Students from Orillia’s taekwondo program have been making their mark in large Ontario tournaments this year, collecting numerous medals over the course of 2022.
This past weekend, the club sent 10 representatives to the Toronto Open Taekwondo Championships, coming back with seven gold, four silver, and two bronze medals across various divisions.
In May, the club performed just as well, bringing back numerous gold, silver, and bronze medals from the Son’s Premier Taekwondo Championships in Brampton.
The program is hosted by the city’s Parks and Rec division at Rotary Place, with biweekly classes taught by Master Mike Larose.
Larose holds a 5th degree blackbelt in taekwondo and has competed provincially, nationally and internationally numerous times over 42 years training in the martial art.
He said he is proud of the work his students have managed to accomplish, especially considering the club only started operating in 2019.
“I'm so proud, especially those little white belts who are brand new to taekwondo, (to) go down and kick butt and get double gold,” Larose told OrilliaMatters. “Our results were stunning: we came back with multiple gold, silver and bronze with a small team.”
A part of club’s success, Larose said, is a focus on making the sport accessible and on the small class sizes he offers.
The program is divided into eigh-week sessions at a cost of $132, Larose said, which provides students with two sessions per week. Additional sessions are offered by Larose free of charge for students who wish to participate in tournaments.
“It's not for profit, we break even. For those that are interested in tournaments, they get free private lessons,” Larose said. “(The city) graciously has donated me this room (at Rotary Place) as long as I don't charge, which I have no interest in doing.
“I don't want to go and open a club and charge all this money,” he said. “I love the grassroots, community involvement level.”
Larose said he implemented small classes during the pandemic, beginning with outdoor training to comply with public health measures. One student even completed a black belt test out in the rain, Larose said, and he cited small classes, usually between six and 12 students, as a “huge” part of the club’s success.
“As COVID eased, I stuck with it. The results of the tournament, (other clubs have) more kids to practise fighting against, I’ll give them that, but in my classes they get so much one-on-one,” Larose said. “You'll never get that from a big club Barrie or Toronto would have.”
Larose said he currently teaches around 35 students, ranging in age from four years old to fully grown adults, with an equal mix of boys and girls.
In his adult class, he teaches two women in their forties, and he hopes to see more women of all ages take up the martial art.
“I think they're quite happy that the other one is there because it's always kind of had that stigma as a male sport,” Larose said. “Getting females in sports is tough … they have hurdles that guys don't.”
Larose said his classes are segregated by belt and age, with equal focus given to competitive taekwondo and patterns, or Poomsae, which focuses on the finer aspects, including form.
Whether prospective students are interested in competing or not, Larose said they are welcome.
“(I’m) always promoting competition, but on the same note … if they're not interested in tournaments, that's fine, too. Some just want to come and do their belts.”
Residents can sign up for taekwondo on the city website.
