Students earn black belts
More than fifty taekwondo students tested for belt promotion Sunday at the YMCA, with six men earning black belts.
Twelve-year-old Kendall Wong and Jerry Chubb earned their third –degree black belts after advanced kick combinations, sparring and performing the koryo and taebek forms. Wong and Chubb each broke a board with a switching high front kick.
Mark Poirier was promoted to second-degree black belt after demonstrating advanced kick and sparring skills, the koryo and keumgang forms and smashing a two-inch board with a spinning side kick.
Ben Nummelin and Mickey Held both moved up to first degree black belts following extensive oral examination on taekwondo tenets, terminology and meanings, strenuous kick combinations and sparring. Both men performed four taegeuk forms and koryo. Nummelin broke one board with a spinning axe and a second with a 360-spinning side kick. Held broke with a retreating back spinning sidekick and a 360 spinning sidekick.
Lee Vaughter entered the black belt ranks as a deputy black belt following performance of four taegeuk forms and the koryo forms, sparring and advanced kick combinations. Vaughter broke one board with a front punch and another with a back spinning sidekick.
High green belt Christopher Olson won the first place trophy for testing excellence, green belt Jacelyn Schmitz earned second place and blue belt Matt Moore grabbed third place.
Master instructor Dwight Stevens and assistant Mark Henkel judged the testing.
Tournament News
A Stevens Point woman won the taekwondo grand championship at Wisconsin Rapids for the second year in a row.
Second degree black belt Donelle Ostrowski brought home the grand championship trophy in the advanced ladies’ division of forms after winning the first place in her forms division. Ostrowski also earned first place in board breaking , breaking three boards with a tornado kick, a back spinning sidekick and a back spinning hook kick.
Other local competitors also did well at the 26th Mid-Wisconsin Taekwondo Championships hosted by Master John Chrystal and the Park Institute at Mid-State Technical College Saturday.
Chun Yee Wong, second degree black belt earned third place in the mens breaking, forms and sparring. Wong broke his boards with a speed punch, a speed hook and a flying side kick.
Brothers Chris and Brett O’Sullivan also trophied at the tournament. Chris, a second degree black belt, placed second in the board breaking and forms competition in the advanced youth division . Chris broke one board with a tornado kick and two boards with a back spinning side kick. Brett, first degree black belt, won first place in forms. His triple break using a knife hand, a skipping hook kick and a switching front kick won him first in board-breaking for youth 11-13 years old.
Bonnie Waldherr took home first place in breaking, second in forms and second in sparring for the senior women’s advanced division.
High green belt Matt Straub also placed with a second place in board breaking, using a three-inch punch and hook kick plus a second in sparring in the adult men’s division.
These martial artists train at Stevens Taekwondo Academy and through the UW-Steven Point taekwondo program.