On Oct. 26, Carman’s Rogue 101 Taekwondo club attended the River City Classic tournament in Winnipeg. Taekwondo tournaments include Poomsae or other forms such as board breaking and contact sparring.
“We had a small number of competitors attending,” said Master Evelyn Hoogerdijk, instructor and owner of the Club. “Usually, there are at least eight or more students attending, but this time there were only two.”
In light of this, Rogue 101 Taekwondo was well represented by athletes Jeremy Robinson of Portage and Rose Kruizinga of Carman. This was Robinson’s fourth tournament, and tournaments become harder as you advance in belt level. He won a silver medal in Poomsae.
This was Kruizinga’s first Taekwondo tournament. It was a great debut for her, as she won a silver medal in Poomsae and took home the gold medal in board breaking.
“It was my first competition, and it was an exciting experience,” said Kruizinga. “I had a lot of fun and met great new people. Also, it was interesting to see all the different types of groups come together to do something that we all love.”
Master Hoogerdijk was very pleased with the performance of her two pupils who competed at the River City Classic.
“Competitions in taekwondo take a large amount of focus, physical strength, accuracy and the ability to calm the nerves,” said Hoogerdijk. “In Rogue 101 Taekwondo, we stress manner over medals, and the way Jeremy and Rose approached the competition was in keeping with that philosophy. I am extremely proud of their success. A special thanks to all mentors within the Club, as well as the organizers of the tournament for a great and successful day.”
