Siblings rack up taekwondo medals

In that respect, Alec and Elizabeth Dubow differ from most siblings.

Alec, 16, and 10-year-old Elizabeth are second-degree black belts in taekwondo. The Rancho Bernardo residents train at the San Diego Black Belt Academy at the RB Swim & Tennis Club.

Recently, both of the Dubows — who have been practicing the martial art for three years — reached milestones.

Elizabeth finished first in her category and belt rank for the state of California, while Alec made it to the American Taekwondo Association’s World Championships, where he won titles in five events he competed in.

To make it to the World Championships, competitors must be ranked in the top 10 in their divisions. The rankings are based on points accumulated during the regular season, which runs from July to May. Points are gained according to the finishes at tournaments. State champions are also determined by the number of points competitors accumulate during a season.

At the World Championships, held in Little Rock, Ark., Dubow competed in the 13-16 second-degree black belt boys division.

He took part in seven events, taking first place in traditional forms, traditional sparring, creative forms, creative weapons and extreme weapons.

Dubow also competed in traditional weapons and extreme forms, and he took second in those events. He was the state champion in the seven events.

“Before I started the competition I started to get nervous,” Dubow said. “But then I told myself that it was just like any other tournament and I was calm.”

This was the first time that Dubow qualified to make it to the World Championships.

He said the trip was a result of hard work during the course of the season.

“I just tried harder and put more power into my forms and I did deeper stances and made them perfect,” he said. “After I made those changes, I started getting more first place finishes and I started accumulating points.”

Dubow said his sister started practicing taekwondo first, but he soon grew interested in the sport and decided to take it up.

Since he first started, Dubow has set high standards for himself. His goals included earning a black belt, never to be late to any of his classes and never to miss a belt testing. He has achieved those goals, always making it to his four weekly classes, plus one or two private sessions a week.

He credits that dedication with helping him earn a black belt in less than a year and a half. He’s earned 10 belts since he started practicing the sport, which amounts to getting a new one every two months.

“Usually it takes people a little bit longer,” he said. “People don’t usually go to every testing, they may wait and then test in the next cycle.”

He said his ultimate goal is to reach 8th degree black belt, or “chief master.” (Taekwondo has a ninth degree black belt, but only one person holds that at a time).

Elizabeth, meanwhile, said she’s happy to have been the state champion for her age and rank in traditional forms and weapons.

“I was going to a lot of tournaments and winning first place,” she said. “My goal was to get first place at every tournament and a lot of the times it happened. It’s just about practicing more and working really hard.”

Jacquie Dubow, their mother, said she’s noticed a lot of positive changes in her children as a result of their involvement with the sport.

“They’ve learned discipline and perseverance and loyalty,” she said.