2011 AAU Nationals - Austin, TX

Al's Black Belt Club in Lombard brought nine athletes to the 2011 AAU Taekwondo Nationals in Austin, Texas June 27-July 1. Here are the results...

Jackson Sigalove (Glen Ellyn): 23 boys in his division and he won FIVE matches to take GOLD! Scores: 12-7, 11-(-1), 8-7, 8-1, 6-4. NATIONAL CHAMPION!

Gabrielle Spinosa (Downers Grove): 5 girls in her division and she won 3 matches for GOLD! She won by a 7-point gap in the first two matches and won the 3rd with a score of 8-6. NATIONAL CHAMPION!

Justin Winger (Lombard): 4 boys in his division and won 2 matches for GOLD! Scores: 8-6, 13-10. NATIONAL CHAMPION!

Riley Zuckert (Elmhurst): 6 girls in her division and she won 3 matches to take GOLD! Scores: 10-3, 9-2, Gold medal match ended in a tie and Riley won in overtime! NATIONAL CHAMPION!

Will Merrick (Glen Ellyn): 5 boys in his division and Will did not draw a bye so he had to win 3 matches for gold. He won two matches and earns SILVER medal! Scores: 5-(-2), 9-2

Jessica Zellinger (Elmhurst): 5 girls in her division and she won her first match 13-10 to take BRONZE!

Justin Zellinger (Elmhurst): 5 boys in his division and he won his first match 28-18 to win BRONZE!

Emmett O’Brien (Elmhurst): 4 boys in his division and he brings home the BRONZE medal!

Jack Kreissler (Glen Ellyn): 13 boys in his division and he won 2 matches to earn BRONZE! Scores: 8-0, 14-4, 8-10

ABBC went 9 for 9 in sparring…4 Gold, 1 Silver, and 4 Bronze! We faced talented athletes from around the U.S. and our competitors fought hard for every medal earned! Our success is attributed to hard work and dedication but most of all; the commitment of every sparring classmate that challenged them this year in practice giving our National competitors the experience they needed to win! Thank you ABBC!

Forms competition was on Friday, July 1st. Congratulations to BRONZE medalist Jessica Zellinger and to Emmett O’Brien for bringing home the SILVER!

Junior World Team Fight-Off: Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs

Saturday, January 9, 2010 Kacey Anderson had her first opportunity to earn a spot on the 2010 Junior World Team after qualifying in December 2009.

Female Welterweight (114.7 - 121.3 lbs.)
Kacey Anderson (Westmont, Ill.)
Patricia Louie (Seattle, Wash.)
Nicole VanCleave (Lake Tapps, Wash.)
Gina-Louise Williams (Garden Grove, Calif.) - WITHDRAWN

The round-robin format for this Fight-Off dictates a double elimination and here are Kacey’s results…
1st match vs. Patricia Louie, Kacey wins 3-0
2nd match vs. Nicole VanCleave, Kacey loses 0-5
3rd match vs. Nicole VanCleave, Kacey wins 3-1
4th match vs. Nicole VanCleave, Kacey loses 0-5

Kacey finishes with a 2-2 record and we are very proud of her efforts today! She looks forward to the US Open in Las Vegas February 10-14 where she will compete in both the Junior and Senior divisions!
GOOD LUCK KACEY!

USAT Junior World Team Trials

Congratulations to Kacey Anderson!

Saturday, December 12th Kacey competed for one of the top four positions in her division qualifying her for the Junior World Team Fight-Off on January 9-10 in Colorado Springs! Those four athletes will compete for a spot on the 2010 Junior World Team!

Master Al, Miss Kim and Kacey arrived at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs on Friday, December 11th and Kacey weighed in for competition in the Welter weight division on Saturday. They attended a Technical Meeting on Friday night and waited for an e-mail with the brackets and report times. Apparently, there was a computer glitch and the brackets were correct but the report times were wrong. Kacey was scheduled to fight at 11:30am, however, once the error was discovered they were forced to wake up and get ready for competition on a moment’s notice! With no time for breakfast Kacey readied herself and competed in the 2nd match of the day! She sparred a girl from Hawaii and at the beginning of the final round Kacey was losing 0-1. She came out with determination and scored with a body kick and then a head kick finishing the match with a win 4-1!

