Tega Cay Tae Kwon Do Master leading Team USA to London

TEGA CAY --?

Tega Cay businessman Master Woo Sup Kim, owner of Tiger Kim?s World Class Tae Kwon Do Center, has been named head captain of the mens? and women?s? U.S. Tae Kwon Do team for the London Games in this summer?s upcoming Olympics.

Kim, who owns and operates four Taw Kwon Do schools in North and South Carolina, will be heading to London Aug. 5-11 to manage Team USA, made up of two women and two men. Competitions in the sport begin Aug. 8 and run through Aug. 11.

A teacher of the art of Tae Kwon Do for the past 19 years, Kim, who also operates training centers in Winston-Salem, High Point and Clemmons, N.C., started learning the sport at age 5 at the urging of his parents.

Now 42, getting to the Olympics is a life-long dream come true for the Seoul, South Korea, native. Kim is a former three-time Korean national champion in the sport.

?I was so excited and very honored,? Kim said. ?I can?t wait. Every instructor?s dream is going to the Olympics.?

In South Korea, Tae Kwon Do is considered a national sport, much like baseball or football is in America.

Nominated by his peers and selected by the Olympic Committee for the position, Kim just found out last week that he was named head captain and will manage Team USA?s progress.

Kim?s training center in Tega Cay has been open for the past 18 months and has 170 students. He usually spends at least one day a week at his Tega Cay business, splitting time between his other training studios in the Piedmont Triad.

?I love teaching kids,? he said. ?It teaches them focus and coordination and respect. I can see their progress.?

Kim said he teaches kids in his training centers that hard work can lead to the Olympics.

?We tell them every day,? he said. ?If you want to go to the Olympics, you have to work hard.?

However, Kim won?t be dealing with kids in London. His job will be to help bring the team together to go for the Gold.

?I?m just going to try and make them comfortable,? Kim said. ?The most important thing is teamwork. They have a lot of experience. They will be prepared. I think there will be some good results this time. Whatever they need I am going to support.?

Source: http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2012/06/27/2067102/olympics-martial-arts-tega-cay.html

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