Wexford Martial Arts School Brings Home the Gold

Martial artists from a small tae kwon do school in Wexford won international recognition recently when they earned gold medals at the Gen. Choi Memorial Cup Championship in Toronto.

The owner of   school, master Robert Zang, and two of his students, Pine-Richland eighth grader Brian Oh and Matthew Marshall of Cranberry, won a total of four gold medals at the tournament.

The annual tournament invited tae kwon do schools from around the world to celebrate the martial art and its founder, Gen. Choi Hong Hi.

Zang, a sixth-degree black belt, earned two of the gold medals, one for patterns and the other for sparring in the men’s 18-to-34-year-old category.

“I won patterns, which is pre-arranged offensive and defensive movements; it’s almost like a dance routine of martial arts movements,” Zang said. “I also won in sparring, which is sort of like full-contact fighting with hands and feet from the waist up.”

Brian Oh, an eighth-grade student at Pine-Richland Middle School and a third-degree black belt at Zang’s school, earned a gold medal in patterns within his age group.

Oh said this was his first tournament, so he was surprised when he won.

“I’m really proud because it was my first international tournament and I didn’t actually expect anything that great,” he said. “It was an honor to win.”

Oh noted that competitors at the tournament from other countries used different techniques than those typically used in America. He said that was interesting to watch.

“It was a good experience to see them, to see what level they were training at,” he said. “In America there are good people, but there can be so many better people around the world.”

Student Matthew Marshall, a lawyer from Cranberry and a second-degree black belt, won a gold medal in sparring for the men’s over-35 category.

Marshall said he was happy to represent Zang and his school in the tournament.

“I know this is really about the gold medal and everything, but he makes me proud to win,” he said. “Not just for myself but just because it’s kind of a reflection of him and his school.”

Marshall added that international tournaments typically use a continuous fighting style.

“Some of them are full-contact, and (in) some of them there is no punching or kicking to the head,” he said. “But this is just continuous, which means you can just continue to fight. You have to be in really good shape for this because it’s just more difficult.”

During a banquet after the tournament, Zang said his school was presented with a special medallion in memory of Choi.

“I was just taken aback because we’re such a small school compared with all these schools and organizations from all over the world,” he said.

Zang said Marshall's and Oh's representation of him and his school spurred on his own victory at the tournament.

“Watching them compete first was really an inspiration, and it motivated me to focus more,” he said. “They were representing the school, so I felt a responsibility as well.”

Each of the winners said the sense of camaraderie in the tae kwon do community, as well as watching the other martial artists compete in the competition, was an inspiration to them.

“It’s funny because we all train so hard and we’re very tired because we’ve been training up to that point,” Zang said. “And then you see all these talented martial artists, and you aren’t tired on Monday, you’re actually motivated and kind of re-energized.”

After returning to the area, Zang said his school is now testing for black belt and master status as well as preparing for tournaments scheduled throughout the summer.