Local athlete kicks it up

Taekwondo competitor takes first place at national tournament

Fenton, Mo.--For the first time in Missouri history, one 17-year-old native won a gold medal in sparring at the 2010 Junior Olympic

Taekwondo Competition, earning him a spot on the junior national team.

Mikey Detmering (Deht-mer-ring), a 17-year-old student from WooSop’s Taekwondo, beat out 12 other athletes in his weight class

last week in the sparring portion of the USA Taekwondo sanctioned tournament.  Sparring is a type of competition where athletes

dressed in protective gear attempt to score points on the chest and head of their opponent during a timed match. To win gold,

Detmering had to win three matches that were each six minutes matches.

“I was just so excited [after winning my final match] because I felt like Missouri had finally made it,” Detmering said.

“No one ever expects Missouri to win.”

Detmering trained for about two hours, five days a week for several months leading up to the Junior Olympics.  He said it was hard to

make the one hour drive from his house to train with Master WooSop Moore, but it was worth the sacrifice.

“It was hard because my brother brothers were taking a break [from training with me] this year,” Detmering said. 

“But Mr. Moore is the only person I trust in the Midwest when it comes to competitive taekwondo training.”

Detmering has been training with Moore, owner and founder of WooSop’s Taekwondo, for the last five years.  

“Michael has been working very hard toward this goal and I am very proud of the hard work he has put in over the years,” Moore said.

Detmering said that while this is a great personal achievement for him, he knows he could not have achieved this goal on his own.

“My brothers took time out to invest in me, Mr. Moore has invested in me for a long time, and they deserve this more than I do,

” Detmering said.

WooSop’s Taekwondo is a martial arts academy dedicated to helping athletes grow into model citizens.  Since it’s grand opening in

1994, WooSop’s TKD has taught more than 800 students good sportsmanship, respect, and discipline. WooSop’s TKD is also the

only studio in Missouri to ever have a student become a member of USA Taekwondo’s Junior National.

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