They say that to be the best, one must compete against the best.
A group of young, local martial artists competed amongst amateurs and top professionals alike at the 30th anniversary Compete World Martial Arts Championships, held from Friday, Feb. 24 to Sunday, Feb. 26 in Ontario, Calif.
Eleven students from KC’s Family Tae Kwon Do in Cottonwood, who make up the school’s travel team called Team KC’s participated in the event.
“It was challenging, but really fun to see all of the pros,” said Christopher Conover, a 14-year-old third-degree black belt.
The tournament brought together thousands of tae kwon do athletes of all ages to compete in multiple divisions and forms. The two divisions were amateur or professional, and there were three different kinds of forms: Traditional, creative and extreme.
Christopher Conover, who competed in the AA professional North American Sport Karate Association division, took fourth place in extreme weapons, ninth in extreme musical forms and 10th in traditional forms.
Olivia Gregg, a conditional black belt, competed in the same division. She took second in continuous sparring and in place point sparring, and fifth in musical forms.
In place point the fight stops after each point, whereas in continuous the fight does not stop during the entire two minutes. Points are given for contact with punches, kicks and spinning head kicks.
“I did good I guess,” Gregg said. “I got angry cause I got kicked in the face, throat and ribs.”
Eliam Hreha, an 11-year-old who has been practicing for less than one year, competed in the “A” amateur division. Hreha took second in creative weapons, third in extreme forms and fourth in creative forms.
“I think I did really good … I like doing weapons and flips and tricks and stuff,” Hreha said. “I was a little nervous because there’s people from all over the country.”
What made the competition most fun for the young athletes was being able to see professionals compete, or even compete with them.
“They are literally the top in the sport,” Master Karen Conover said. “Kids in the professional black belt division you see on ESPN.”
While none of the athletes took first place, they still left the tournament with valuable experience.
“When you surround yourself with the best in the world, there’s no choice but to rise and aspire to that level,” Karen Conover said. “Every single competitor left there with a smile on their face because they learned something.”
Traditional form, according to Karen Conover, can be likened to what one would typically see in a movie. Extreme form involves a higher degree of difficulty where the practitioners do flips, jumps and tricks, and even throw weapons.
In creative a certain amount of tae kwon do movements are necessary, but other movements, such as break dancing or cheerleading, are permitted.
There are variations as well that include musical forms, where the participant performs his or her choreography paired to the tune of music. Athletes will work on the same routine, which include up to 25 steps, for their various forms for an entire year to perfect it.
Team KC’s Results
Dathan Wimer, 13, second-degree black belt
“AA” professional NASKA division
10th place: Creative weapons
“A” amateur division
Second place: Musical forms
Aaron Rhodes, 14, first-degree black belt
“A” amateur division
Second place: Creative weapons
Second place: Creative forms
Brooke Morrison, 12, first-degree black belt
“AA” professional NASKA division
Fourth place: Creative weapons
Fifth place: Musical weapons
Sixth place: Creative musical forms
Justin Wimer, 11, first-degree black belt
“A” amateur division
Second place: Musical forms
Third place: Musical weapons
Race Armstrong, 12, first-degree black belt
“A” amateur division
Second place: Musical weapons
Sixth place: Point sparring
Davis Hinton, 11, conditional black belt
“AA” professional NASKA division
Eighth place: Extreme forms
“A” amateur
Sixth place: Creative forms
Witten Armstrong, 11 years old, conditional black belt
“A” amateur division
Third place: Musical forms
Third place: Point sparring
Max Hinton, eight years old, intermediate belt
“AA” professional NASKA division
Second place: Extreme forms
Christopher Conover, 14 years old, third-degree black belt, team captain
“AA” professional NASKA division
Fourth place: Extreme weapons
Ninth place: Extreme musical forms
10th place: Traditional forms
Olivia Gregg, 13 years old, conditional black belt
“AA” professional NASKA division
Second place: Continuous sparring
Second place: Place point sparring
Fifth place: Musical forms
Eliam Hreha, 11 years old, intermediate belt
“A” amateur division
Second place: Creative weapons
Third place: Extreme forms
Fourth place: Creative forms
