Texas Taekwondo - In the Coach's Corner

Originally recorded April 28, 2024. We're back! Welcome to Season 3! In episode one, Coach Mike chats with graduating seniors Jordan Engstrom, and Coach Jason Dahlberg who are both about to embark on the next big chapter of their lives after leading Texas Taekwondo to its 5th consecutive national title at the 47th NCTA Championships at UC Berkeley. What will these two be doing after graduation? Wh...

Originally recorded September 3, 2021. We're still here! In episode eight, Coach Mike chats with recent graduates Eliza Fisher, and Yash Sarda who are both starting off their careers and post college lives. Eliza and Yash have been friends since high school, joined Texas Taekwondo together, and were both part of Texas Taekwondo's championship team in 2019. What rec sport club did they almost join...

Originally recorded June 2, 2020. Episode five features Old Horns Sean Salashour and Dr. Jesus Ramos! What were some of the strange taekwondo experiences both Hector and Jesus experienced in Mexico? What influenced Jesus to join taekwondo? What was Sean's most memorable tournament? What was the Iron Tran competition? From Cypress, Texas, Sean Salashour earned is 3rd Dan in taekwondo with the Ameri...

Originally recorded June 5, 2020. We're back! In episode seven, Coach Mike chats with alumni Jenny Kim, Rachel Agnite, and Khiem Hoang who were all instrumental team mates leading up to Texas Taekwondo's championship year in 2018.  Who crashed into the judges table in their first tournament? Who had their own podcast named "Drumroll Please"? Who hyped themselves up before their matches by shouting...

Originally recorded June 4, 2020.  In episode four, Coach Mike and alumni Andrea Wilson sit down with Tania Sebrero Hernandez and Ecequiel Chavez, both of whom earned the distinction of "Most Improved Athlete" in 2017 and 2018.  How do athletes like Tania and Ecequiel find the drive in a sport they are new to? What kinds of personal adversities did they encounter?  From Houston, Texas, Tania Sebre...

In 2015, the 40th National Collegiate Taekwondo Association Championships were hosted at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware.  Head Coach Joe Van, and Team Co-Captains Sherry Tucci and Daniel Yun took a team of 19 student-athletes to compete in what would be the biggest team Texas Taekwondo fielded up to that point. Coach Mike sits down with Sherry Tucci, Jonathan Ceron, and Hector...

Originally recorded May 20, 2020. Episode two features recent graduates and former roommates of the 2020 taekwondo house Danica Deaton, Patricia Lim, and Jana Hermoso! How did they maintain order in the taekwondo house? Why doesn't Patricia wash her dishes? Who originally came to UT to dance and accidentally found Texas Taekwondo?! Find out!  From Cypress, Texas, Danica Deaton started trainin...

Originally recorded May 17, 2020. Episode One kicks off with recent graduates and all former Club Presidents Amanda Martin, Danielle Drews, and Molly Schlamp! Who was a wrestler before they started in taekwondo? Who went from meek and mild to beast mode? What is the universal emoji response to anything?! Find out!  Growing up as an "Army Brat", Amanda Martin started training in taekwondo when...

Recorded live on June 23, 2020 Coach Joe, Mike, Daniel, Hector, Abhi, and Grandmaster Park host a live podcast with Texas Taekwondo and talk about the full spectrum of things, ranging from Animal Crossing, old Asian family traditions, unemployment, and what we miss the most from Texas Taekwondo. Thanks to everyone who was part of this episode!

A collection of outtakes from Season One. Enjoy.

In this episode, four out of the five 2013 Texas Taekwondo roommates known as the "Sheddies" are reunited and share their Texas Taekwondo stories with Coach Mike. From Taiwan, Martin Huang started training in taekwondo in elementary school and continued with United Martial Arts in Sugarland, Texas. Martin was with Texas Taekwondo from 2010-2014, part of the competition team during 2011-2012, and w...

In this episode, Coach Hector, Abhi, and Coach Mike host Texas Taekwondo High Performance (HP) athlete, Adan Rivas, who recently won bronze in the men's blackbelt senior -67kg division at the 2020 US Open Taekwondo Championships. Raised in a military family, Adan began training in taekwondo at age 8 and received his black belt (Kukkiwon) at U.S. Taekwondo College in Killeen, Texas. Adan came to Te...

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Pandemic! The world is crippled by a deadly and mysterious disease. Friends, families, and allies must physically distance themselves in order to prevent the spread of this virus. Driven by the hope to keep the Texas Taekwondo alliance united, four Star Wars enthusiasts banded together to celebrate May the 4th and taekwondo. As they explore the similari...

Andrea Wilson, Josh Kivlovitz, and newly-minted DOCTOR Sadie Witkowski Ph. D. share with Coach Mike their memories of Texas Taekwondo,  their experiences creating Kicks for Kids (K4K), and what they are up to these days. From Houston, Texas, Andrea Wilson started in karate at the YMCA before joining Texas Taekwondo in 2012 where she was an officer from 2013-2016.  She now lives in Austin...

In this episode, Coach Mike catches up with two friends who were once his athletes in 2006-2007 and how today they all work together on the Texas Taekwondo Alumni Association Endowment board. From Katy, Texas, Kelson Gent trained and received his black belt (Kukkiwon) at United Martial Arts-Katy and was part of the Texas Taekwondo competition team from 2006-2008. He now lives in the Boston, Massac...

In this episode, Coach Mike catches up with his old friends, Wai Lee and Master Paul Cho, over a few drinks. They share dad advice and a few laughs over old Texas Taekwondo stories. From Corpus Christi, Texas, Wai Lee trained at Lumampao Martial Arts and was part of Texas Taekwondo from 1998-2002 where he served as historian and strength and conditioning coach. He now lives in Dallas, Texas with h...

Daniel, Abhi, Mike and Hector swap war stories about their beginnings in Taekwondo. From Houston, Texas, Coach Daniel trained and received his black belt in Taekwondo (Kukkiwon) at Kim's School of Taekwondo. He has been with Texas Taekwondo since 2012. From Houston, Texas, Abhi trained in Chun Kuk Do and received his black belt from Chuck Norris. He was with Texas Taekwondo from 2014-2016 and came...

Coach Mike and Coach Daniel catch up with Texas Taekwondo alumni, Dr. Jessica Lee, and chat about her days with Texas Taekwondo and how she has been impacted as a medical professional by today's COVID-19 events. From Houston, Texas, Dr. Jessica Lee started training with Grandmaster Y.D. Park in Houston and was with Texas Taekwondo from 2000-2004 and served as the club's secretary from 2001-2004. A...

Coach Mike and Coach Joe catch up with their old teammate and friend, David Cho, over some whiskey as they recap their experiences competing at the 2005 NCTA Championships at UC Berkeley.  From League City, Texas, David Cho trained and received his blackbelt (Kukiwon) at Korean Martial Arts Academy and was President of Texas Taekwondo from 2004-2006. Ever the competitor, David's competition r...

Coach Hector, Abhi, Daniel, and Mike exchange war stories and discuss how their personal and team goals with Texas Taekwondo have adjusted with todays's norm of social distancing.

Special guest Sherry Tucci joins Abhi, Coach Daniel, and Coach Mike as they catch up on life, reminisce on old Texas Taekwondo stories, and hear about life in New York City. From Conroe, Texas, Sherry Tucci was an active officer and co-team captain during her years with Texas Taekwondo from 2012-2016. Never one to shy away from hard work or adversity, Sherry was the embodiment of the word grit. Be...

Coach Mike, Coach Daniel, and Abhi try to record a podcast. In doing so, they recap watching Head Coach Joe come out of retirement to compete at US Open 2020.