Cornhusker State Games competitors go hand-to-hand and foot-to-foot in the 13 to 14-year
old girls’ sparring division of the taekwondo competition at Union College Sunday.
Nebraska youngsters get their kicks
participating in taekwondo competition
By Sara Bauder
Staff Reporter
With spinning kicks and quick
punches, 15-year-old black belt Fe
lipe Ramos tried to find a way to beat
his larger opponent in sparring com
petition at the Comhusker State
Games Taekwondo Tournament
Sunday.
With Felipe on his way to a silver
medal in sparring, his grandfather
stood outside the ring, videotaping
the matches. His father had a camera
and was taking pictures, and his cous
ins were cheering him on.
Felipe’s 12-year-old brother Vic
tor was competing in his own age
group at the same time, so the family
split cheering time between the two
boys.
renpc, trom umaha, said he was
the smallest competitor in his age
group, but that did not bother him.
“ I like to spar with people who are
bigger than me,” he said. “You have
to learn a lot more and be more ag
gressive.
“If you don’t intimidate a bigger
person, they’ll intimidate you and
you’ll get slaughtered.”
Felipe said the most important
thing he has learned from taekwondo
is self-esteem.
“Before, I used to be very timid,”
he said, “but now I’m not.” ..
According to Felipe, the support
of his family has been very helpful.
He started taking taekwondo les
sons when he was 6, but quit because
his dad did.
“My dad got a night job, so I
didn’t have anyone to drive me to
lessons anymore,* * he said.4 ‘I started
going to lessons again with my
friends Tony and Todd.
“My whole family gets behind
me. Dad is there to make sure I don’t
slack off, which I try not to do any
way. My family is pretty proud of
me.”
Many of the 180 competitors at the
tournament, ranging in age from 5 to
48, have family connections with
taekwondo.
Twelve-year-old Shana Smelter
of Lincoln, who won gold medals in
both sparring and forms competition
Sunday, said she took her first lesson
because her younger brother was
involved in the sport. She said she
loved taekwondo from the very first
night
Shana has transformed that love
into some very successful seasons on
the taekwondo circuit. In both 1988
and 1989, Shana was named Grand
National Champion of her age group
(both boys and girls). To receive that
honor, she had to earn more points
than anyone else in the nation in
seven tournaments.
Shana’s brother Scan also went to
Nationals the last two years. He fin
ished ranked 10th in 1988 and 3rd this
year.
Jan bmetter, Miana ana scan s
mother, said taekwondo teaches her
children respect, self-defense, confi
dence and self-esteem.
“Taekwondo teaches them things
that carry over into many other areas
of their lives,” she said.
John “Rick” Riddle, director of
the taekwondo competition at the
State Games, said taekwondo also
leaches participants self-control and
perseverance.
“When you’re tired, you learn to
keep going,” Riddle said. “Even
when an opponent kicks you and it
hurts, you keep going.”
Riddle said taekwondo is the most
popular martial art form today.
Taekwondo became an Olympic
sport in 1988. That was also the first
year taekwondo was part of the State
Games.
“Taekwondo involves a lot of
showmanship,” Riddle said. “It is
more flamboyant than some of the
other martial arts.”
Justin Miles, 8, decided to take up
taekwondo when he was 5, after he
saw the movie The Karate Kid.
Justin, a red belt from Lincoln,
won 3rd place in the forms competi
tion. Competitors are judged on their
techniques on an individual basis in
forms.
Justin’s mother, Karla Miles, said
she was happy with Justin’s desire to
learn taekwondo.
“He has developed a lot of atten
tion skills, self-control and self-es
teem,’’ she said. “The more they
learn, the more they are in control.’’
Although Justin broke an ankle
last May during testing for his red
belt, he didn’t let an injury slow him
down. He goes to lessons four or five
days a week and loves competitions,
his mother said.
Although injury is possible with
taekwondo, the sport also has health
related benefits, Riddle said.
A 101 oi people ia*c u ior uic
aerobic aspects,” he said. “It also
helps keep you flexible.”
Omahan Juanita Harriman said
her son’s pediatrician and neurologist
recommended taekwondo as a way to
improve 11-year-old David s coordi
nation.
David has been taking lessons for
a year, and his mother said she can see
the sport has already helped him
develop better coordination.
Another aspect of taekwondo is
the self-defense it offers. Riddle said
taekwondo is a better defensive sport
than boxing because it uses both the
hands and the feet
4 ‘Seventy percent of taekwondo is
use of the legs and feet and 30 percent
is use of the hands,” Riddle said.
Bruce Gipson, a 24-year-old black
belt and taekwondo instructor from
Omaha, said he started taking lessons
in 1978 because he was small and felt
self-defense was something he
needed to learn.
“I knew I’d need something else,
other than just being able to outrun
people,” he said.
aw—IW—MMI IUW»!IBMW»W——M——B«—M—I——»
NFL conflict unresolved
5^MAUMBUKU, 111. (Ar) -
There were few signs Tuesday that
the man to replace the retiring Pete
Rozelle as NFL commissioner will be
selected soon.
While members of the dissident
group that blocked the election of
New Orleans Saints president Jim
Finks met with members of the
screening committee that chose him,
one of the principal dissidents, Ed
ward DeBartolo Jr., of San Francisco,
left the meeting, saying he had busi
ness elsewhere.
Earlier, DeBartolo had said he an
ticipated no end to the impasse, at
least for a while.
“We’ve got training camp to go to
and we’ve got a game coming up in
Japan. We have a lot of other business
to attend to,’’ he said.
i nc laiesi aeveiopmenis iook
place at an NFL owners meeting
originally called for a progress report
on the new international league, now
called the World League of Ameri
can Football.
But that was overshadowed by the
dispute over the commissioner’s job,
denied two weeks ago to Finks when
11 owners abstained in the voting.
Though referred to as the “new
guard,” the group includes Miami’s
Joe Robbie, 73; Tampa’s Hugh Cul
verhouse, 70; Indianapolis’ Robed
Irsay and Houston’s Bud Adams
both 66, and Seattle’s Ken Behring
60.
To be elected, the new commis
sioner must get the votes of 19 own
ers.
Finks was present Tuesday, repre
senting the Saints along with owner
Tom Benson for the WLAF meeting.
He ran a gauntlet of television
cameras, greeted a few reporters, but
otherwise said nothing.
Later, during a oreaK in me meet
ing, Finks said, “A terse no com
ment.”
He remains the favorite, although
Jerry Jones, the Dallas owner who
was one of the three dissidents on the
negotiating team, said it was possible
that the three would recommend new
names.
Jones and Behring, both of whom
have been in the league less than a
year, represented the antis along with
Patrick Bowlen of Denver. The selec
tion committee was represented by
Wellington Mara of the New York
Giants; Dan Rooney of Pittsburgh
and Robert Parins of Green Bay.
Mara said the selection group
would turn over to the dissidents any
information they wanted about the
process that went into recommending
rinks as the only possible cnoice.
That would include information
compiled by Heidrich and Struggles,
the consulting firm that helped the
committee in its search.
As for the international league to
be run by former Dallas president Tex
Schramm, the owners were agreed on
a 12-team league to include six teams
in the United States, four in Europe
and one each in Canada and Mexico.
Schramm has said he hopes to begin
play next spring.
The European cities are expected
to be London, Frankfurt, Milan and
, either Barcelona or Paris.
Montreal and Mexico City also
will have franchises.
One of the U.S. teams will play in
New York with another in California
- either Sacramento or San Jose. The
others are expected to come from a
group that includes Nashville,
Orlando, San Antonio, Charlotte,
Jacksonville or Birmingham.
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