'Taekwondo Tigers' shine in national competition

Considering most people's knowledge of martial arts comes from Billy Blanks' "Tae Bo Basics" video, it may be difficult for them to picture intense taekwondo competition. If those people knew any of the members of the Princeton Taekwondo Club, however, it might be much easier for them to understand.

As the largest club sport on campus, the Taekwondo Tigers, as some call them, have consistently proven themselves to be one of the strongest collegiate martial arts teams in the country. Year after year, the club taekwondo team performs well at intense regional and national competitions.

Over Fall Break — when many Princeton athletic teams had disappointing showings — the taekwondo team once again proved its strength. Nineteen members of the team participated in the 25th-Annual National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships at Iowa State University in Ames, Ia., November 3rd-4th.

The first day was poomse (forms) competition followed by sparring (fighting) on the second day. Princeton was represented at all levels from white to black belt, sending both undergraduate and graduate students to the championship.

"Each competitor does their poomse individually, in front of judges," sophomore black belt Brian Chang said. "A form is simply a series of choreographed moves and kicking and punching techniques that are done for performance. The judges then score each individual's form accordingly, taking into account accuracy, power, concentration, stances, difficulty and proper technique."

No holds barred

The sparring competition, on the other hand, is a much more active stage for the competitors.

"Sparring is full-contact fighting," Chang said. "The goal is to score points by landing clean, solid kicks to valid target areas, while trying to avoid getting hit."

The team was optimistic going into the tournament, but knew it would be difficult to finish at the top of the collegiate ranks.

"We knew we had a prepared team going in," Chang said. "Everyone trained so hard, and was eager to compete."

The Tigers were certainly prepared, practicing several hours a day, five to six times a week under the guidance of Masters Choi, Hatfield, Shin and Kim. The training time was mostly split between sparring, technique and conditioning.

The hours of training undoubtedly paid off as the Tigers brought back both team and individual honors from Iowa.

The Princeton black belts captured fifth place overall, while the novice competitors tied for first with the University of Iowa. Overall, the entire Tiger squad brought home a third-place finish and 18 individual medals.

Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Despite the strong showing from the more experienced fighters, the team was especially excited about the performance of its white belts.

For many of these individuals, it was their first competition, but it did not show.

Coming off this strong performance, the taekwondo team hopes it will be thought of as more than just disciples of "Tae Bo." So watch your back, Billy Blanks, you've got some competition in the Garden State.