SF State’s Tae Kwon Do Club won big awards at the Amateur Athletic Union California State Championships held on May 3 in the SF State gymnasium.

At the competition, members competed in point sparring, Olympic-style sparring and traditional forms in hopes of qualifying for the national event.

Delonzo Pope, a 41-year-old red belt and industrial design student, won gold in his division for traditional forms. Tabbitha Hall, a yellow belt, won silver for forms. Hayley Latter, a 20-year-old psychology student, earned two gold medals for forms and sparring. Ryan Morishige, white belt, won bronze for forms and gold for sparring. Thomas Lin, yellow belt, won gold in sparring.

“They prepared and trained hard,” 64-year-old professor Bill Dewart said, who has more than 40 years of experience in martial arts. “They did great today. I am very proud of them.”

He explained that this AAU California State Championship event determines which competitors will make the final team to represent California in the upcoming nationals, although each competitor will perform individually.

“It is a great group of people, very disciplined and who love what they are doing,” Dewart said.

Competitors, from 5-years-old to people in their late 40s, kicked and punched their opponents while yelling their fight cry in the pursuit of a chance to qualify for the Nationals. Those competitions will be held from June 30 to July 5 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Latter, a Nationals qualifier, said she is going stronger with her gold medal.

“It is the first time I won gold,” she said. “It feels really good.”

This time, she said she feels she deserves her medal because she actually competed, whereas, at the AAU Las Vegas Kick Off 2008 on March 1, she automatically received a gold medal because she was the only entrant in her division.

Morishige focused his attention on the sparring event and said he did not really care about forms. His focus paid off. He competed against fellow SF State student Lin. Both won gold for sparring and qualified for nationals.

“The judge messed up,” Morishige said. “He made us compete three times instead of once. That was a crazy fight.”

Pope injured his rib two days before the meet and said moving the equipment in the gymnasium to help set up the event and doing forms did not improve his condition. Pope competed in the forms event where he won gold. But following his choreographed sets of moves, aimed at demonstrating his knowledge of techniques before judges, he went to the on-site medical aid station and was advised not to compete in the more violent sparring event.

“I am extremely upset that I can’t spar for my team,” Pope said, not knowing whether his rib was fractured or not. “But I will follow the medical advice instead of getting more injured.”

A red belt competitor, Pope will have a black belt test on May 25 to gauge his knowledge and competence of the sport. He said he hopes to compete at nationals wearing the highest distinction, the black belt. Dewart said he sees Tae Kwon Do as open to everybody. His philosophy on Tae Kwon Do and on martial arts in general is that all participants, no matter their age, somehow benefit from the sport in their life.

“We teach people life lessons through martial arts. The kicks and punches help them become more focused.”