Father and son bonding can be in several different forms. For Ethan Leigh and his father Tom, it was Tae Kwon Do.
“He got me into it right before I turned six years old, after he saw that I was really into it he started doing with me,” Leigh said.
19 year old Ethan recently competed in the U.S.S.S.A Tae Kwon Do Nationals. held in Overland Park Ks., and took home the gold medals in Olympc Sparring, PTE Sparring and Team Sparring. This was Leigh’s first trip to nationals and he was not expecting this type of success.
“I really didn’t know what to think, I just knew I would try my best, it was a good experience just to be there. Winning the medals was just a plus but just getting to be there was the best part,” Leigh said.
Leigh believes that after winning first place in Olympic Sparring, that he is ranked no. one in the country, this helps him believe in his dream of competing in the Olympics.
“Ever since I’ve been in fifth grade, I used to watch the Olympics with my parents, and ever since I was little I’ve always wanted to go there, it’s always been a dream of mine,” Leigh said.
Leigh has been training in Tae Kwon Do for thirteen years, and now passes his skill and knowledge to students at his father’s school, The Camdenton Black Belt Academy. Leigh likes watching the kids go through the same process that he went through when he was their age, saying “It’s really cool to see how the kids develop in their life, and kind of watch how I grew up with it.”
Going into Nationals Leigh said that he was not prepared as he should have been, as college and teaching at his father’s Tae Kwon Do school took up so much of his time.
“It’s very hard, keeping your flexibility and endurance it’s hard when u don’t practice. Hopefully when I get done with college I can practice a lot more.”
When he does practice, Leigh says his dad is always there to watch and give him tips on how to improve. He says that his dad has been his coach since he started competing in tournaments at the age of seven.
Despite winning three gold medals at Nationals, Leigh said that he was nervous before his matches, saying that “A couple of people that I fight go into a certain college where they train all of the time. One of the guys that I beat trains in china.”
Especially against in the match against the Chinese-trained fighter, Leigh said that he was intimidated going up against this type of talent.
“He was really tall, he was in my weight class but he was a good 7 inches taller than me. It was pretty intimidatng, I thought he would beat me real bad,” Leigh said.
Wile juggling school and work Leigh said he hasn’t practiced as much as he’d like, he says that will change as the 2012 Summer Olympic Games get closer.
Practicing more may give this fighter a chance for his dream.
Contact this reporter at lakesports@lakesunleader.com
Camdenton, Mo. —
