Point Pleasant Taekwondo Team Captures Awards At Breaking Competition

POINT PLEASANT, NJ — A group of taekwondo students from Point Pleasant have captured a number of medals for their performances in out-of-state competitions.

The students from the Tygon Martial Arts competition team, under the tutelage of Master Il Shin, traveled to Connecticut for the USBA/WBA (United States and World Breaking Association) Hall of Fame Breaking competition and took several first-place awards, and second- and third-place honors.

Breaking competitionsP — where the athletes are breaking wooden boards and other materials — are a way "to test the effectiveness and power of a technique without the danger of hurting someone else," the USBA website says. "Although there is always a risk of injury to the breaking practitioner, in most cases he or she does not have to worry about hurting anyone else but themselves."

Students learn to overcome the natural fear of injury and show how a material can be broken with technique and, as confidence grows, more power.

These three students brought home the hardware as they demonstrated their skills:

Evan Smith, 10, competed in the 8- to 12-year-old male intermediate division and placed first in the Open-Hand Form, first in Weapons Form, second in Power Breaking with Foot, third in Power Breaking with Hand, third in Power Breaking with Elbow, and third in Creative Breaking.

Addie McQuade, 6, competed in the 6- and 7-year-old girls intermediate division and was first in Open Hand Form, first in Creative Breaking, first in Power Breaking with Fist, first in Power Breaking with Elbow, and second in Power Breaking Stomp.

Nathan Summers, 5, competed for the first time, and was in the 7 and under boys division. He was first in Open Hand Form, second in Creative Breaking, second in Power Breaking Hammer Fist, third in Power Breaking with Elbow, and fourth in Power Breaking Stomp.