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Check out some of the action from the 2011 Canadian Taekwondo Championships (Winnipeg). Photos by Alff Henry – Exposure Photography.

» Full photo gallery

Master Julio Vasquez passed away peacefully on Sunday December 5, 2010. He will be tenderly missed by his family and by the many thousands he has inspired through Taekwondo.

Master Vasquez’s remarkable athletic career spanned over three decades. He won the Dominican Republic Summer Games and the Pan American Championship in 1982, and in 1985 won the C.N.E. Taekwondo (I.T.F.) Championships upon arriving in Canada. He has been Canadian Champion five times, and a five-time contender at World Championships.

Master Vasquez retired from competition in 2002 to focus on coaching and athlete development. He was Canadian Team Manager in 2004 (Pan-American Games), and Canadian Team Coach in 2005 (National Training Camp, Dominican Republic). Many of his own students have successfully competed on the national and international level. In 2009 he was inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame for his lifelong dedication and accomplishments in Taekwondo.

As a teacher, Master Vasquez was known for his compassion and integrity. He cared deeply for his students, treating them as part of his family. By his own example of perseverance and indomitable spirit, Master Vasquez inspired students to do their personal best. His dedicated team of black belt instructors are continuing his legacy of Taekwondo excellence.

Master Vasquez has been gracefully coping with cancer for the past year. His passing is a final example of living with humility and dignity. He is survived by his large family including his wife and eight children.

Please click here for visitation and funeral information.

It was a historic event — the first Youth Olympic Games, held in Singapore from August 14 to 24 — and two Taekwondo athletes had earned front row seats.

Melanie Phan and Stefan Bozalo were the two junior competitors who qualified to attend, and coached by Master Shin Wook Lim, both took home a bronze medal. Both athletes train at Master Lim’s TaeGeuk Taekwondo school in British Columbia.

I spoke with Master Lim about the importance of the Youth Olympic Games, and what it means for developing young Taekwondo athletes:

This was the first Youth Olympic Games. How does it compare to the traditional Olympic Games, at which you’ve coached your student Ivett Gonda?

I think youth Olympic Games is the first stepping stone to get into the traditional Olympic Games. Traditional Olympic Games is much more; expectations, pressures, stress level is high, awareness of surroundings, and much more focus as athletes. Also I need more focus as a coach to keep on reminding what you (athlete and coach) have to do and what is the main purpose of being at the Youth Olympic Games, because there are so many other events such as culture and education programs where all the athletes get together to share and learn their cultures at the Olympic Village. Definitely Youth Olympic Games is a good appetizer before the traditional Olympic Games.

Melanie and Stefan are great young athletes. What is special about them that has made them successful?

I can say they are not much different than any other young Taekwondo athlete in Canada. I believe what made them successful was one big thing: team work. Also family support (driving, cooking, financial, praying, believing, etc.), teammates (good training partners, and inspiration from past Olympian Ivett Gonda), coaching (be there for them no matter what and have a good map — be a good navigator), and athletes (knowing their potential, believing their potential, and doing what they have to do — action) all equals getting results.

For the young Taekwondo students out there, what advice can you give that could help them reach the Olympic podium one day?

1. Making a Good Team (family, friend, coach, training partner, yourself)
2. Making the right choices (fun now or fun later?)
3. Potential + Belief + Action = Results
4. Don’t give up

The last thing is “it’s not what other people say (believe) but what you say (believe) to yourself that will make you reach your ultimate goal”

» Video – Men’s Over 73 kg highlights
» Video – Women’s 49 kg 73 kg highlights
» More results – Taekwondo Canada

In a unanimous vote, Canadian doctors supported the idea of mixed martial arts matches. Condemning MMA would not be possible while supporting recreational martial art tournaments including Taekwondo, Karate, and Judo.

The doctors of the Canadian Medical Association did however advocate a ban on “mixed martial arts prizefighting”, which includes matches in the UFC and other large MMA organizations.

» More information: The Star Phoenix

TaeGeuk Taekwondo was the scene for the first episode of The 100 Dollar Bet, a show by Big 2 Films that rewards participants for winning bizarre and challenging bets.

The challenger must take three shots to win the $100 — first by 11 year old Santiago, then by competitor Michelle Ge, and finally by Olympian Ivett Gonda. For a bonus $100, he takes a kick by Stefan Bozalo, Bronze Medalist at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Warning: this video was shot under controlled circumstances and with expert supervision. Don’t kick untrained people for fun, with or without body protection.

Some minor changes were made to competition rules at the WTF General Assembly in Tijuana, Mexico, on March 2, 2010.

According to a WTF news release,

The new rules stipulate that coaches shall not leave the 1 meter by 1 meter marked coach’s zone that indicates the position of the coach.

