West Side Taekwondo

On June 30th through July 5th, the Junior Olympics, National Poomsae Team Trials, and U.S. Senior Nationals were held in Austin, Texas. This trio of U.S.A.T. sanctioned tournaments is among the most prestigious in North America and attracts thousands of elite competitors annually. West Side Taekwondo was represented in the Junior Olympics by Patrick Brady, Maggie Brady, and Scott Etkin and in the Poomsae Team Trials by Scott Etkin and Christina Park.

Patrick and Maggie, 10, are fraternal twins who earned their first degree black belts while living in Chicago and began training at West Side in 2006. They have since passed the West Side black belt equivalency test together in December of 2007.

The Bradys competed in both forms and sparing on the first day of competition. In 2007 and 2008, the Bradys participated in the Junior Olympics in San Jose, CA, and Detroit, MI, respectively, making Austin their third J.O.s. In addition, the Bradys have also gained experience through competing in numerous local tournaments in New York and New Jersey.

Master Paul Lim, head instructor at West Side Taekwondo, has been instrumental in the Bradys’ transition to West Side. In the weeks leading up to the J.O.s, he oversaw their training and worked with them six days a week, with two-a-day practices on weekdays. “In the workouts, we focused on moving back and counter attacking,” Master Lim said, “We also worked on back kick which Patrick did a great job of executing. We definitely worked on conditioning.” Master Lim also traveled to Austin as Maggie and Patrick’s coach.

On what was a long and tiring day, Master Lim was proud of what his students accomplished. Patrick placed second in forms and Maggie did not medal. In sparring, Maggie took a bronze while Patrick lost in the quarter finals of his bracket. “They did an excellent job of moving and getting out of way of the attack and counter attacking. They also did an excellent job on their forms,” said Master Lim.

Scott Etkin, 16, also competed in forms in J.O.s. Over eleven years at West Side, Scott is a seven-time Junior Olympic champion and medalist and has competed in nearly 50 local tournaments. Scott received his first degree black belt in 2002 and his second degree in 2006. In the 14-17 division, Scott took third place with the second-degree form Keumgang.

The National Poomsae Team Trials lasted over two days and uses a forms standard known commonly as “Competition Poomsae.” Competition poomsae differs in nature from the forms traditionally practiced at West Side Taekwondo. In recent years, mandated changes from the Kukkiwon and WTF organizations in Korea have altered the interpretation of the taegeuk forms. Some of these changes include shorter and more narrow stances, a slower junbi, lower mid-section punches and other slight but significant changes to chambers and kicks. Such modifications have been made in order to ensure a common standard and, therefore, a more level playing field that can be more consistently judged. Within the Trials, there are three different general divisions (with subdivisions for age), which include individuals, co-ed pairs and teams (three people of the same gender).

The judging of competition poomsae is broken down into two distinct categories: accuracy and presentation. Each category is allotted five possible points and they are eventually added to make ten a perfect score. Five judges who have been versed in the nuances of the new standards deduct .1 of a point for every mistake they notice while the athlete is competing. This constitutes that accuracy portion of the score. Presentation is more subjective and is based on the power, kiaps, fluidity and overall technical execution of the form. Two different forms are done per round, and each round eliminates half of the competitors until only eight remain. The round with eight competitors is the final round.

With a long and decorated career in sparring, Master Christina Park began learning about competition poomsae in 2007. Master Park earned her fourth dan at West Side in May 2008 and is a four-time National Collegiate Champion, five-time captain of the Collegiate National Team, two-time National Champion and has represented the U.S. at the World University Games and Pan Am Championships.

Scott and Master Park learned the new standards through help from other masters in connection with the U.S. National Team as well as instructional and books issued by the W.T.F. At the 2008 Poomsae Team Trials in Detroit, MI, they competed in both individuals and pairs. In pairs, they entered the final round in third place but ended up finishing in 7th. Master Park finished in third in individuals, while Scott did not place.

“We were making huge changes right up till when they had to go onto the mat,” said forms Coach Sue Etkin, “We had prepared a lot but there were still many changes to implement on the day of the tournament.”

Scott and Master Park called upon the support of their classmates to help in their preparation leading up to the 2009 Team Trials. Often before or after class, the pair would practice their forms while being watched by their fellow black belts for feedback.

“We tried to learn the standards as best we could, and improve our synchronization and power. Although not everyone knew the standards, it was still helpful for the guys to make sure that we were staying together,” said Master Park.

In the week before Team Trials, Master Park suffered a broken hand while sparring at the AAU National Championships. Several other members of Team West Side, Dorian Alexander, Lenny Hoplite, Laura Spero, Darlin Gill and Lisa Zhou, also competed at the Championships in Orlando, Florida. “I won’t lie, it was painful,” said Master Park, “Though it obviously affected my performance, gritting through it added a certain intensity that cannot be practiced.” Master Park still went on to win another match and take a gold medal. Because of the injury, which required taping and icing intermittently throughout competition day, Master Park decided to withdraw from individual competition and save herself for pairs and team. “For all the practice that we had put in together, I wanted to compete with Scott and also my women’s team.”

In the team division, Master Park and her partners Kathy Chuang and Rene ____ from CW Taekwondo in Boston, MA, finished with silver medals. This second place finish earned them a spot on the National Poomsae B Team.

Ten pairs made up the 14-35 division. Scott and Master Park advanced to the final round by finishing 7th through the first two forms and subsequently moved up two spots to 5th place in the finals. Ultimately, Lillian Angel and Muhammad Christi, the pair that was on the 2008 National Team, successfully defended their spots. “The field was much deeper this year,” said Master Park, “and Lillian and Muhammed were definitely well prepared. I know them and they have a lot of experience, so I was happy for their win and learned from watching them perform.”

Scott and Master Park were slightly disappointed with their 5th place finished. Yet they found positives in their synchronization and crispness. “I thought we were much closer to the standards this year than last, and that was shown in the increase in our technical scores,” said Master Park.

Scott competed on the following day in the 14-18 individual division. In a group of 25 competitors, Scott made it through two rounds of elimination to finish eighth overall. Over the course of the day, Scott was required to do a total of six different forms. “I really happy with the result considering that last year I didn’t make it out of the first round,” said Scott, “In that sense it’s a big improvement.”