the finals in the female individual poomsae division at last year's World University Games. The freshman athlete of the year was Haley Kong, who won the female flyweight division and the female 2nd Dan lightweight forms division during her first year of collegiate eligibility.
The coach of the year was Kent Kitagawa of Stanford University, who coached both Kong and Sawyer to national team spots in the sparring divisions. The referees of the year were Leslie Cheung (male) and Hyowon Choe (female).
