Taking it to the mat
Eight-year-old Teddy Reyes of Mount Prospect made his family proud this summer by winning a bronze medal in "Form," at the USA Taekwondo (USAT) National Championship which were recently held in Detroit and are widely known as the world's largest taekwondo tournament.
2,058 sparring matches were held, over 6,000 boards were broken and thousands of poomsae (form) routines were performed. In all, over 3,600 athletes from across the US competed in the championship, where only the best of the best can achieve actual medals.
Raymond Reyes, Teddy Reyes' father commented that his son loves the competitive aspect of taekwondo and that this was a great opportunity for him.
Reyes trains at White Tiger Martial Arts Center (WTMAC) in Wheeling where, in preparation for the national championship, WTMAC athletes attended a two-week taekwondo boot camp as well as a week and a half training program in a specific concentration such as sparring, board breaking and form.
When describing the moment the judges flashed the indicator that his son had won a medal, this proud dad commented with a genuine sense of excitement in his voice "As a father, I am very proud," said Mr. Reyes." "This is something that he enjoys and he practices so hard for. Seeing him win a medal was exciting for the whole family."
The young Reyes has been practicing taekwondo for about four years now. Initially, he would watch his two older brothers (both black belts themselves) practice after school. Now Teddy practices taekwondo five days a week as well as two days of soccer practice.
"I'm extremely proud of Teddy for his accomplishments in taekwondo," said Head Master Shik Lee, the owner of WTMAC. "He has grown infinitely since starting with us three years ago."
"I'm not surprised he won a medal because his older brothers have done it, so he wants to work hard and accomplish more," his father laughed. "I'm very happy with all the activities he is doing." Mr. Reyes said that his son is a first-degree black belt but will be testing for his second-degree status soon.
Every taekwondo athlete to represent the United States in the Olympic games must first start by placing in a top spot in a national level competition under the guidelines set forth by the US Olympic Committee. USA Taekwondo is the governing body for the sport to the US Olympic committee so this young athlete is well on his way to gaining the experience he may some day needs to stand on the world's largest athletic stage.