Carolina Tae Kwon Do

Casey Miller, President of Carolina Tae Kwon Do, filled me in on what it’s like to be a part of the club that practices WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) style Tae Kwon Do, including Olympic style sparring and the Tae Guek forms.  This is her second year with Carolina TKD and she has over three years of experience with World Champion Tae Kwon Do in Wake Forest, N.C.  Her belt level is 1^st Dan Black and her style is WTF.  Additionally, she has a Brown Belt in Goju Ryu.  Keep reading for the scoop on Casey and her team!

1. What made you decide to do Carolina TKD?

I transferred to UNC last year as a sophomore from American University in D.C.  I was looking to find my place at the university and had participated in both Tae Kwon Do and Goju-Ryu Karate in the past.  I wanted to find an activity that I would enjoy and that would help me meet new people at the university.

2. What is your favorite thing about this sport?

I really like how well-rounded the sport is.  We focus on sparring, perfecting techniques and learning new techniques, so no matter the person’s skill level, there’s always something that he or she can learn or work on.

3. What does a typical practice look like for your team?

We have a couple of different types of practices.  Both Monday and Wednesday practices are generally broken down between beginner/intermediate and advanced skill levels.  The first 50 minutes are allocated for beginner/intermediate students, the middle 20 minutes is set aside as the cardio section of class for all students, and the last 50 minutes of class are geared toward advanced students.  We practice sparring on Monday and technique on Wednesday.  We also have demo team practice on Fridays where the members learn new techniques as well as create and practice choreographed demonstrations for events on campus.

4. Tell us about some of your team’s accomplishments.

We had a sparring scrimmage with Duke in October of last year where we defeated the 2-1.  We also have two demonstrations coming up in mid-February.  Our demo team will be performing at Dance Marathon and at Koreanite.  We have been practicing and rehearsing this for months and are really looking forward to showing our demo to the public.

5. What kind of teams do you play?

We typically organize events with Tae Kwon Do clubs from local universities.

6. What is your most memorable moment on Carolina TKD?

I’d have to say that my most memorable club moment was sitting on the couches outside the Great Hall right after we performed at Koreanite last year, watching the recording of our demo that we’d just preformed 20 minutes earlier on stage.  I’d injured my foot the night before at practice and, while it hurt after performing, the sense of accomplishment overpowered whatever pain I felt.

7. What’s your favorite thing about playing on this team?

Most of my best friends here at school are part of the club, so I really enjoy being able to practice a sport that I love with some of my friends.

8. What else are you involved in on campus?

I’m a Multimedia Journalism major and am working as part of a team this semester to update and reorganize the Living Galapagos website hosted by the Journalism School.

Carolina TKD definitely has a lot of things to be proud of!  This team has many great accomplishments and Casey proves her commitment and hard work!  Thanks, Casey, on filling us in on you and your team!

For more information on Carolina TKD, visit carolinataekwondo.wordpress.com.  And if you are interested in joining the club or would like more information, feel free to contact Casey at caseymm@gmail.com or Vice President Jenny Lindh at lindh@live.unc.edu.