Master Kim's Tiger Tae Kwon Do Champions

Master Kim’s Tiger Tae Kwon Do, a martial arts school located in the Kinnelon Mall, had twenty-seven students compete in 14th U.S. Hong-Ik Taekwondo Association (USHTA) Championships on March 24, 2018. The taekwondo tournament, which took place at Queens College, New York, attracted over forty-five martial arts schools and close to 600 competitors from the NY-NJ-CT area. Master Kim’s students won a total of sixty-six medals - 32 Gold, 23 Silver and 11 Bronze Medals in the various individual events at the tournament. Competitors ranging in age from four years and older competed in four individual events – Forms, Breaking, Sparring and Obstacle Course.

The Forms event requires the competitors to perform choreographed sequences of taekwondo blocks and strikes that have been sanctioned by World Taekwondo, the international governing organization of taekwondo. Forms are judged on technique, precision and power. The Breaking event requires breaking wood boards, using a minimum of three foot or hand strikes and is similarly judged on technique, power, accuracy and difficulty of the break. Additional points for Forms and Breaking are given based on the taekwondo spirit of each competitor. The Sparring event, similar to Olympic sparring, pits competitors of similar belt rank, age and skill through a series of matches to determine the top placements. The Obstacle Course, limited to competitors aged four through 10 years old, challenged children to maneuver through jumping, kicking and agility drills, ending with a hammer fist break through a wood board.

In addition to the individual competitor events, each of the USHTA member schools competed in the Group Form competition. The Group Form event demands taekwondo skill in addition to creativity and teamwork as the team members must choreograph their own sequences of taekwondo movements and perform the original routine to their chosen soundtrack. Master Kim’s team, whose thirteen members ranged in age from 9 through 23, excelled and earned 2nd Place out of 12 competing teams.

Master Kim’s students come from all towns surrounding and including Kinnelon, Butler, West Milford, Wayne, Pompton Lakes, Pompton Plains, Oak Ridge and more. Visit us at www.MKTigerTKD.com and https://www.facebook.com/mktigertkd to the see video of our winning group form and more USHTA 2018 Championship action .

Pictured above are Master Kim’s Tiger Tae Kwon Do’s championship competitors.

Front Row (L to R) – Matthew Stump, Danny Mejia, Dillan Castellano-Smith, Hailey Nolan, Jaden Kim, Bodie Gifford, Owen Hurley, Miguel Samonte, Liam Almaleh, Matthew Kim. Middle Row (L to R) – Alpkan Onbilger, Vanessa Braden, Kaelyn Castellano-Smith, Victoria Szarlej, Claire Wang, Veronica Cora, Eryk Szarlej, Avin Rambaran, Kinnereth Lopez. Back Row (L to R) Inst’r Keri Jameson, Gerald Strumolo, Johnny Setford, Maria Abelev, Master Yeong Jae Kim, Emalene Castellano-Smith, Shane Cooper, Brianna Webber, Therese Pagulayan