Members of Oakmont Martial Arts earn awards in world competition in Phoenix

Clarissa Tinkey was on the doorstep of a medal at the American Taekwondo Association’s Songahm World Championships earlier this month in Phoenix, Ariz.

The Verona resident and rising sophomore at Redeemer Lutheran High School in Verona competed for bronze in combat sparring for the Girls 13-14-year-old 2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt division.

While she came up just short in that bout, she was pleased with a world fourth-place finish, the highest mark among the five competitors representing Oakmont Martial Arts.

“That felt pretty good to earn that,” said Tinkey, who has risen up the taekwondo ranks to her black-belt standing since her start some six years ago. “There were nerves at first, but after the first match, it was fine. It just went back to my training and trusting myself and my abilities. I was surprised to make it to worlds this year. But I have good instructors, and I felt I was prepared to do well.”

The divisions at worlds were broken down by a combination of age and belt rank.

All the competitors at the world championships were able to qualify by compiling the necessary amount of points at tournaments throughout the season or finish as a champion at the district championships.

For those in the Pittsburgh area, including from Oakmont Martial Arts, they faced competition from the rest of Pennsylvania, as well as Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine at the Northeast Regional on June 9-10 in Lancaster.

Tinkey, in combat sparring, needed to win her district-championship tournament to qualify for the world championships, and she did just that.

The same was true for Penn Hills’ Erika Gregg, who took first in combat sparring for the Women 18-29-year-old 2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt division.

Plum’s Jacob Cain (Boys 11-12, 2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt) in forms; Oakmont’s Sam Steimer (Men’s 40-49, 1st Degree Black Belt) in forms, weapons, combat sparring and creative weapons; and Plum’s Jim Cain (Men’s 40-49, 1st Degree Black Belt) for forms and sparring qualified for and competed at the world championships based on their points earned during the season.

“It made it a lot better to go out there with a group where we could cheer each other on an support each other,” Tinkey said.

Irwin’s Adam Karaffa, also a student at Oakmont Martial Arts, won a district title in creative weapons in the Men’s 40-49, 2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt division. He also earned a sufficient amount of points during the season. But, JP Mahlmeister, instructor at the school, said Karaffa decided not to compete at the world championships.

“This was a huge deal to have all of them qualify for worlds and represent the school,” said Mahlmeister, who stayed home and kept the school running and didn’t make the trip to Phoenix. “I texted a couple of the parents who were out there to see how everything was going and how everyone did. I was able to watch video sent to me.

“As their instructor, I felt great for them to see all they accomplished and getting to that stage through their hard work. It was all about them at that point. They got out there and did what they always do.”

The American Taekwondo Association, founded in 1969, boasts more than 300,000 active members in more than two dozen countries with more than 120,000 members in just the U.S., making it one of the largest taekwondo organizations in the world.

Martial artists from South America, Canada, Africa and Asia filled the competition arena at the world championships.

“At the start, they do a parade of nations like you would see at the Olympics,” Mahlmeister said. “The U.S. had the most competitors, but there were a lot from South America, including Brazil. There are a lot of schools down there. You could feel the positive atmosphere and camaraderie among the international field of competitors.”

The world championships was the first in a two-day event in Phoenix. The competition concluded the 2022-23 season.

The next day, the 2023-24 season began with the Super 20 tournament. International points were on the line as everyone was eligible to compete in the four disciplines: combat sparring, traditional sparring, weapons and forms.

Tinkey and Jacob Cain both earned second-place finishes at the Super 20.

All of the world-championship participants and others throughout the region have turned their focus to more training and are gearing up for future events, most notably the ATA Fall Nationals on Oct. 18-21 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.