2009 US Nationals Junior Olympics Update

June 30 2009 - Day 1 - Niko

July 1, 2009    - Day 2 - Seth won Silver in 6-7 year old Green Belt

July 2, 2009    - Day 3 - Cheyenne won Bronze in 12-13 Black Belt

                                           Leo - 16-17 year old Black Belt (Waiting to Fight)

July 3, 2009    - Day 4 - Anthony Realin (Fin)

                                          Nico Bomagat (Fly)

                                          Anna Ubando (Fin)

                                          Chelsea Ubando (Feather)

                                          Yazzy Bomagat (Welter)

                                          Icky Nunez (Light Middle)

2009 Annual Summer Picnic

It’s that time of the year again! Summer is here and the National Team is preparing for the 2009 National Championship to be held in Austin, TX

As part of our yearly ritual, the entire Manila Tae Kwon Do Family Will be hosting the

2009 Annual Summer Picnic
on Saturday June 20, 2009 @
Lake Chabot in Castro Valley

Come Join The National Team And The Rest Of The Family As We Celebrate Our Achievements, Welcome Our New Family Members And Support The National Team In Their Quest For The GOLD!

We ask that each family bring donate
$ 10.00 for purchase of paper products and game prizes

All donations per family ($ 10.00) payable by Monday, June 8, 2009. Your cooperation is essential!

Upcoming Tournaments

May 23, 2009
Stanford Taekwondo Spring Open 2009

March 30, 2009
UC Berkeley Open

June 5-7, 2009
World Taekwondo Festival

June 29-July 5
2009 US Nationals, Austin TX

August 22-23, 2009
2009 USAT Junior Pan-Am Team Trils, Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO

2009 National Qualifiers - San Jose, CA

Congratulations to all those who competed at the recently held USAT Qualifiers in San Jose, CA. Keep up the good work athletes as we are headed to the 2009 US Nationals in Austin, TX in June......

2009 CA State Team Trials

Congratulations to the following Manila TKD Athletes who made the 2009 CA State Team:

Anna Ubando
Chelsea Ubando
Yazzy Bomagat
Icky Nunez
Nico Bomagat

Chino Cruz - Manila Tae Kwon Do Premier Athlete

Sansunim Chino is Master Henry’s eldest son. He currently holds a 2nd degree Black Belt. Sansunim Chino began Tae Kwon Do at the age of 5. He received his first US National Junior Olympic Gold Medal at the age of 6. He is now 19 years old. His success in this sport is not only measured in the medals he has received and competitions he has entered.

His main success can be measured in the admirers who flag him down wherever he goes. He is a simple and down-to-earth man with a huge love for this sport.

How it all Began - Christian CHINO Cruz, Chino as he is fondly called began his TKD training at the age of 6. In 1996, Chino competed at his 1st US Junior Olympics held in Orlando Florida as a Yellow belt competing in the Green Belt division.

He won the GOLD MEDAL in his 1st ever US Junior Olympics and has been winning them since then. It is not surprising at all that Chino is a Winner. He tries to excel in every endeavour and succeeds at it.

His life in Tae Kwon Do is centered In his school, Manila Tae Kwon Do. As the eldest son of Master Henry Cruz, Chino has a tough role to uphold. His success in this sport is closely watched and followed not only by his fellow classmates but by other athletes across the United States and in other countries.

Chino not only does Tae Kwon Do. He also likes to create works of art with his airbrush. He creates his works of art on T-Shirts, Shoes or whatever he can get his hands on.

Together with his entire family, Chino has traveled to a lot of places because of Tae Kwon Do. In 2004 Chino was invited to attend the 1st ever US Taekwondo Developmental High Performance Program Camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The purpose of the Developmental High Performance Program is to identify world class talent and develop future champions at the international level.

In August of 2005, Chino together with his Manila Tae Kwon Do teammates, traveled to the Philippines to compete in the Philippine Nationals and the 4th Samsung Best of the Best Taekwondo Championships. In the Philippine National Event, Chino led the Junior Boys Team (5-man Team) to a 3rd place win, finishing in the Top 4 out of 31 Teams. At the Samsung Best of the Best Championship, Chino finished in 1st Place in the Junior Male, Welterweight Division.

Chino's Tae Kwon Do career has been on 2-year hiatus, we are hoping that someday Chino will return to competition or return as a school owner and establish his own style of instructions.

Currently, Chino ventured into a great Marketing career and is in Hawaii to open a new business venture. We wish him luck in his business endeavours!!! We hope to see you back in the Bay Area by September '09......We will miss you!

04/18/09 - CA State Team Trials

On April 18, 2009, 6 Manila TKD Athletes will be competing at the 2009 CA State Team Trials in Diamond Bar, CA. These athletes placed 1st-3rd in the just concluded CA State Team Championships:

Anna Ubando (FIN)
Chelsea Ubando (FEATHER)
Yazzy Bomagat (WELTER)
Icky Nunez (MIDDLE)
Robert Nico Bomagat (FLY)
Leo Yoshida (Bantam)

Good Luck to All!

