Sports

Taekwondo students claim 20 tournament medals for Perry club

May 2, 2025

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Class Photo — Members of the Raccoon Valley Martial Arts Academy include, front row from left, Mr. Corey Thompson, Wezley Morris Brown, Colter Friestad, Nathan Buswell, Maddax Castro, Khadija Ouahbi and Aiden Paskert; second row from left, Layton Carlson, Brendan Leslie, Tucker Brown, Braedan Hoffman and Afton Meyers; third row from left, Charlie Riley, Easton Gonzalez, Isaac Gustafson, Nicholas Kezar, Brooklyn Netherton, Colten Netherton and Ed Christenson; fourth row from left, Oscar Acuna, Zander Lopez, Dexter Moe, Wassim Ouahbi, Holly Cross, Master Mark Ellsbury, Mohammed Ouahbi and Trinity Borland. Not pictured are Ms. Kimberly Belken, J. D. L. Pena, Bristol Gittins, Myah Gittins, Laurel Gittins, Braiden Oien and Alexis Tharp. Photo by Dana Hoffman of the RVMAA

Participating Saturday in the annual Chung Kim’s Black Belt Academy interschool tournament are, from left, Mr. Bob Boyle of Adel, Mr. Noel Antony of Adel, Mr. Tucker Brown of Perry, Mr. Urban Uthe of Adel, Afton Meyers of Perry, Ed Christinson of Perry, Braedan Hoffman of Perry, Nick Kezar of Perry, Colten Netherton of Perry and Brendan Leslie of Perry, with Head Instructor Master Mark Ellsbury leading the team. Photo by Dana Hoffman of the RVMAA

BETTENDORF, Iowa — The Chung Kim’s Black Belt Academy (CKBBA) hosted its annual interschool tournament here Saturday, April 26 for all the Chung Kim’s locations across Iowa and Illinois, with some 70 students participating.

The Chung Kim’s Raccoon Valley Martial Arts Academy (RVMAA) in Perry, a satellite location of CKBBA, was represented by seven students in the tournament:

Ed Christinson (8th Gup Orange)
Braedan Hoffman (7th Gup Green)
Afton Meyers (6th Gup Green)
Colten Netherton (4th Gup Blue)
Brendan Leslie (3rd Gup Red)
Nicolas Kezar (3rd Gup Red)
Tucker Brown (Temp. 1st Gup Brown)

Participants were separated into Divisions based on age, gender and belt rank, with Perry students represented in most of the Divisions. Tournament events included traditional forms, board breaking and point sparring.

“Win or lose, I am extremely proud of each and every one of you,” Master Mark Ellsbury, 6th Dan Black Belt and Head Instructor, told the RVMMA-Perry team in a pre-tournament meeting Saturday morning.

Three RVMAA-Adel students at the tournament joined their fellow competitors from Perry for a group photo before the opening Rules Meeting.

RVMAA – Perry represented well in the tournament, claiming 7 Gold medals, 6 Silver medals, and 7 Bronze medals. An in-class celebration was held Wednesday evening where students shared their experiences, stories, and cookies after taking a class photo.

Ellsbury has been teaching a traditional Korean Taekwondo class at the McCreary Community Building in Perry since 2005. Class attendance is currently at an all-time high, with 33 active students and two expecting to complete the requirements to earn their 1st Dan Black Belts by the end of 2025.

Studying with Ellsbury are Oscar Acuna, Ms. Kimberly Belken, Trinity Borland, Wezley Morris Brown, Tucker Brown, Nathan Buswell, Layton Carlson, Maddax Castro, Ed Christenson, Holly Cross, Colten Friestad, Bristol Gittins, Laurel Gittins, Myah Gittins, Easton Gonzalez, Isaac Gustafson, Braedan Hoffman, Nicholas Kezar, Brendan Leslie, Zander Lopez, Afton Meyers, Dexter Moe, Brooklyn Netherton, Colten Netherton, Braiden Oien, Khadija Ouahbi, Mohammed Ouahbi, Wassim Ouahbi, Aiden Paskert, J. D. L. Pena, Charlie Riley, Alexis Tharp and Mr. Corey Thompson.