CHICAGO | It's a long commute from Mequon, Wis., to the southeastern side of Chicago and back. But 16-year-old twins Alex and Nicholas Yow are willing to make it -- three times a week.
"It takes us about 3 1/2 hours to get here ... a little shorter for the way back," said Alex and Nick's mother, Kim Yow, who does most of the driving.
The reason for the repeated trips is an opportunity to train at Champion Taekwondo Institute's Chicago school headed by Master Luciano Medina.
"We started training together at our hometown YMCA," said Kim, who has attained the rank of second-degree black belt. "But when we started going to tournaments, we noticed how well students from this school were doing."
Soon, the Yows signed up and they've been gassing up the family car ever since.
"It's been worth it," Alex said of the thrice-a-week commitment that started three years ago. "Before when we would enter tournaments, we would usually lose in the first round and never make it to the finals. But now ..."
At the World Junior Team Trials held Jan. 8-10 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Alex and Nick both secured spots on Team USA for the 2010 World Junior Taekwondo Championships to take place March 3-6 in Tijuana, Mexico. They earned them by winning their respective divisions -- Alex won the male bantamweight division (105.9-112.4 pounds) and Nick won the male lightweight division (121.4-130.1).
This came shortly after both received their third-degree black belts.
"Testing for a higher belt ranking is tough, but it's nothing compared to the pressure of competition," Nick said. "In a tournament, your friends and family are watching.
"Usually, I'm most nervous right before a sparring match. But once it starts, I'm more relaxed ... more confident from my training."
It's rare that two brothers can make the USA World Junior Team, let alone two from the same school. But another CTI student was close to making the cut -- Hammond 13-year-old Humberto "Tito" Prada Jr., who was defeated by Alex in the bantamweight finals.
All three train at the CTI Chicago school on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, alongside Chicago residents Michelle Silva and Gregory English, both of whom will represent the USA at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, also held in Tijuana in March; and AAU National Junior Team members Emily Pearn and Christian Medina.
"It's an honor for me to train so many dedicated athletes," said Mexico native and Dyer resident Luciano Medina, father of Christian. "They come from all over, and you can't be just anyone to come here on these nights.
"This is when our national team-level students train, and you can see they mean business," he added, referring to a roundhouse kick drill where a line of his pupils take turns assaulting a heavy bag with bone-crushing impact.
