With the influx of mixed martial arts fighting into mainstream pop culture, it may appear that traditional martial arts have taken the back seat. It is quite refreshing, then, to learn of U of T’s success in taekwondo.

Originating in Korea, taekwondo, which means the “way of kicking and punching,” is one of the most popular and widespread martial arts, even featured in the Olympics as a medal event since the Sydney games in 2000.

Thanks to the University of Toronto Taekwondo Organization, U of T might be able to roundhouse kick its nerdy image goodbye. The UTTO hauled in an impressive 11 medals at Master Chong’s World Class Taekwondo Championships in New York State on Nov. 14. The Tournament took place at Buffalo State College and welcomed approximately 500 participants from surrounding areas of all different skill levels.

The tournament featured competitors participating in three events: forms, breaking, and sparring. Forms, a choreographed set of offensive and defensive techniques against an imaginary opponent, has the competitor evaluated on his or her degree of proficiency, accuracy, and balance while executing powerful and speedy techniques. Breaking involves accurate breaking of boards using instructor-approved techniques. Lastly, sparring awards points for above the belt contact through the utilization of taekwondo techniques. While UTTO entered this tournament as a team, they competed individually in their respective divisions.

From a team of 13 UTTO participants, eight captured medals. Team captain Francis Do bagged the gold, while Janet Tong and Kevin Jones both brought home silver in sparring. Jessica Suddaby and Sam Zhang took silver, while Phillip Leal and Joyce Kwan were awarded bronze in forms. Suddaby also won the silver in board breaking, while Zhang, Gil Astakhov, and Tong topped off their count with a bronzes and a silver in sparring. All in all, U of T made its mark on each of the three event divisions.

Since its creation four years ago, the UTTO has developed into a versatile organization that offers beginner and intermediate classes at the Athletic Centre. Only advanced students form the core of their competitive squad. Impressively, the UTTO managed to pull off their victory as a campus organization and not as an official Varsity team. “We’re pushing to eventually become a Varsity team. We would like to be in that position,” said UTTO vice-president Jessica Suddaby.

U of T Athletics may wish to consider establishing Varsity Taekwondo just to capitalize on the array of raw talent emerging from the ranks of UTTO. “This is the first international competition for our team, but they are the reigning Ontario champions,” Suddaby added amid the sound of the team in the middle of a practice session at Hart House’s Activities Rooms.

For more information on the team, organization and offered classes, visit the UTTO website, utto.sa.utoronto.ca.