Langley’s Woo Kim Warriors won 21 gold, 15 silver and nine bronze medals at the 2022 Northwest Martial Arts Festival tournament in Oregon.
They were the only Canadians among the 700 competitors at the event, held Oct. 22 at the Oregon Convention Centre in Portland, which drew athletes as far away as Texas.
Woo Kim owner and head coach Gary McLaughlin said the team spent months preparing for the event.
“The thing I am most proud of is that our team of warriors compete in all events. While most schools focus on one discipline, we train and compete in all disciplines of Taekwondo,” McLaughlin told the Langley Advance Times.
“We train and work hard so we can compete at a high level in any and all disciplines.”
McLaughlin said a good example of that was Woo Kim Warrior Mackenzie Seward, who won gold in weapons, Pair Poomse (forms) and sparring, silver in Individual Poomse.
Competing in weapons, Poomse (forms), board breaking (height, distance and creative) and sparring, “our team pushed themselves to the limit and gave everything they had,” a proud McLaughlin said.
“After a long hard day of competition our team could hold their heads high.”
It was the club’s first major international event since 2020 due to the pandemic.
McLaughlin said Woo Kim Langley is now preparing for the 2023 tournament season starting with Toronto in January for the 2023 Canadian National Championships.
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