An Airdrie youth recently took home a gold and silver medal at the Alberta Taekwondo Association’s annual K.H. Min Invitational Taekwondo Championship, held in Edmonton on Oct. 15.
Eight-year-old Lian Chae, who is currently a Grade 3 student at Nose Creek Elementary School, competed at the Kinsmen Sports Centre, taking home medals in two categories in the competition hosted by the governing body for the World Taekwondo Federation.
The young athlete was awarded a gold medal for his performance in Poomsae (a defined pattern of defense-and-attack forms) and a silver medal for Sparring (free-form combat fighting) in the eight-to-nine-year-old age range.
Chae is currently a student at the Airdrie World Class Taekwondo Academy, where he trains under the guidance of his father, Grand Master C.K. Chae, and his mother, Master E.J. Jung.
“I’m so excited,” said Chae of his big win during an interview at the World Class Taekwondo Academy.
Born in New York, Chae and his parents moved to Airdrie four years ago. According to his father Master Chae, the athlete has been practicing taekwondo since he was just two years old, but began practicing the sport more regularly at the age of six.
Master Chae opened his dojo in Airdrie two years ago, and since then, his son has been practicing taekwondo two to three times a week for one-hour sessions at a time. He has already worked his way up to a brown belt, with hopes of obtaining a black belt next year.
“He wanted to enter the competition. He really liked watching every time there’s a competition,” Master Chae said of the Oct. 15 championship in Edmonton. “He is very, very interested in competitions. He says, ‘Oh, daddy, I’m going to go to the competition.’"
According to Master Chae, there were no taekwondo competitions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year was the first time such competitions were made possible in more than two years.
He added he and his son do not have experience competing in Canada, though the young martial artist competed at a competition when he was just three years old in his prior home of New York.
“[We wanted] to just go and compete. It doesn’t matter [if he wins]. It's the experience, and then we keep going,” Master Chae said. “It’s his first time here, he has no idea about anything.
“I’m very proud of him [that] he got first.”
Master Chae said a national taekwondo championship is set to take place in Calgary next year, in conjunction with the Korean Ambassador’s Cup. Lian’s recent wins have encouraged other students at the Taekwondo academy to strive to become future champions.
Chae’s mother, Master Jung, said though her son was a little nervous in the recent competition, he enjoyed it thoroughly. She noted he also strives to train hard to compete in future competitions.
“I like to learn new things, build confidence, and get better,” Chae said of his future goals.
Master Chae added he and his son are setting their sights on competing on the national taekwondo team in the future. Though, the two parents are not pushing their son to pursue competitive martial arts unless he really wants to.
“[I just want him to] keep going to taekwondo, not for membership [or] nationals, but for life skills and learning to protect himself,” he explained. “You can go to the gym and you can make muscles. You can have a strong body, but then nobody teaches you mental, so that’s what I want.”
Master Chae said he wants his son to be a good person and set personal goals and challenges to achieve success. Though he may sometimes fail, success and confidence will always follow.
“He likes taekwondo more than reading a book,” he added with a laugh. “Though that may change.”
To learn more about the World Class Taekwondo Academy, visit wctacanada.com
