Glen Ellyn teen heads to international taekwondo competition

In just a few days, Jackson Sigalove will experience another milestone in his athletic career. Having won his division of the United States National Taekwondo Championships in Detroit earlier this summer, he'll compete as part of the United States Junior National Team in the Pan American Championships in Costa Rica. And he's only 15.

"When I'm fighting, there's something I can't get with anything else," said the Glen Ellyn teen, who attends Glenbard West High School. "It's such a great feeling."

Jackson got started with taekwondo when he was a toddler.

"Karate wasn't available when I was 3," he said.

So his parents enrolled him in a park district taekwondo class. He graduated to more advanced taekwondo classes at Al's Black Belt Club in Lombard. Nowadays, he trains at Xcellent Taekwondo Center in Crestwood.

"I train taekwondo five to six days a week," he said.

Training sessions stretch from two to five hours and typically involve a warm-up, paddle kicking practice, sparring with partners and performing conditioning exercises, he said. He also runs five or six miles about four times a week.

Consistent training is key to competing well, he said.

"Taekwondo is such a rigorous sport," he said. "You need to be in the best shape of your life. Otherwise, you don't stand a chance."

A challenging training schedule also helps keep nerves at bay, especially with an imminent championship bid in the offing.

"I'm kind of nervous about it," he said. "I feel like I'm getting really prepared for it."

He said he doesn't break boards any more, preferring to concentrate on the events considered "sports taekwondo."

"It's 90 percent kicks. Taekwondo is like boxing with your feet," he said.

His father, Steven Sigalove is a plastic surgeon who practices at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, as does his mother, Noemi Sigalove, a breast surgeon. Both are accompanying their son to Costa Rica for his competition. Jackson's twin sister, Isabella, will stay at home for school and volleyball.

"When the kids were 3, my wife and I wanted to get them into a martial art for coordination more than anything," Steven said.

Jackson's affinity for the sport quickly became apparent.

"He really started to excel in the sport. He won numerous Illinois state titles," his father said. "He really committed himself to this sport. It gives him a lot of a kind of structure to live by. We had given him multiple chances to try other sports."

But nothing could distract Jackson from taekwondo.

"It's been his passion," Steven said. "Taekwondo is an Olympic sport. Ultimately, his dream would be to make the Olympic team. He has a decent shot at it. He's just got to keep winning."

Jackson said he is grateful for his parents' help.

"They've been so supportive for my athletic career. They really do everything for us," he said, referring to himself and his sister, who also learned taekwondo as a young child but later opted to pursue competitive volleyball.

Taekwondo does have potential for injury.

"Knockouts can happen. It's nerve-wracking. I'm always nervous watching," Steven said. "But he's well-trained."

"I broke my wrist in the middle of this year, right before the U.S. Open," Jackson said. "Unfortunately, I didn't get to go to that. I was in a full arm cast for one and a half months and then in a smaller cast. I couldn't practice, but I was running every day."

Jackson said dealing with injury is worth the benefits he derives from taekwondo.

"I would say it's made me a much smarter person, in terms of quick thinking. Also, it's helped me to not be nervous for certain things. It's taught me much respect for people," he said.

Jackson said his advice for aspiring athletes includes heeding coaches' suggestions, maintaining a conditioning regimen and "practice, practice, practice."

"I kind of tell people that," he said.