She had an unexpected long wait for her next match against an accomplished competitor from California. Kacey won this match handily with a score of 7-2! Great job Kacey! Now Kacey is in the final four and will be invited to try out for the Junior World Team in January!

The next match gives her an opportunity to win 1st or 2nd place and she is paired with another seasoned athlete from Washington. Kacey scores quickly and leads with a score of 1-0. She continued to execute two kicks to the body but the electronic chest guard does not register the points. Kacey decides to try a kick to the head which only one of the judges scored. Two of the three judges must register the point within one second of each other in order for the point to count. The athlete from Washington had the same idea and her points scored! The match ended with Washington ahead three points to Kacey’s one point.

We are all SO PROUD of Kacey and continue to support her as she prepares to try out for a position on the 2010 Junior World Team on January 9-10, 2010!

CONGRATULATIONS KACEY!

2009 AAU National Team Trials

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR AAU TEAM TRIAL ATHLETES!

Emily Pearn and Jeremy Scott Miller have returned from Fort Lauderdale with some impressive results...

This was Jeremy's first opportunity to compete for a spot on the national team. He just turned fourteen in August and fought as a Fin weight in 14-17 year old Division! This was a tremendous year of growth and development for Jeremy and I am very proud of his fighting spirit! Jeremy competed against an athlete from Florida; he faced this same competitor at the AAU Nationals this past July. Jeremy lost both matches but no one can question his heart - we look forward to next year! Well done Jeremy!

Emily Pearn has competed at the AAU Team Trials for the past three years. She joined ABBC after an unsuccessful attempt at Team Trials in 2007. Emily returned to Team Trials in 2008 and made the 2009 team, she was looking to reclaim her position on the 2010 team! She had four other girls in her division and this is a round-robin format so Emily had her work cut out for her this year! Here are the results...

Match #1 vs. Helen Chu (TX) Emily wins 5-3
Match #2 vs. Isabel Rivera (PR) Emily wins 7-1
Match #3 vs Katheryne Puentes (FL) Emily wins 10-6
Match #4 vs. Samantha Gomez (FL) Emily wins 3-2
1ST ROUND FINALS
Match #5 vs. Katheryne Puentes (FL) Puentes wins 3-4
2ND ROUND FINALS
Match #6 vs. Katheryne Puentes (FL) Emily wins 4-2

CONGRATULATIONS...EMILY PEARN IS THE FEMALE FEATHER WEIGHT TEAM MEMBER OF THE 2010 AAU JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM!!

Two ABBC alumni who trained with me for nine years also made the 2010 Junior National Team.

AAU National Team at Dutch Open

Naperville resident Emily Pearn competed at the Dutch Open in Eindhoven, Netherlands on Saturday, March 21st. Pearn represented the US on the Amateur Athlete Union’s Junior National Team. There were a total of thirteen competitors in the Bantam Weight Division and Emily’s first match was against Marina Usanovic, from the Croatian National Team and the eventual Silver medalist. Her coach, Alfonso Qahhaar of Al’s Black Belt Club in Lombard, is incredibly proud of his first National Team Member and looks forward to many more of his students competing for Team USA!

ABBC: How did you prepare for the Dutch Open? Training regimen?
Pearn: I’m pretty much on a ‘sleep-school-training’ schedule. My dad picks me up from school and drives me straight to the gym to run off all the weight for about 2 hours. I then go train at ABBC 3-4 days a week, on top of kicking and conditioning in my basement every night.

ABBC: What was your biggest challenge?
Pearn: Weight was definitely the hardest part for me. Since I made the team at Bantam weight in September, I grew and had to lose about 13 pounds in a week and a half. I could only eat an apple a day and for the last few days, I couldn’t have more than a couple sips of water. I was dizzy and starting to get unmotivated, but my team, coaches, friends and family all kept me going. My mom and sister hung signs on the refrigerator and pantry reminding me not to eat. The new electronic scoring system was tough too; none of the US competitors had any experience with it while all the European teams have been training with it for three years.