On the duration of the contest, the new rules stipulate that the duration of each round may be adjusted to 1 minute or 1 minute 30 seconds upon the decision of the technical delegate for the pertinent championships.

The revised rules will be posted on WTF.org and TKDrules.com when they become available.

The last major revision of sparring rules happened in early 2009, and included provisions for video replays and tiered scoring.

"Own the Podium" (OTP) is a Canadian sport program with the goal of improving the Canadian medal count at the Olympic Games. It recommends sports funding for appropriate usage based on which Canadian sports have high medal potential.

The vast majority of summer Olympic sports have not qualified for OTP funding. However, since 2008 Taekwondo has been qualified to receive substantial funding of nearly a half-million dollars annually. Taekwondo’s inclusion was based on the excellent performance of our athletes at the 2008 Olympics, and Taekwondo Canada’s 2008 High Performance Plan which outlined a strategy for achieving sustained excellence in Taekwondo sport.

All OTP funding for Taekwondo was withdrawn on March 10. This announcement came as a shock to many coaches and athletes across Canada who were depending on it for continued high-performance development. Budgeted items which depended on OTP funding included several international tournaments for selected athletes, regional and national team training camps, Integrated Support Teams (medical, sports psychology, nutrition, physical preparation, etc.), and other athlete services. Another significant consequence is the loss of salaries for national coaching staff and contract coaches.

Olivier Pineau is the current Taekwondo Canada Athlete Representative, who over two weeks ago sent a letter to Canadian athletes and coaches explaining the importance of OTP funding and the possibility of it being lost. He reflects on OTP’s recent decision:

I feel it is a sad day for Canadian Taekwondo, as this recent run of events will undoubtedly have huge repercussions on the development opportunities for elite athletes and coaches nationwide. I wonder how the leadership of Taekwondo Canada can even attempt to justify such a huge loss to its membership.

At the end of the day, it seems like we’re taking a step back to 15 or 20 years ago, when athletes had very little financial support or travel, training, and competition opportunities. This is in stark contrast to the brilliant performances of our key athletes, whose support will now be considerably diminished despite their remarkable performances.

I’m at a loss for words, when faced with the enormity of this loss. All I can hope for is that this will trigger true and significant reforms in Taekwondo Canada’s governance, thus paving the way for a brighter future down the road ….

OTP Director Anne Merklinger has confirmed that Taekwondo Canada may again qualify for funding in 2012, however the organization’s current management isn’t performing adequately. In order to be reinstated, Taekwondo Canada will be reconsidered in the same capacity as all other national sports organizations that currently aren’t receiving OTP support. She also confirmed that some individual Taekwondo athletes and their coaches may be eligible for funding if they qualify for the next Olympic Games, and if they are ranked in the top four at World Championships.

» Join the Discussion: ideas for improvement

As a student of taekwondo, I often enjoy watching videos that feature different forms of fighting styles. This seems to be common to many martial arts students and a recent poll on Combat Canada shows that many of you enjoyed Ong Bak, featuring Muay Thai artist Tony Jaa.

Ong Bak 2 has been recently released to DVD to much anticipation. The story is not a sequel to Ong Bak, and takes place in ancient Thailand as we follow young Tien, the son of a murdered nobleman. After witnessing his family’s massacre, Tien eventually finds himself under the care of a group of bandits. Through training with them he pursues his dream of being a great warrior, and grows into a young man proficient in a wide variety of martial arts.

Jaa put in a lot of time and effort into learning these different styles, and it shows. He continues his tradition of performing his own stunts and there are many impressive fight sequences featuring these arts. Unfortunately, the plot is very convoluted and seems to be almost entirely traded off half-way through the film in order to fit in one fight after another. Whether this is a big issue or not is ultimately up to the viewer.

While perhaps not Jaa’s best film to date, I would recommend viewing it at least once, as there are some truly wonderful combat scenes. Ong Bak 2 shows that Jaa continues to be an excellent martial artist intent on expanding his skills and I look forward to his future projects.

2009 Junior Canadian Pan Am Team. Photo courtesy Alff Henry / Exposure Net

In November 2009, the top Taekwondo players in the Americas convened in El Salvador for the biennial Junior Pan Am Championships. The Canadian team performed with excellence and earned two special awards:

• Best Male Athlete: Charles Bedard Desilets
• Best Referee: Master Eric Wah

See more photos in the Junior Pan Am photo gallery

Jeffrey Trieu: Gold medal, welterweight. Photo courtesy Alff Henry / Exposure Net

» 2009 Junior Pan Am Photo Gallery
» Full Results
» 2007 Junior Pan Am Taekwondo Championship Results