Team Live Oak racks up the medals at this year's AAU State Championships!

The medal count is nine, in our largest showing at the State Games in LOMA's history, as our fighters competed against fighters from Georgia and surrounding states yesterday in Atlanta! Team Live Oak brought home three Golds and six Silvers in an exciting day of Olympic-style Tae Kwon Do.

In order of rank, here's how the day went:

Patrick Phelps - Silver Forms
Mr. Phelps, Green Belt, decided to compete despite a freshly broken toe. He limped up to the ring and performed a solid version of To-San form never betraying the pain he was in. After bowing out, he limped back to watch his opponent, who did a clean version of Yul-Go(k) form. It was very good, and Phelps took the silver, and a personal victory. Pil-Sung!

Sam Ainsworth - Gold Forms, Silver Fighting
Sam Ainsworth, Red Belt, was in the largest division he had ever competed in, with ten opponents in forms competition. He went second to last, and performed a near-perfect Jhoon-Gun, better than he ever has before, scoring a 9.2 and a 9.0! After adding all the scores, it was clear that he was the winner. Gold Medal Forms! It was great. Then came sparring. Sam's first opponent was no match for him, and Sam pulled an early lead. He landed a beautiful jump spin side kick to his opponent's chin, which may have been a little hard, and it cost him a geom-jum penalty point. With such a large lead, he followed his coach's instructions and played a defensive second half, keeping the win while not hurting his opponent. His second fight was a little more challenging, scoreless in the first round. Sam turned it on during the second round, scoring three points and the win. With only 2 minutes to rest, he started his third fight against his toughest opponent yet, a long-legged fighter with a great front leg round kick and side kick. Sam pressed the fight despite clear fatigue, but had to settle for silver. Double medals for Ainsworth, who had the day of competive TKD career so far.

Sam McClain - 4th Forms, Silver Fighting
Sam McClain, Red Belt, had a large division to compete against, and did (as usual) a top-notch Jhoon-Gun form, scoring the highest single score of the group, a 9.0! Scores were high for the whole division, though, and all said and done she got fourth place, which she accepted with maturity. For the second time in as many tournaments, she was matched against a tall, experienced fighter in sparring, and took the best the girl had bravely, while managing to score two quick head kicks. She was out-matched, but fought well, and even scored the last kick of the fight, a roundhouse that landed solidly on her opponent's headgear. Silver Medal, Olympic Sparring!

Lucy Ralston - Silver Forms, Silver Fighting
Lucy Ralston, Shodan, redeemed herself for last year, and performed a commendable Hwa-Rang form in front of a huge crowd, but was bested by an opponent who did a beautiful Koryo. Silver Medal, and qualification for Nationals for Ms. Ralston. Sparring was cut short, unfortunately, as Lucy, a usual slow starter and good finisher, slipped in the first round and was caught by an unintentional roundhouse as she was falling, causing a double impact as the kick landed and then she hit the floor. Dazed by the blows, the medic and her coach advised her not to continue, so she bowed out with her head held high, a silver medal and a black eye.

Lila Ralston - Silver Forms
Lila Ralston, Shodan, entered the ring despite an injury-plagued year. She squared up against a much higher ranked competitor in Forms competition, and performed Hwa-Rang form admirably. As should be the case, however, her senior-ranked opponent performed to a higher standard, and Mrs. Ralston took the Silver. On to Nationals!

Kevin O'Neil - Gold Forms, Gold Sparring
Kevin O'Neil, Shodan, had the highest finish of the team, scoring double gold. Alone in his forms division, O'Neil performed Chung-Mu pattern as though against the best, with no flaws. Gold. The excitement came in his Olympic-sparring match, as he faced a Vietnamese Black Belt in the most evenly match fight of his competitive career. Controlling the pace and distance of the match, O'Neil was able to score several times with a check/rear leg roundhouse to his opponent's trunk. His opponent was no slouch, however, and landed a solid spin side to Kevin's body. Undaunted, O'Neil pressed the attack, scoring shots while gracefully slipping his opponent's axe kicks, which were fast, high, and beautiful. His opponent turned it on toward the end of the fight, but O'Neil was able to block, dodge, and render ineffective all his attacks, keeping the lead and getting the win! Double Gold, and State Champion for O'Neil.

It was a great day for our fighters and Live Oak Martial Arts, and as is always the case, a well-run, professional tournament by the AAU. Tae Kwon Do is vibrant in our area, and we all feel lucky to be able to test ourselves in this way.

Pictures and video coming soon. Congratulations everyone!

Now get ready for Promotion Testing!