YH Park Taekwondo Academy To Host Two Major Events

YH Park Taekwondo Academy To Host Two Major Events

August 16, 2013-  The Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy, Levittown, NY will be hosting two very exciting and important events on Saturday August 24, 2013:  The YHPTA Intramural Poomse Tournament and a Break-A-Thon for St Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

The day will kick off with an Intramural Poomse Tournament, where YH Park Taekwondo Academy Students will square off in healthy competition in the arena of WTF approved forms.  Colored Belts and Black Belt students will be judged in competition style for trophies and certificates as they prepare themselves for more global competition in the upcoming 2013 NY Open Taekwondo Championships and Korean Cultural Festival to be held on October 19, 2013 at Cantiague Park's historic ice rink.

The day will go on to feature a Break-A-Thon for the benefit of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.  This event will feature students raising funds for the hospital while honing their skills at Board Breaking, a staple of Taekwondo practice.  This is an important and exciting event forged in the philanthropic spirit of Taekwondo practitioners, generally, and the YH Park Taekwondo Academy, specifically.

St Jude's Children's Research Hospital is one of the leading pediatric hospital's in the world.  Here are some facts about their work:

How do your donations help?

• Thanks to donors, no family ever pays St. Jude for anything. Care, housing, transportation, meals—the list of services we provide to our families is unequalled. But it is for one purpose: To ensure the very best outcome possible for every child.
• At St. Jude, donor dollars help fuel the groundbreaking research that leads to pioneering care and treatments for childhood cancer and other deadly diseases.   

How are donations used?

• During the past five years, 81 cents of every dollar received has supported the research and treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
• It costs $1.8 million a day to operate St. Jude, and public donations provide more than 75 percent of our funding.

 To find out more about this, or other exciting events visit: http://www.yhpark.com

Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy Black Belt Named Lead Correspondent Of TKD Times Magazine

Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy Black Belt Named Lead Correspondent Of TKD Times Magazine

July 30, 2013-  The September 2013 issue of Taekwondo Times will hit the newsstands next week with a new look and a new lead correspondent.  Marc Zirogiannis, Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy 1st Dan, has been named to this position as part of the magazine's attempt to improve the substance of its content and return to the ranks of top notch Martial Arts' publications.

Look for articles featuring YH Taekwondo Academy on pages 19-20 of the issue, as well Marc's feature article Gaining a Competitive Advantage in Sparring Through Weight Training on page 46.

Future issues will focus on the accomplishments and happenings at the Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy as the school is, literally, the premiere Taekwondo School in the Nation.

The 2013 NY Open TKD Championships Is Coming!

The Biggest NY Open TKD Championships Ever Is Coming- October 2013!

35 Years Ago in YH Park Taekwondo History

35 Years Ago in YH Park Taekwondo History

July 23, 2013- Senior Grandmaster Yeon Hee Park demonstrates his devastating, jumping side kick in 1978 while board breaking.   This is part of the great legacy of the Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy of Levittown, NY, celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year.

Alex Turcios Competes at the 2013 USAT National Championships

Alex Turcios Competes at the 2013 USAT National Championships

 

July 15, 2013- The Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy has a 40 year tradition of training Taekwondo Champions and top level competitors.  At the 2013 USAT National Championships, held in Chicago, Illinois earlier this month it was apparent that 2013 offers no exception to that proud legacy of excellence in competition.  One of Y.H. Park's finest students, 2nd Dan Black Belt and Junior Kyosanim, Alex Turcious represented the Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy proudly by returning home a medalist after an outstanding performance in board breaking and poomse competitions.   


Jr.Kyosanim Alex has been training at the Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy, and preparing for national level competition, since he was only 11 years old.  It was at that time that Alex's father encouraged him to try Taekwondo, and although he was reluctant at first, he soon found his passion training at the Dojang of the undefeated Korean National Champion from 1971-1975 and former U.S. Olympic Coach, Grandmaster Y.H. Park.

Alex has worked diligently over the years, starting out as a Y.H. Park white belt and earning his Black Belt after years of hard work and practice.  His has since earned his 2nd Dan and his accomplishments include his work on the Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy Demo Team, the Korean Cultural Service of NY Demo Team, as well as earning the role of Junior Kyosanim.

Over the years Alex has worked closely with Master Edward, Master Elliott and Grandmaster Y.H. Park in preparation for competition, and he has earned his share of individual and team medals in Sparring, Forms and Board Breaking.  

In January, after preparing rigorously, Alex competed and proudly qualified for the 2013 USAT National Championships.  At the beginning of July he traveled to Chicago with his coach and Master, Edward Park, as he competed in his first national level competition.  After several days of competition Alex emerged with a Silver medal, in his age category, for Board Breaking.   He also made it to the prestigious semi-finals in the Poomse competition, an amazing accomplishment for his first appearance in the arena of the nation's best Taekwondo practitioners, most of whom have competed at a national level before.


It is apparent that the future is bright for Alex Turcious.  He has matured into a serious, hard working, Taekwondo practitioner in the Y.H. Park system and tradition.  What is more important, he distinguishes himself as a helpful, kind and respectful individual; also signature traits of Y.H. Park Academy students.  Master Edward summed up Alex's experience at the Nationals and his character best,

"For Alex's first time competing at the national level, I believe he displayed the true tenets of Taekwondo such as respect, humility, and sportsmanship. He represented his family, school and peers with the utmost dignity that would have made everyone proud. This is just the beginning of a bright future of competing for him."

Congratulations Alex!  We look forward to you future.

2013 USAT National Championships-Chicago, Illinois

2013 USAT National Championships-Chicago Illinois

Good Luck and Congratulations to all competitors and coaches!!!!

The Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy Demo Team Warms Up The K-Tigers Crowd In Style

The Y.H. Park Demo Team Warms Up The K-Tigers Crowd In Style

July 29th, 3:15pm-  The curtain was ready to rise and the final spectators were rushing to their seats at the Jerusalem Theater in Flushing, NY for an afternoon sponsored by Dynamics Martial Arts Supplies.  The Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy Demo Team, having spent the morning impressing families at another of Master Edward Park's successful color belt graduations in Levittown NY, was ready to take the stage as the opening act for the world's most famous Taekwondo Demonstration Team, The K-Tigers.

This was no ordinary demonstration.  Opening for the K-Tigers is an honor reserved for only the best demonstration teams; an honor that every Demonstration Team hopes for but few Demonstration Teams have ever been rewarded with.  The event had even greater significance because it came on the birthday of Grandmaster YH Park and following the presentation of a special award to him for his efforts in making the K-Tigers visit to New York a huge success.

As the doors closed and the lights dimmed, the Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy Demo Team rose to the occasion, leaving the crowd stunned by their poise, accuracy and skill.  Under the supervision of Master Edward Park and tutelage of Master Elliot Park, they performed masterful breaks and acrobatics, enthralling the sold out crowd.  Demo Team captains, Alex Turcios, on the eve of departing for the 2013 USAT Nationals in Chicago, IL and Jason Aptekar played the role of leaders and demonstrators of master precision, and they were flawless.  This performance was worthy of the YH Park name and worthy of Korea's jewel, the K-Tigers.

By the time the Demo Team's performance was done, the crowd was warmed up for a spectacular performance by the legendary K-Tigers.   The K-Tigers did not disappoint. Their union of skill and art, their contrast of tradition with contemporary, and their fusion of song and sport made their performance memorable on a date which was monumental for the Y.H. Park Taekwondo Academy legacy.