Miles
Senior Master
Our own MSUTKD was a member of the US Team that competed in Ankara Turkey at the WTF World Poomsae Championships.
Here is an article from a newspaper about his experience.
Tuesday, December 23,2008
Diplomacy with a kick
by Joe Torok
Diplomacy with a kick MSU instructor competes, connects at taekwondo
championships
By JOE TOROK
The Lansing area may boast few worldclass athletes, but in the martial art of
taekwondo, a master lives among us. Ron Southwick, a professor of kinesiology at
Michigan State University and faculty advisor and coach of MSU?s Taekwondo club,
represented the United States in the third annual World Taekwondo Federation
Poomsae Championships in Ankara, Turkey. Poomsae is a type of individual,
non-contact taekwondo, in which judges score competitors based on the form and
technique of a series of traditional routines.
The United States entered 22 competitors in the tournament. Kimberly Fritzsche,
a member of the MSU club, also made the trip to Turkey after being called up as
an alternate after the primary dropped out due to injury at the last minute.
Southwick, who competed in his first national level event in 1984, prepared for
nearly eight months for the competition.
"It doesn?t really come down to the physical part, as much as it comes down to
mental preparations,? says Southwick of becoming one the best in the world. ?You
have 10 to 15 years of physical training, so that mentaltraining that you?re
getting really pays off in the end." Southwick had a goal going into the
competition of not getting overwhelmed by the experience, to take it like any
other tournament he has participated in. "It?s all about striking a balance," he
says. "Martial arts lends itself to that ? we try to keep our minds clean our
body strong and our spirits high." The two-day competition ended Dec. 18.
Southwick and his American team advanced to the final round, where they finished
seventh out of eight. "The United States is pretty outclassed by the Europeans
and the Asian countries, but our (threeman) team did really well," he says. But
success on the mat is not what Southwick will carry with him for the rest of his
life. During the
opening ceremonies, Southwick was one of two Americans selected by teammates to represent the country on the main floor.
The Americans stood right next to the Iranians, a combination unthinkable in
some of the more reactionary political realms. The Iranian team is one of the
best in the world ? it finished second over all and won a gold in Southwick?s 31
to 40-year old age group. Southwick spotted one of the Iranian athletes he would
compete against during the opening ceremony.
"I looked over at him, he looked at me and we kind of locked eyes," said
Southwick on the phone from New York, where he was stranded due to snowstorms..
"For some reason, there was a connection there, I just can?t explain it."
Southwick later approached the Iranian and offered an MSU pin as a gift. They
couldn?t understand what they were saying to each other, but both used hand
signals to foster a fleeting friendship. The men encountered each other
sporadically during the event, communicating as best they could, then they
shared a special moment during the closing ceremonies. "On the last day we were all saying goodbye to each other, and the Iranian team
came up to us, and the one guy, the only thing he said to me in broken English,
he said, ?I really love you,?? Southwick said. "When he did that, all his other
teammates came up, and with my teammates, they took their gold medals off and
put them on us. We had our flag and they had their flag,
and we switched flags and their team held up the American flag, and our team
held up the Iranian flag and we stood next to each other and it really was the
most wonderful experience."
(The MSU Taekwondo Club is open to any member of the MSU community who completes
an introductory taekwondo course. The club meets 5- 7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and
Friday in room 150 of IM West.)
Here is an article from a newspaper about his experience.
Tuesday, December 23,2008
Diplomacy with a kick
by Joe Torok
Diplomacy with a kick MSU instructor competes, connects at taekwondo
championships
By JOE TOROK
The Lansing area may boast few worldclass athletes, but in the martial art of
taekwondo, a master lives among us. Ron Southwick, a professor of kinesiology at
Michigan State University and faculty advisor and coach of MSU?s Taekwondo club,
represented the United States in the third annual World Taekwondo Federation
Poomsae Championships in Ankara, Turkey. Poomsae is a type of individual,
non-contact taekwondo, in which judges score competitors based on the form and
technique of a series of traditional routines.
The United States entered 22 competitors in the tournament. Kimberly Fritzsche,
a member of the MSU club, also made the trip to Turkey after being called up as
an alternate after the primary dropped out due to injury at the last minute.
Southwick, who competed in his first national level event in 1984, prepared for
nearly eight months for the competition.
"It doesn?t really come down to the physical part, as much as it comes down to
mental preparations,? says Southwick of becoming one the best in the world. ?You
have 10 to 15 years of physical training, so that mentaltraining that you?re
getting really pays off in the end." Southwick had a goal going into the
competition of not getting overwhelmed by the experience, to take it like any
other tournament he has participated in. "It?s all about striking a balance," he
says. "Martial arts lends itself to that ? we try to keep our minds clean our
body strong and our spirits high." The two-day competition ended Dec. 18.
Southwick and his American team advanced to the final round, where they finished
seventh out of eight. "The United States is pretty outclassed by the Europeans
and the Asian countries, but our (threeman) team did really well," he says. But
success on the mat is not what Southwick will carry with him for the rest of his
life. During the
opening ceremonies, Southwick was one of two Americans selected by teammates to represent the country on the main floor.
The Americans stood right next to the Iranians, a combination unthinkable in
some of the more reactionary political realms. The Iranian team is one of the
best in the world ? it finished second over all and won a gold in Southwick?s 31
to 40-year old age group. Southwick spotted one of the Iranian athletes he would
compete against during the opening ceremony.
"I looked over at him, he looked at me and we kind of locked eyes," said
Southwick on the phone from New York, where he was stranded due to snowstorms..
"For some reason, there was a connection there, I just can?t explain it."
Southwick later approached the Iranian and offered an MSU pin as a gift. They
couldn?t understand what they were saying to each other, but both used hand
signals to foster a fleeting friendship. The men encountered each other
sporadically during the event, communicating as best they could, then they
shared a special moment during the closing ceremonies. "On the last day we were all saying goodbye to each other, and the Iranian team
came up to us, and the one guy, the only thing he said to me in broken English,
he said, ?I really love you,?? Southwick said. "When he did that, all his other
teammates came up, and with my teammates, they took their gold medals off and
put them on us. We had our flag and they had their flag,
and we switched flags and their team held up the American flag, and our team
held up the Iranian flag and we stood next to each other and it really was the
most wonderful experience."
(The MSU Taekwondo Club is open to any member of the MSU community who completes
an introductory taekwondo course. The club meets 5- 7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and
Friday in room 150 of IM West.)
