Dwight Stevens Honored at International Tournament
Grandmaster Dwight Stevens was recognized for a lifetime of achievement in taekwondo at the 20th Oklahoma Invitational Taekwondo Championship in Oklahoma City last week. The tournament was attended by martial artists and officials from all over this country, Mexico, Canada and Korea.
Supreme Grandmaster Kyo Yoon Lee, one of the five living 10th degree black belts in the world came from Korea to present the certificate of commendation, signed by Woon Kym Uhm, the president of the Kukkiwon. The Kukkiwon is the international headquarters of the martial art, located in Seoul, South Korea.. The certificate cited Stevens' for "unlimited efforts" to the "development and popularization of Taekwondo" and his "great contribution to the promotion of Taekwondo excellence." Lee invited Stevens to a future 9th degree testing at the Kukkiwon.
Stevens also acted as the head official for the promotion testing of the director of the Han Moo Kwan in Mexico.
Stevens holds a seventh and eighth degree black belts in two different schools of taekwondo. He is the owner and head instructor for the Stevens Taekwondo Academy, which has operated through the YMCA for more than twenty years. More than 350 of Stevens' students have achieved black belts through his school. Stevens also developed and taught classes in taekwondo at UW-Stevens Point.
Pic: Grandmaster Dwight Stevens and Supreme Grandmaster Kyo Yoon Lee
Local Students Medal in Oklahoma
Area martial artists brought home ten medals from a large international taekwondo tournament in Oklahoma City last weekend.
Michael Blake, high yellow belt, swept his division, garnering gold medals in sparring, forms and breaking. Blake broke two boards with a side kick and three boards with a spinning side kick.
Donelle Ostrowski and Meghan LaPoint dominated the second degree black belt division for women. Ostrowski won first place in breaking, second in sparring and third in forms. She broke two boards with a tornado kick into a step-back spinning sidekick and broke another board with a palm hell hand strike. LaPoint grabbed two silver medals, placing second in both forms and board breaking.
High blue belt Cory Lesperance earned a silver medal in board breaking and a bronze for sparring. He performed a flying sidekick over a table to break his board.
All four train with Stevens Taekwondo Academy. Master Carol Landrath acted as team coach for the tournament.
More than 1,000 competitors, spectators and officials from Korea, Mexico, Canada and all over the United States gathered for the 20th Oklahoma Invitational Taekwondo Tournament, hosted by Grandmaster In Hui Won.
The Mexican National Taekwondo team was present for the event, and demonstrations included a combat hapkido demo by Chris Garland of Nashville Tenn.
Pic: Grandmaster Dwight Stevens, Meghan LaPoint, Michael Blake, Donalle Ostrowski, Cory Lesperance, Master Carol Landrath