2018 USA Taekwondo National Championships

2018 Baystate Taekwondo USAT Nationals Competitors

 It's that time of year again.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we are all reminded to think long and hard about what we are thankful for this year.  Topped only by our family road trip to Walt Disney World, one of the things I am most grateful for is the opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah to cheer my 14 year old son on as he competed and placed 3rd in poomsae at the 2018 USA Taekwondo National Championships.  In addition to that amazing moment, our family spent almost an entire week with the other Baystate Taekwondo Competition Team families, who are like extended family to us.  So many wonderful memories were made, and for that I am also grateful.

During the week of July 2nd, seven Baystate Taekwondo Competition Team athletes and their families traveled across the country to Salt Lake City along with their coaches, Master John Alves and Mr. Christopher Alves, to compete in the 2018 USA Taekwondo National Championships. Ranging from ages 9 to 17, each of these young athletes train alongside their teammates at Baystate Taekwondo Academy in Massachusetts year-round to compete on a state and national level with only a 7-week hiatus during the summer.

From continuing on after sustaining injuries to exhibiting great sportsmanship no matter the outcome, these young athletes are an inspiration to us all. The results were as follows for each competitor in their age, rank, and weight divisions:

(From left to right) Sumeet Nijjar, Danveer Nijjar, Victoria Lewis, Abhaya Sundar, Keira Macauley, Elizabeth Levin, and Jake Coutu

• Keira Macauley, age 9, placed 5th in poomsae and 3rd in sparring, taking home her first USAT bronze medal.
• Four-time Nationals medalist, Victoria Lewis, age 12, placed 3rd in poomsae and 2nd in sparring, earning her 3rd bronze and 1st USAT silver medal.
• Three-time Nationals medalist, Elizabeth Levin, now age 13, placed 5th in poomsae and 1st in sparring, earning her first USAT gold medal, and making her the 2018 National Champion in her sparring division.
• First time competitor, Abhaya Sundar, age 12, placed 5th in poomsae and 2nd in sparring, earning her 1st USAT silver medal.
• First time competitor, Danveer Nijjar, age 13, placed 9th in poomsae and 5th in sparring.
• Two-time Nationals medalist, Jake Coutu, age 14, placed 3rd in poomsae, taking home his 2nd USAT bronze medal.
• Sumeet Nijjar, age 17, placed 1st in sparring, earning him his first USAT gold medal, and making him the 2018 National Champion in his sparring division.

Looking back on this year’s trip to Nationals, the owner of Baystate Taekwondo Academy, Master John Alves, says, “Work hard, train hard, stay focused, and last; commit to your art 100% to achieve your ultimate GOAL.”

Proud families of the Baystate Taekwondo 2018 USA Taekwondo National Championships competitors.

The achievements of these young athletes in Salt Lake City were made possible due to the endless support of the Baystate Taekwondo instructors, coaches, the Baystate Taekwondo community, led by Mary Alves, and the support of businesses, such as Google LLC, American Consumer Credit Counseling, The Fine Arts Theatre Place, Stop & Shop Supermarkets and their patrons, Orthopedics New England, and The PaisleyHanger Boutique.

What are you thankful for this year?

Tell us in a comment here.

Easily Attach Iron-on Patches Without Ironing or Sewing

 This past July, our oldest son competed in the USA Taekwondo National Championships for the third year in a row, and brought home a bronze medal for poomsae.  I was so proud of him because, although he had earned a medal in sparring in the past, he had yet to medal in poomsae, which is his true passion.

While at Nationals, we picked up some patches for his competition uniform and for his competition team jacket.  We had the patch sewn onto his uniform by a local tailor for $5.  Easy!  Attaching the patch for his team jacket was not so easy.  Since the jacket has a polyester nylon shell, I was told that puncturing it with a needle could cause damage down the road, and that it cannot withstand an iron hotter than 300 degrees.

I researched the issue online multiple times, watched many tutorials, and even reached out to Sport-Tek, the manufacturer of the jacket.  Still, I could not find a definitive answer about how to effectively and safely attach this patch, which has an iron-on coating on the back, to this polyester nylon jacket.  I did not want to experiment with any iffy methods, and risk ruining my son's jacket.

