To Be The Best, Train With The Best!

Originally appeard in the Forum on August 6th, 2008…

In the sport of Taekwondo, practice pays off. Members of Roy Gilbertson’s Northwest Martial Arts gym know that first hand.

Seven of his students medaled last month at the AAU National Taekwondo Championships in Madison, Wis. Together, Gilbertson’s 10 students who range from ages 7-27 took home nine medals including three golds.

James Gilbertson, who recently passed his final tests to become a first-degree black belt, posted gold-medal finishes in both sparring and pattern events.

Kristin Underdahl, who started practicing Taekwondo in January, took gold in sparring and bronze in pattern.

Megan Menth and Maddi Brown each silvered in pattern and sparring, respectively.

Ryan Walsh, Nick Larson and Alex Luz each got a bronze medal in sparring.

The team’s showing wasn’t as good as Gilbertson’s squad two years ago, but he said he was impressed nonetheless.

“I thought everyone did well at the championships,” Roy Gilbertson said. “Everyone that medaled has only been competing at the national level for one year.

For their first year I’d say they’ve all gotten the jitters out of their systems” – Master Roy Gilbertson

“For their first year I’d say they’ve all gotten the jitters out of their systems.”

With a lack of tournaments in the gym’s area, most of the preparation for the national tournament was done in-house.

Members of the team put in three to four hours of training a night to get ready for the competition.

Roy Gilbertson said it is tougher for his students to get to the level of national competition due to the lack of tournaments, but also admitted his students are never deprived of practice time.

The accelerated training regimen made a difference in 22-year-old Underdahl’s performance.

“Like most people at the tournament, I thought I wasn’t that prepared, but we trained a lot and it definitely made a difference in my sparring,” Underdahl said. “It was overwhelming and fun at the same time.”

Twenty-six-year-old James Gilbertson, who spent seven years in the Air Force serving in Iraq from October 2002 to May 2003, said he was glad to finally put his training into action.

You can kick and kick and train and train, but once you’re out there on the mat it’s a different story” – Mr. James Gilbertson

“You can kick and kick and train and train, but once you’re out there on the mat it’s a different story,” James Gilbertson said. “It was exhilarating feeling to compete and the experience gained is always nice.”

That experience may come in handy during the next couple of months as he and other teammates prepare for the National AAU Taekwondon Team Trials.

“One of the reasons we compete at nationals is because it’s a gateway to the team trials and Olympics,” James Gilbertson said.

Roy Gilbertson said he hopes to help several of his students prepare for the trials.

All three have the ability and talent to do well, all they need is more experience” – Master Roy Gilbertson

“My goal is to have James, Dallas Waggaman and Austin LeNoue compete at the team trials,” he said. “All three have the ability and talent to do well, all they need is more experience.”

In the meantime, expect a busy offseason at the Northwest Martial Arts gym.