Alliance Taekwondo supported and competed in the Ehrmantraut’s Academy Capitol City Championship Invitational on January 26th, 2013. The Alliance team consisted of fourteen underbelt competitors and three black belt competitors. Alliance juniors Caleb and Logan Olson, Nicholas Uhlich, Shauna Fairbanks, Tanner Olson, Austin Hunt, Justin Story, Anthony Do, Zach and Mikka Webb, Hudson Eggie, Zach Miller and Pip Wheeler took home thirty trophies and four honorable mentions. Adult underbelts Ms Jennie Dvorak, Ms Megan Buckmeier and Ms Stephanie Webb took home seven trophies and an honorable mention, while adult black belt competitors and Alliance assistant instructors Ms Tammy Fairbanks and Mr Dale Schneibel took home one trophy and an honorable mention.
Ms Tammy Fairbanks was the only adult blackbelt forms competitor for Alliance that day, and secured an honorable mention in her division. Caleb and Logan Olson stormed the forms division; Mr Caleb Olson took second with higher scores than any other competitor except his brother Logan, who took first place ahead of him.
In a first for the Ehrmantraut tournament, blackbelt breaking was up next. Mr. Dale Schneibel took third place in a very large division, starting his routine with a hand break that required speed and accuracy and finishing with a powerful knife hand through four boards. Later in the day, Caleb Olson claimed first in the jr blackbelt breaking division showing verve and concentration, with brother Logan Olson winning an honorable mention behind him.
In underbelt forms, twelve juniors competed; Mr Nick Uhlich, Ms Shauna Fairbanks and Mr Tanner Olson competed as red belts; Olson took first in his division, Fairbanks took second in hers, and Uhlich earned an honorable mention. Brown Belts Justin Story and Austin Hunt took second and third in their respective forms divisions. Blue belts Anthony Do, Zach and Mikka Webb, Zach Miller and Hudson Eggie all competed in forms; Anthony Do, Zach Webb and Mikka Webb received first, first and second places respectively in each of their divisions. Mr Pip Wheeler in his first tournament appearance earned an honorable mention in forms as a white belt. Adult underbelt Stephanie Webb, in her second tournament appearance, took first place in her forms division. Ms Megan Buckmeier took second in her forms division, and Ms Jennie Dvorak took first in her forms division.
In breaking, our underbelts took home four firsts, two seconds, three thirds and one honorable mention, in multiple divisions. Red belts Shauna Fairbanks, Tanner Olson and Nick Uhlich, as well as brown belts Austin Hunt and Justin Story competed in advanced breaking divisions; Fairbanks and Hunt took first in their divisions, Story took second in his division, Olson took third in his division, and Uhlich earned an honorable mention. In the intermediate divisions, Anthony Do secured first place in his division, and siblings Zach and Mikka Webb took second and third respectively. In his first tournament appearance, Mr Pip Wheeler took third in his beginner breaking division. In an adult beginner division, underbelt Stephanie Webb earned herself another first place finish. Ms Megan Buckmeier finished second place in the advanced adult division, with teammate and training sister Jennie Dvorak winning an honorable mention behind her.
In the sparring divisons, the underbelts had a great run. In the junior divisions, Ms Shauna Fairbanks battled her way to the first place match, in which she fought Ms Emily Grimestad into overtime. Though she was eventually denied, Fairbanks was able to walk away from the match proud of her performance and her hard-won second place finish. In a separate advanced division Mr Tanner Olson battled hard and ended up fighting teammate Austin Hunt for first place; Hunt pulled off a fast head kick that decided the match, with Hunt taking first and Olson taking second. Teammate Mr Nick Uhlich showed an increased understanding of combat and took third place in a separate division. In an older age group advanced division, Mr Justin Story battled his way to first place, where he faced off against Ms Blythe Ehrmantraut; in a rough match, Story narrowly secured the win to keep his undefeated sparring record in tact. In the intermediate divisions, Mr Anthony Do battled his way to first place in his first tournament appearance. In a younger division, Mr Zach Webb took home first place; his sister Mikka took home second in a separate division. In the adult divisions, Ms Jennie Dvorak and Ms Megan Buckmeier had an excellent showing, with Dvorak finishing in first place in her first tournament in years, and Ms Megan finishing third place after her.
In the junior blackbelt division, brothers Caleb and Logan Olson fought through their bracket, putting away most of the opposition. In the finals, Mr Logan Olson defeated his challenger in the match for third place; Mr Caleb Olson challenged Jacob Ehrmantraut for first, but was edged out by clean scoring late in the match and was relegated to a very respectable second.
Alliance saw three Juniors Team members finish in the power challenge; all three of the Olson brothers took home prizes for their age groups. Power challenge is a contest in which a competitor performs three elementary striking techniques to a padded target, which electronically measures the force delivered.
Alliance would like to thank the Ehrmantraut’s Academy for hosting the tournament and providing these opportunities. We would also like to congratulate the entire team on all the hard work, and thank the parents, instructors and coaches who have supported them. As always, our gratitude goes out to Grandmaster Eric Greenquist for his many years of dedication and instruction, and Great Grandmaster Moo Young Yun for his tireless efforts in the promotion of Korean martial arts.