ABBC: What is your fondest memory of Eindhoven?
Pearn: THE EXPERIENCE! I fought a girl from Croatia, who is the European Union Champion; she had an awkward style, which was something I needed to see. I also got to know my fellow teammates that are from all across the US and will be friends with for a long time; we were a party group. We ate over 200 candy bars and 90 Euro’s worth of pizza in one night, after we made weight!

ABBC: What is your next goal?
Pearn: Since I can no longer hold my bantam weight (97lbs- to 101.2lbs), I’m hoping to be able to make the 2010 AAU Junior National Team again at feather (101.3lbs -107.9lbs) or light weight (108lbs-114.4lbs), which are the next higher weight divisions. I also would like to make the USAT Junior National Team this year and maybe the Senior National Team in the near future.

ABBC: Describe how it felt to represent the United States on the AAU Junior National Team.
Pearn: It was a crazy feeling, but it also came with a little pressure. You want to do well just for personal satisfaction, but also to represent your country well. I still don’t think I will ever forget fighting in a different country with the whole USA team cheering for me. It’s one of those things where I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m still awake. I will remember this for the rest of my life!

Junior Division: Female Bantam Weight
1st Place – Germany
2nd Place – Croatia
3rd Place – Belgium
4th Place – Netherlands

2009 US Open Las Vegas, NV

U.S. Open Updates!

Kacey Anderson, Emily Pearn and Haley Gallina all arrived in Las Vegas safely for the US Open! The USAT has reported that 59 different nations, thirteen 2008 Beijing Olympians and seventeen confirmed National teams are registered to compete. For the first time in the history of the U.S. Open, USAT has approved the use of LaJust Electronic Body Protectors as a scoring system for the 14-17 year old and Senior Divisions. The Electronic Body Protectors require significant power to be registered on the sensor in order for a point to score. There are three referees positioned at each ring to manually score head kicks only.

Emily began our US Open experience this year in the 14-17 year old division on Friday, February 13th. Emily sparred an athlete from Mexico and lost 0-1. She competed well but her points were not registering. This is a new experience for us all – our strategy in future matches will be to look for points to the head in order to rely on “man instead of machine!” She will also be competing in the Senior Division on Saturday and we look forward to hearing the results…stay tuned!

Haley Gallina drew a bye for her first match in the 14-17 year old division. This is Haley’s first international competition and when she came to ABBC she had limited tournament experience. Competing with the best in the world will give her a taste of high level competition and gauge her progress! Haley’s second match was against a girl from the US and they both fought extremely well! Haley lost with a final score of 1-8. She is looking forward to the Senior Division tomorrow…good luck Haley!

This is Kacey Anderson’s fourth US Open and in the previous three she won a total of two matches. Kacey has worked extremely hard and her “heart” paid off! There were 32 girls in Kacey’s division and she needed to win five matches for a gold medal.
1st match vs. Korea – Kacey wins 8-0
2nd match vs. California – Kacey wins 1-0
3rd match vs. Equador – Kacey wins 4-1
4th match vs. New Jersey – Kacey lost (-1)-2
KACEY WINS BRONZE MEDAL!! THIS IS HER FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEDAL!! WAY TO GO KACEY!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!! You competed with “heart” to win BRONZE!!

We look forward to hearing how each of these phenomenal athletes perform in the Senior division later today and tomorrow! CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!



The 2009 US Open hosted over 2000 black belts from all over the world fighting for Gold, and the level of competition is unprecedented. There have been several exciting matches and we are thrilled to be a part of this amazing event!

Emily Pearn competed in the Senior Division (Adults age 18-32) on Saturday afternoon. Her first match was against an athlete from Nepal. Nepal bowed out due to an injury. Emily competed with an Australian Team Member in her 2nd match. It was an intense battle and ended 1-1; Emily was victorious in sudden death! Congratulations Emily! Now Emily faces an outstanding athlete from Aruba who in a previous competition defeated Charlotte Craig (2008 US Olympian). This was a difficult match-up for her because the Aruban athlete was incredibly ring savvy and confident. Emily gave it her all but fell short in the end. We are incredibly proud of Emily’s gutsy performance and can’t wait to hear how she does with the AAU National Team at the Dutch Open in March! Good Luck Emily!

