2022 Samurang Games
& Martial Arts Festival
April 5, 2022
Recap and Gallery

For newcomers, the Samurang Games is a festival style championship, modeled after the World Hanmadang Tournament held in Korea. Additionally,modified Olympic style Taekwondo, Koryo Gumdo foam sword sparring and padded one stick sparring is held.

This is a fun, exciting, motivating, and rewarding weekend event held annually for JP Wood school members and additional participating schools throughout the US.

The tournament is broken down into two categories: festival contests and traditional events.

Festival contests are challenges that test the athlete's skills in board breaking, kicking, weapons, and fitness. Prizes are awarded for reaching certain benchmarks or completing challenges in a certain amount of time.
Traditional events consist of forms (Poomsae) performances, self-defense demonstrations, and sparring matches. .

Grand Champion competitions are held for competitors who earned a gold medal in certain events to face off against other gold medal winners.

In the forms and self-defense competitions, competitors are given a score by a panel of judges. For our festival events, the athletes compete to see who can jump kick the highest, break the most boards, and kick the fastest.

Below, you can see the winners and their records from our Grand Champion competitions in 2022.

2022 Galleries

Forms

A form is a series of manuevers with kicking and striking techniques.

Poomsae, or forms competition, is a performance sport that is scored by judges observing and scoring the athlete's presentation, either in individual or team competition.

The main areas of scoring are technical execution, presentation, spirit, and unity for partner forms.

Competitors are judged on their own merit, and not relative to other competitors.

Athletes need to perform with grace, power, and martial arts spirit, which makes Poomsae fun and exciting to watch.

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Forms Grand Champions 2022
Taekwondo Under 16: Tyler Benz
Taekwondo Ages 16 to 40: Addison Dempsey, Tiger MA
Taekwondo Ages 40+: Katherine, Taylor, USA TKD
Partner Forms: Kara Sessions and Addison Dempsey, Tiger MA

Open Weapon - Max Riley, JP Wood MAA

Gumdo - Parker Wexler, JP Wood MAA

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Sparring

Sparring is the martial arts fighting sport. Each of our various styles of sparring have different rules for the athletes and referees to observe. Our rules are designed to promote thrilling competition, while also keeping the athletes safe.

Taekwondo sparring is continuous style, and at the end of each round, the judges choose a winner for the round based on superiority.
In engagement style sparring, the athletes reset after each engagement. The judges declare the points awarded after each engagement, and the match is won by the athlete who wins the most engagements. This style is used for both the Koryo Gumdo sword sparring and the Filipino stick fighting.

Sparring and Self Defense Grand Champions 2022

Padded Stick Sparring - Boun Zaypharath (Lions MA)

Entertainment Self-Defense -

Under 13: Robert Hundt, Peter Dranger

13+ : TIE with Addison Dempsey and Kaenan Price (Tiger MA)/ and Ben Hudgins, and

John Hudgins, Jarrett McCutchan (USA TKD)

Koryo Gumdo

Koryo Gumdo is represented in our tournament in forms, sparring, and festival events. The events are paper cutting and target thrusting competitions which challenge contestant's agility, balance, and precision.

With form competitions, athletes need to exhibit accuracy, power, and spirit while wielding a sword.

Lastly, Koryo Gumdo sparring lets our Samurang warriors square off to test their swordsmanship in exciting, engagement-style matches

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Jump High Kicking

Our martial arts practitioners can show their awesome flexibility and jumping abilities in this crowd pleasing jumping high kick contest.

Jumping High Kick Grand Champions 2022

Ages 14 & Under - Jeremiah Wright, JP Wood MAA, 7'3"
Ages 15 & Older - Ben Hudgins, USA Taekwondo, 8'10"

Board Breaking

Showing their power breaking prowess, athletes break as many boards as possible using a knife hand or hammer fist strike for hand breaking, and using a side kick for foot breaking. To be successful, a combination of strength and technique is necessary.

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Speed Kicking

Speed kicking has two contests:

In the round house kick contest, contestants execute as many round house kicks as they can in two 10 second rounds, round one with the right foot and round two with the left foot.
In the spin hook kick contest, contestants execute as many spin hook kicks as they can in one 15 second round.

Warrior Obstacle Course

In our most popular contest, athletes race through an obstacle course while completing fitness challenges. Judges time each contestant for a chance at the gold.

Hand Board Breaking Grand Champions 2022

Ages 9 & under: Fabian Hernandez, 3 boards
Ages 10-14: Peyton Bumgarner, 6 boards
Ages 15 & Older: Max Torres, Des Plaines MA, 6 boards

Side Kick Board Breaking Grand Champions 2022

Ages 9 & under: Jack Fullenkamp, JP Wood, 3 boards

Ages 10 - 14: Joe Fountain, JP Wood , 8 boards

Ages 15 +: Max Torres, Des Plaines MA, 8 boards

Fast Kick & Spin Hook Kick

Grand Champions 2022

FAST KICK - Grand champion round execute 20 roundhouse kicks as fast as you can:

Ages 9 & Under - David Soto, Des Plaines Martial Arts, 13.9 secs.
Ages 10-14 - John Hudgins, USA TKD, 14.56 secs.
Ages 15 & Older - Lucas Raker, JP Wood MAA, 13.35 secs.

SPIN HOOK - Grand champion round execute 15 spin hook kicks as fast as you can:
Spin Hook Ages 14 and under: Victoria McDonald, 27.8 secs.
Spin Hook Ages 15 & older: Benjamin Parnow, 22 secs.

2022 Samurang Games & Martial Arts Festival April 5, 2022 Recap and Gallery