Taekwondo is an ancient art of unarmed combat that had its beginnings in Korea.

Today, it’s a very popular sport world-wide that participants of all ages can enjoy.

In the Korean language, taekwondo means the “art of hand and foot,” where participants of all ages and skill levels put on lightning-fast demonstrations of athletic ability and discipline.

Sponsored by Woodwards Taekwondo in Oak Harbor, Saturday’s tournament at Oak Harbor High School brought together more than 100 participants from throughout Western Washington to demonstrate their skills in front of the masters and an enthusiastic audience.

“This is the 10th anniversary of the Hwa-Rang Taekwondo Federation tournaments,” said Greg Woodward, owner of the Oak Harbor studio. “What we are having is a regional, a smaller type of tournament here today. The big tournament will be the nationals in June.”

Students from communities around the area including Friday Harbor, Sultan, Lake Stevens, Mount Vernon, Yakima and Stanwood, in addition to Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, were entered in the tournament and were working hard to advance their knowledge and skill levels, hopefully to attain the coveted black belt in the sport.

Ten-year-old Anna King from Oak Harbor, who holds a black belt, was one of the top competitors in her division.

“I’ve been in the sport for almost three years and I enjoy it very much,” she said.

Another veteran competitor in the sport is 10-year-old Jose Cabigting, also from Oak Harbor.

“This my sixth year of doing taekwondo,” he said.

Cabigting may still be short in stature, but his skill and quickness have earned him a black belt.

The high school gymnasium was divided into “rings” for the competition in forms and sparring, and each event was overseen by one of the HTF taekwondo masters.

“We have a lot of help from a lot of people to put on this tournament and I’m pleased with the number of participants we have here today,” Woodward said.

One of the younger competitors in the tournament was Jlynn Zimmerman from Sultan.

Although the 3-year-old didn’t understand all the commands from the judge in her division, she showed a lot of skill in punching, turning and kicking, and won the second place trophy in forms.

“This is the 11th year I have had the studio open in Oak Harbor and we have more students take classes every year,” Woodward said.

Taking taekwondo classes might be fun, but the real excitement comes when students can demonstrate their skills in a tournament.