Kacey Anderson and Haley Gallina were called to their rings at the exact same time on Sunday afternoon so Master Al asked his good friend Master Medina to coach Kacey while he coached Haley!

Kacey sparred a woman from Canada a few inches taller and she was a counter fighter. After the first round the score was 1-1, at the end of the second round it was 2-2. Kacey managed the match well but at the end of the third round Canada won 5-2. Great job Kacey!

Haley Gallina was matched with an athlete from Russia who was significantly taller than she was. Haley was up by one point at the end of the first round! The score was tied in the second round and then Haley lost a point for holding. Final score at the end of round three was Russia-7, Haley-1. Outstanding effort Haley!

This was the first international tournament that these girls were able compete in both the 14-17 year old Junior Division as well as the 18-32 Senior Division. We are so proud of their commitment to competition and improving their skills! This was an excellent experience for everyone!

AAU Team Trials

Well, we all arrived safely in Fort Lauderdale! Hurricane Hanna was on her way out and Hurricane Ike is expected to hit in a few days. WHEW - that was close! Emily Pearn and her dad, Tim along with Kacey Anderson and her mom, Kim were anxiously awaiting the Amateur Athlete Union’s Team Trials for the 2009 season! The girls weighed in on Friday evening without any trouble and found out who was in their division.

Kacey Anderson had two other girls in her division; Emilia Morrow, a former USAT and AAU National Team member and Devon Lewis, Arlene Limas’ student. Arlene Limas is an old friend of Master Al’s and a 1988 Gold medalist in the Seoul Olympics.

Emily Pearn had two other girls in her division as well. Selina Tubbs is a former World Champion and National Team member, and Natalia Correa, the girl Emily competed against at the AAU Nationals in Madison. Selina Tubbs was disqualified because she was not able to make weight. She later received a special exception to enter the higher weight class. That left Natalia Correa in Emily’s division and Emily would need to beat her twice to make the 2009 Team!
Competition started promptly at 9am on Saturday morning. This was an incredibly special event for ABBC and for all Illinois athletes. This is the first time Illinois has had ten athletes competing for a spot on the National team and this was the first time ABBC had black belt athletes old enough to qualify for Team Trials! It was a round-robin format and we were excited about the opportunity for Illinois to make its mark on a national stage!

Emily was the first to spar in match number 28 and she gapped Natalia 7-0 in the middle of the second round! Go Emily! She needs to win one more time in the finals to secure her spot on the team!

Kacey was up next with match number 30 and sparred Devon Lewis. Kacey went the full two rounds and fell short with a score of 2-4. It’s not over for Kacey; round robin format gives her two more chances to make the finals if she wins her next match!

Kacey and Emilia Morrow competed in match number 99. Emilia had already beaten Devon by point gap in an earlier match. Kacey needed a win to give herself a chance at the finals. Master Al and Kacey decided to try a new strategy against the very experienced and ring savvy Morrow. The strategy was very successful! Kacey threw Emilia’s rhythm off and made her work for every point! Kacey scored the first point, and at the end of the first round, Kacey was up by one point. Kacey competed well and challenged Emilia. With less than a minute remaining in the match, Kacey was down by one and stepped out of the ring losing one point. Although the victory went to Morrow with a score of 3-5 in the second round, this match was by far Kacey’s best performance against her. Emilia Morrow will remember Kacey Anderson when they meet next year at Team Trials! Excellent job Kacey – you made us proud!

Emily’s next match was in the finals. If Natalia wins, they spar each other again! You must win the best of three. Emily listened to Master Al and performed extremely well! Emily went the full three rounds and wins the match 7-3! When she turned to face Master Al, she ran and jumped into his arms with elation! Her father, Kacey, Kim and the entire Champion team were all cheering for her! Emily Pearn is the first ABBC student to make a National Taekwondo Team! Congratulations to Emily and to every athlete that spars – you helped prepare her for this level of competition, this is a victory for us ALL!