It was an excellent fun three days at this year's Hanmadang:
The first day there seemed to be non-stop for me. I arrived in Denver, CO and took a rent-a-car to Colorado Springs. It was a quick 1.5 hour trip and very nice scenery. I arrived at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which incidetly was the home of the first US Open TKD Competition back in 1992, 2:30 and saw the registration lines coming out the door. All I could think was crap...here comes a nice 2-3 hour wait. I could not have been more wrong. The staff was extremely quick in getting the lines moving along. Very well organized. People were flooding the hall ways and rooms practicing and getting ready for their divisions that would start the next day. Myself and a couple of other members got our practice time in about 11:30pm after eating.
What I have learned that doing poomsae is like swimming you need to wait at least 30 minutes after eating before you start doing.
Friday started out with Team Demos being done at the Sports Center. It was amazing how far this division had come. I remember seeing it at the first Hanmadang and thinking that Team Demo forms were nice, but seemed to be lacking. Then last year Master Dae Sung Lee's team set a high standard for Team Demo. This year 10 teams, including Mst. Lee's team, came to not only meet the standard but raise the bar to a whole new level.
Mst. Barbara Kunkle's team kicked it off with demo set to a great mixture of oldies rock which had the crowd rocking and cheering along. This effect rolled over into all the other teams as they put on some awesome display of breaking, weapon work, and self defense. In the end it was Mst. Kunkle's team taking the gold, followed by the returning champion's Mst. Lee's team taking the silver, and a new team on the scene from GM Seo taking the bronze.
The energy then turned to Individual poomsae and breaking. Judges were strict, but the athletes were more than capable to meeting their standards displaying some excellent forms and breaking skills. Anyway, the rest of the day's events seem to go off without a hitch. The staff and volunteers seem to have everyone up and going from the holding area to the rings to the awards area after. While the traditional poomsae event is always nice to watch, I do believe, without a doubt it was the high jump breaking which had everyone glued to their seats. The competition was awesome in all divivisions from youth underbelt to adult black belt. Once again we came close to setting a world record at the Hanmadang. The winner, whose name escapes me at this moment, tried to beat the record of 111", but going to 112". However, he fell short of the feat. However, he did end up winning the event with a height of 104" if I remember correctly.
After that wound down the crowd prepared for the opening ceremonies, which did not fall short of spectacular. The US Air Force color gaurd brought in the flags to get the event rolling. The winners of the day's events then marched around the arena, to display a diversity of age, rank, ethniticity. To me it symbolized that the Hanmadang was for everyone. After the speeches from Pres. Lee and other great dignitaries, the gold medals for Team Demo was presented to Mst. Barbara Kunkel's team by the 1988 Olympic Taekwondo Team. Mst. Kunkel was awarded a very beautiful jade vase trophy for their success. (Note: I will have a picture of that trophy posted on the USTC facebook page this week).
After the speeches and awards the entertainment began. To kick it off Mst. Kunkel's gold medal team performed their award winning routine, again getting the crowd on their feet and raising the energy of the arena. Then the Muju youth demo team, whose members consisted of kids ages 8 -17, put on another spectacular performance. It never ceases to amaze me how they put on such a fun and exciting demo that does not just do a bunch of kicks, punches and breaks, but actually tells a heart felt story. However, the main event was the world famous Korean Tigers. The group of young men and women were excellent. Their performance melded tricking (also known as extreme martial arts), dance and of course Taekwondo. The raised the bar and everyone in awe of their skills. When all was said and done a standing ovation filled the arena.
To end there was a small gathering for the VIPs, referees and special guests, at the hotel. Here we had the honor of a private presentation from the Korean Tigers that was no less exciting than the one they just got through doing for the main venue. In all, an excellent, fun day, which left me exhausted but at the same time extremely excited for the final day of competition.
The final day of the Hanmadang was off to a great start. However, the first snag of the event (at least the first snag that I know of) happened. It seemed that there were a lot more people adding music to their creative empty hand and weapons divisions than they expected. This caused a slow down in the rings as there was only one music system accomodating 2-3 rings. However, the organizing committee quickly took control of the situation by finding groups whose participants did not have music and having them go first in order to keep things rolling.
Let it be known though, that even though it may have slowed things down, it did not make things any less exciting. It was great to see the many creative poomsae that were put together for this event. You can see the hard work, effort, and imagination that many of the competitors put into their performance. The bar has been set, so I look forward to see who will pass it next year.
The power breaking and creative breaking is always a crowd favorite and this year was no exception. Many competitors put on a great display as they broke through their boards and wowing the audience. The day finally drew to an end and people slowly made their way back to the transportation to get back to the hotel. Before they left the building, the USTC Hawaii group chanted up a storm which echoed through out the stadium. This particular team is one of my favorites as they seem to really set the standards for all the divisions they compete in.
I look forward to next year to once again hang out with my TF family, meet people from all over the US and hopefully have some students of my own to showcase. My advice is do not listen to what anyone tells you. Come and experience for yourself and see first hand they type of excitement, family oriented and fun competition that the Hanamdang has to offer. I hope to see some of you next year.
