Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The Sawyers, of Edgewater, climbed a mountain together as part of the training. Can you say "Rocky?"
Three Edgewater residents competed in the Southern Maryland Martial Arts AAU Taekwondo Tournament on Saturday and each brought home a gold medal. The crazy part? They’re a family of three. Chris Sawyer, 51, Esther Sawyer, 37 and their 9-year-old daughter Xena each took home gold medals in various competitions at the regional tournament as part of the East Coast Martial Arts of Annapolis and Edgewater team. “It was just one of the best days of my life, ever,” Chris Sawyer said. “We trained, worked out for a few months … it was just really cool.” The Sawyer adults didn’t start competing in taekwondo until years after their daughter began at the age of 4. But since then, it’s become a family passion that culminated into a special weekend on …
Friday, July 13, 2012
Athletes from East Coast Martial Arts in Edgewater and Annapolis took first place in "points sparring" and fourth place in "forms."
Local athletes from the East Coast Martial Arts (ECMA) studios in Edgewater and Annapolis took home first and fourth place in two national competitions last week. Finishing first in “point sparring” and fourth in “forms,” master Erik Hollon and his team proudly faced more than 2,000 other taekwondo competitors from around the country in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Championship in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The only contest the local martial artists didn’t place in was “Olympic sparring,” but that didn’t deter Hollon from being elated following his team’s performance. “We had high hopes but a largely inexperienced team—half of them were first-timers,” Hollon told Patch. “It was great.” Only 48 athletes competed of the 700 that …
Monday, March 19, 2012
Xena Sawyer, 8, also brought home a bronze in the "point sparring" competition as a part of the East Coast Martial Arts team.
Six months of preparation paid off for Edgewater’s Xena Sawyer last weekend as she took home a gold and bronze medal at the AAU Taekwondo Maryland State Championship in Waldorf. Xena, 8, trained six days a week for six months straight for the tournament. As part of the East Coast Martial Arts team, she won the gold medal in the form competition and the bronze medal in point sparring. “My hard work—since not even placing in the same tournament last year—really paid off,” Xena told Patch in an email. “I still can’t believe I won. I felt shaky with excitement.” Xena and her parents wanted to thank the trainers and coaches who helped her reach this new level of achievement. The AU Competition Team at East Coast Martial Arts won 88 medals with…
Charmin Jaundoo
1:43 pm on Monday, March 19, 2012
Xena, All your hard work has certainly paid off.You show committment and dedication to taekwondo- this made you successful. I am very proud of you!! Thanks to ECMA for creating a taekwondo warrior!!! Congratulations Xena!!! Love Aunt Charmin more ›