Welcome to the website for the 2011 Haidong Gumdo Pan Am Open. We are very excited to announce this bi-annual competition which will be held July 13 - 17 2011 in beautiful Salt Lake City UT. Competitors will be invited from all pan american countries in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Competitors from other countries are welcome to attend as well. Based on the resounding success of our 2009 US OPEN championship, we expect in excess of 600 competitors to attend these games. This will make it the second largest Haidong Gumdo competition in the world.
Our competition will have events for all ages, and levels, and will include:
- Gumbup
- Gyukgum
- Paper cutting (color belt)
- Bamboo and Straw Cutting (Blackbelt and above)
- Candle Snuffing
- Group Forms
- Sword Dance
We will also hold a series of seminars over the 4 days of the event that will provide instruction on competition participation, standard techniques and our Haidong Gumdo curriculum. Testing for color belt and Blackbelt levels will be available for those who qualify. There will also be workshops on Masters Judging and Referee certification.
In addition, a competition team from the World Haidong Gumdo Federation in Korea will be sent and will show off some of the finest swordsmanship in the world.
All competitors from WHGF schools in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America are formally invited to attend our championship by invitation of President Kim. We encourage all practitioners of Haidong Gumdo to make the trip to attend. It is not often we as a community get a chance to meet. The education and also the friendship opportunities are enormous.
So please, block the date and and work hard over the next several months to perfect your technique. Who knows, you might just return home a Samurang!
Sincerely, your tournament leadership,
Chairman Won Kap Chung
President of the Canadian Haidong Gumdo Association
Pan American Championships Chairman
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Master Jeong Woo Kim
Headquarters Headmaster
Pan American Championships Committee Head |
Master Yang Tae Kim
Chairman of the Mexican Haidong Gumdo Association
Pan American Championships Tournament Director |
Master Brian Gihm
Technical Director of the Canadian Haidong Gumdo Association
Pan American Championships Tournament Director
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Master Marshall Parnell
Chief Master of the USA Haidong Gumdo Association
Pan American Championships Tournament Director
Demonstration Team Leader |
Master Peter Oien
Chief Master of the USA Haidong Gumdo Association
Pan American Championships Tournament Director
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Master Ralph Estrada
Chief Master of the USA Haidong Gumdo Association
Pan American Championships Tournament Director |
Master Becky Alan
Master in the USA Haidong Gumdo Association
Pan American Championships Tournament Director |