04/04/09 - American Open (Cal State East Bay)

We had a blast at this tournament. From our 6-7 year old Green Belts to our 14-17 year old Black Belts. Below are a list of athletes who competed at this tournament:

Seth - 2nd Place
Omar - 1st Place
Diego - 1st Place
Michael
Christian - 1st Place
Kirsten - 1st Place
Brianna - 2nd Place
Nico Cruz - 1st Place
Junior Olano - 2nd Place
Lexy - 1st Place
Jack
Austin - 1st Place
Joshua - 1st Place
Cheyenne - 1st Place
Anna
Nico B - 2nd Place
Leo
Icky - 1st Place

Can't wait for the next tournament!

03/28/09 CA State Championships

Here's a list of athletes who qualified at the 2009 CA State Championship for the 2009 US Nationals to be held in Austin, TX in July:

BLACK BELTS
Cheyenne Lewis (1st Place) 12-13 LIGHT
Anna Ubando (1st Place) 14-17 FIN
Yazzy Bomagat (1st Place) 14-17 WELTER and 18-32 BANTAM
Icky Nunez (1st Place) 14-17 MIDDLE
Nico Bomagat (2nd Place) 14-17 FLY

Warriors vs Suns - 03/15/09 - Tailgate Party at the Oracle Arena

Warriors vs Suns - 03/15/09 - GAMETIME

UPCOMING 2009 TKD Tournaments

3/28/2009 CA State Qualifier CSU LA

4/4/2009 American Open, Cal State East Bay, Hayward CA

05/09/2009 National Qualifiers San Jose, CA

5/23/2009 Stanford TKD Open Stanford University

5/30/2009 40th UC Berkeley Open UC Berkeley

06/5/2009 YIC International TKD Festival City of Industry, CA
to 06/07/2009

06/30 to US Nationals Austin, TX
07/05/2009

KIX Lightning

Place your orders for the new MTKD Kix Uniform by Wednesday 02/25/2009. Expected delivery of uniform is Friday 03/06/2009.

Cost is $ 32.00 which includes shipping and remittance fee to Kix Philippines

January 2009 - Featured Athlete

Victoria Anna "Icky" Nunez

Rank: 1st Degree Black Belt (KKW)

Years in TKD: 13 years

Icky as she is fondly called is a feisty, independent, aggressive and outspoken young girl. Communicating with people and socializing has never been a problem for her. Whether it's an adult or a boy, Icky always seems to make people listen to her and attract their attention.

She is a joy to be with, never a dull moment with her. She can keep you entertained for hours with her stories, her questions and her one-liners. She always has to make a comment and her one-liners are so quick that people often stop in their tracks and stare at her with amazement. She is the ultimate athlete as she is competitive driven and a true sport fanatic. She played JV Volleyball (2 years) in High School which is a huge feat for her as her high school has over 5000 students. Can you imagine the try outs she had to undergo? On top of that she does taekwondo and have been doing it for 13 years, and has been actively competing in the Junior level for 3 years. Since her Birthday falls on December, she started competing in the 14-17 BB division at 13.

In the beginning, Taekwondo was a way for her to socialize with her friends. She never really took Taekwondo seriously until she started competing in the 14-17 division. In her first try in this division, Icky received 1st place in the Anaheim Qualifiers. Her expectation was to win her 1st fight, but she went all the way to the finals, clinching a berth to her 1st National event in the 14-17 BB division.

On top of Taekwondo and High School Sports, Icky as a Sophmore in High School, ran again for 10th grade Class Treasurer this year and won by a landslide. She is also in Youth Ministry at St. Anne’s Church and actively participates in church activities as a Peer Minister (EMMAEUS)

Her schedule is pretty busy, both in school and outside of school. She starts her school day, 1 period before normal school starts as she had to take an extra class in the morning, (0 Period) to accommodate her Leadership Class. At the end of her school day, she has Volleyball Practice until 6:00 PM, 7:00 PM if they have a game that day. After school and Volleyball (during volleyball season) is over, she has either Youth Ministry (Monday Nights) or Taekwondo (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday Nights). Then on Saturdays, she has either Taekwondo practice or a tournament for volleyball or Taekwondo to attend. She likes being busy and enjoys all the activities that are currently occupying her time

As the 2009 Taekwondo season goes into full swing, Icky has tournaments in February, March, April and May that are already scheduled.

We wish you luck, ICKY, as you begin your Young Adult Life Journey! Think Big, Think Grand!

2009 US Open - Las Vegas NV (02/12/09-02/15/09)

This year, Manila Tae Kwon Do will be bringing 10 athletes to compete at the upcoming US Open Championship to be held this year in Las Vegas, NV. The competing athletes are:

12-13 Yr Old Black Belts
Lexy Bomagat - Bantamweight
Cheyenne Lewis - Lightweight

14-17 Yr Old Black Belts
Anna Ubando - Fin
Anthony Realin - Fin

Nico Bomagat - Fly

CJ Rivera - Bantam
Leo Yoshida - Bantam

Chelsea Ubando - Feather

Yazzy Bomagat - Welter

Icky Nunez - Middle

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We at Manila Tae Kwon Do hope that everyone had a great and safe Holiday. We are now in the New Year and each year brings new challenges and activities. The Year 2009 is an important year for Olympic-style sport Tae Kwon Do as this year, the USAT is hosting Senior and Junior Team Trials to select the athletes who will be representing Team USA in international competitions.

Please check back with us on updates and coming events. We welcome you to the 2009 Manila tae Kwon Do competition year. Good Luck and be safe, Always!