In just its sixth year of existence, the U.S. Gold Cup Tae Kwon Do Championships still is a young tournament, but its prestige supersedes it.  

    Instructors who participated in the inaugural event as students now bring their students to participate in it year after year.  Defending champions return to justify their title the year before.  The tournament, which is recognized by the Olympic Committee and annually attracts more than 600 participants from all over the continent, will run all day at the Antelope Valley College gym beginning at 8 a.m. and running approximately until 7 p.m.  

    “It is the largest Tae Kwon Do tournament on the West Coast,” Instructor Doug Eurbin said.  “Its high reputation is from the style and the participants.  It has a quality that is higher than most.”  Yin’s Tae Kwon Do Academy will entertain close to 700 participants in today’s sixth anniversary of the event, a tournament that was built upon quality and whose reputation is growing.  This year’s field has students mostly from Southern California, but also will feature groups from Oregon, Mexico, Canada, and several in the Marine Corps.  “For as far as some of the students come to compete, this tournament becomes competitive, but it’s a friendly competition with spirit, morale and sportsmanship,” Eurbin said.  

    Students will compete in poomse (forms) in the morning session and Kyroogi (sparring) in the afternoon.  The forms competition will be judged on the students’ technique, style and application.  For the sparring portion, the students will be divided by age, belt, weight and sex.  They will be broken into groups of four and compete in a single- elimination format.  Getting by the first round will be crucial, with a trip to the state tournament in Anaheim on April 24th on the line.  The top two will advance to state, and the top two there will advance to the nationals in Las Vegas in July.  

    “We’ll be going against good people,” said Jason Maglinao, 10, who’s competing in his third U.S. Gold Cup.  “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, I just try hard.” There also is a team competition for Tae Kwon Do Schools with more than five students.  Some of the local defending champions are Kenny Kain, Jimmy Nguyen, Michael Leway, and Jason Maglinao.  That group also is part of the U.S. Gold Cup Demonstration team that will be putting on an event during the noon opening ceremonies.  Also at the ceremonies, for the first time , the U.S. Gold Cup has organized a non-profit organization that will hand out 22 scholarships to kids for their community and educational achievements.  

    “People will see a unity among all the students, respect and dignity,” Eurbin said.  “This isn’t a Karate Kid ego system, it’s different.  You see a side of martial arts not in the movies.  (The forms) are the foundation, they are taught and learned.  They are carried from one generation to the next.