Then one day, in a last ditch effort, I tried to Google the issue again.  I came across quotes from reviews on Amazon for a product that did not show up in my searches before, so I clicked through.  The product was called Badge Magic.  I read the reviews, and they looked very promising.  Still, I did not see any that stated that this product would work on a nylon jacket using an iron-on type patch, so I asked the question.  Several past purchasers replied that it should, but one finally replied with a definite "Yes!".  That was what I was waiting for, so I ordered one sheet to give it a try.  It worked GREAT!!!  Since I had so much trouble finding the information I needed for attaching our patch, I wanted to share how easy this process turned out to be . . .


How to Attach a Patch the No-Iron, No-Sew Way:

Supplies Needed:

Sharp Pencil

Scissors

Cut to Fit Badge Magic

Ruler

TIP #1:  Be sure the fabric item to which you will be attaching the patch is clean and wrinkle-free, if possible.

Step 1.  Place your regular or iron-on patch right-side up on the printed side of the Badge Magic sheet.  While holding the badge in place with one hand, trace the shape of the badge using a pencil with the other.

TIP #2: Using an automatic pencil worked well for me because it gave me a fine line, and I was able to trace as close to the patch as possible without making any marks on the edges of the patch.

Step 2. Following the outline you traced, cut out the shape of the patch from the Badge Magic sheet.

Step 3. Peel off the printed backing from the shape you cut out, exposing the sticky surface.

Step 4. Carefully position the patch right-side up on the sticky surface, trying to line up the edges exactly.  Press down firmly to adhere the Badge Magic shape to the backside of the patch.

TIP #3:  The adhesive is extremely sticky, so try to be precise when attaching the Badge Magic to the back of your patch.  It would be best to have an adult complete this step.

Step 5. If the Badge Magic shape is larger than your patch on any of the edges, trim the Badge Magic shape with scissors until its edges match up with those of your patch.

Step 6.  Using a ruler, determine and take note of the desired position for the patch.  (For example, I measured how far down from the shoulder seam the patch should be while my son was wearing the jacket.  I also noted that the top right corner of the patch should hit the edge of the red stripe.  Then I used those same guidelines to position the patch with the jacket sleeve laying flat.)

Step 7.  Carefully remove the plain white backing from the back of the patch, exposing the second sticky surface.

TIP #4:  According to the Badge Magic instructions, at this point you should fold back any extra adhesive seen around the edges of the patch, however, if you had trimmed the Badge Magic shape (Step 5), then this should be unnecessary.

Step 8.  Position the badge in the desired position.  When the position looks correct, press down firmly on the badge.  Rub the handle of your scissors over the entire badge, especially the edges, to make sure there is a strong bond.

TIP #5:  Since my son's jacket has a nylon shell, like a windbreaker, it was shipped to us with creases all over.  I did not have a way to remove these creases, so I used both hands to put tension on the area where the patch was to be placed to flatten the material while placing the patch on the jacket.

That's it!  The process was super-quick.  The Badge Magic is said to be washable, but I have not tested that yet.  My son's jacket is new and has barely been worn due to the warm weather.

Below is the Badge Magic instructional video.  According to the reviews on Amazon, this product works great for Boy Scout and Girl Scout badges too.

What other uses can you think of for Badge Magic?

Share your ideas with us in a comment here.

Photos: On the Road Home from the 2016 National Taekwondo Championships in Richmond, VA

The Delaware Bridge in Maryland

This past July, my family went on its first long-distance road trip!  My 12 year old son had qualified to compete at the Junior Olympics for Taekwondo, which were being held in Richmond, Virginia this year.  How could we not go?

My biggest concern was how well our children, 9, 9, and 12, would do on such a long car ride.  I even made them each binders with road trip activities inside.  It turned out that we didn't really need them.  All we needed were phones, tablets, external battery packs, and a portable hotspot.

Homes Along the Hudson in New York

When we drove from Massachusetts to Virginia, we left at about 1:00am, so there wasn't too much we could see until the sun came up.  On the way home, although it was gray and foggy, we were able to see quite a bit.

Cloudy with a Chance of Traffic

The distance from Massachusetts to Virginia is about halfway to Florida.  Would we survive driving all the way to Florida?  I'm leaning towards no, but you never know!

The George Washington Bridge in New York

I am thrilled to report that my son won a bronze medal for sparring in Taekwondo for his weight and belt division!  My heart just fills with pride when I think about it because he worked so hard and he was quite humble when he received his medal.

Bronze Medalist at the 2016 National Taekwondo Championships

Did you take a road trip this year?
Leave a comment and share your adventure with us!