Nat'l Champs from Crofton Head to Maryland State Tournament Saturday

Forty-five students from Crofton’s Vuong’s Martial Arts studio are getting ready to lace up their pads and kick-off the 2012-2013 competition season with their debut at Saturday’s 2012 U.S. Taekwondo Festival Open Championship taking place in Essex, Md.

Hosted by the Maryland State Taekwondo Association, the event will attract talented young athletes from up and down the East Coast.

Vuong’s will be sending 17 gold, silver and bronze medalists from this summer’s 2012 Junior Olympics National Championships, all hoping to kick off their journey to the 2013 National Championships.

For another group of Vuong’s students, the tournament will be their first foray into competitive Taekwondo. An experience that Senior Master and Maryland State Taekwondo President Chien Vuong credits with lighting a fire in many of his athletes.

 “The experience of meeting friends and competitors from different schools and states is exciting for our kids,” said Vuong. “Once they get on that mat and have the opportunity to put what they’ve learned in class to the test, they’re hooked. They push themselves in ways they’ve never been tested, and learn some pretty amazing things about what they can accomplish.”

The Taekwondo Festival is expected to attract more than 300 competitors.

Competition begins at 10 a.m. at CCBC – Essex Community College Gymnasium, 7201 Rossville Blvd, Essex, MD 21237.

More information on the tournament is available at http://www.marylandtaekwondo.org .