When the taekwondo competition starts tomorrow in Beijing, Haverhill's Michael Tang will be on the sidelines cheering on his close friends and former roommates — gold medal hopefuls Steven, Mark and Diana Lopez of Texas.
The gold medal rounds in the heavyweight division this weekend promise to be particularly bittersweet for Tang, a three-time U.S. national taekwondo heavyweight champion, who once had his own sights set on competing in these Olympic Games.
Saturday marks the two-year anniversary of the night Tang, 35, almost lost his life in a bloody barroom brawl at the former River City Billiards in downtown Haverhill. Tang was stabbed in the chest with a hunting knife as he dragged his beaten and bleeding brother, David, out of the club through brawling patrons.
The fight erupted about midnight on Aug. 23, 2006, after a party to celebrate Haverhill native Jeff Fraza's appearance on the ESPN reality boxing TV show "The Contender." Tang, whose heart was punctured, was taken by helicopter to a Boston hospital for surgery that saved his life. Doctors that night gave him a 50/50 chance of surviving.
Tang has not only survived, he has prospered.
About this time last year, he was trying to qualify for Beijing. He finished second in a regional qualifying match only eight weeks after doctors cleared him to start training again in the Korean martial art that focuses on fast, high kicking.
"But it was too much too fast," Tang said in a recent interview at Joseph's Trattoria in Haverhill before flying to China on Saturday to support the Lopez family. "There was too much damage to my core. I could have kept going (to try to qualify for the Beijing Olympics) based on that finish, but it was too much too fast after open-heart surgery. There's a lot of scar tissue that still causes pain in my back and muscles."
Tang, who is half Korean, spent the last year coaching Harvard University to a Division II taekwondo championship and opening training centers in Wilmington and Rhode Island, where he coaches an Olympic-style taekwondo team of top prospects.
When he returns from Beijing in two weeks, Tang said his focus will be on opening a new U.S. Olympics-sponsored training center in the Ward Hill Business Park off Route 125 in the Bradford section of Haverhill.
Earlier this month, Tang was appointed by the U.S. Olympic Committee to the position of regional programs and development adviser for USA Taekwondo. His role is to formulate regional programs for the purpose of developing a national program, according to a letter to Tang from U.S. Olympic officials.
The training center will offer classes and instruction in Olympic-style taekwondo, judo, boxing and wrestling, Tang said.
"It's going to a place for elite athletes, but also for children and adult beginners who just want to learn Olympic-style martial arts and sportsmanship," he said.
Tang said he will bring the Lopezes to Haverhill for the grand opening this fall. He also brought the Lopezes to the area in June for a taekwondo seminar and camp in North Andover.
"Taekwondo is a big part of my life — the Olympic coach wants me to come back in 2009 for the world championships," Tang said. "But since the stabbing, I want to make a greater impact with my life."
"I love working with kids, and I love promoting the Olympic spirit as it applies to martial arts," Tang said. "That's why I'm doing this. My Olympic training and those relationships has opened a lot of doors for me. I want to turn that into something meaningful."
Tang met the Lopez clan, which also includes oldest sibling and coach Jean, in the early 2000s while living and training for the Olympics near Houston.
Steven, 29, Mark, 26, and Diana, 24, are the first trio from the same family to represent the United States at the Olympics since 1904. Each won in his or her weight class at the 2005 taekwondo championships. Steven has already won two Olympic gold medals.
"They're like family," Tang said of the Lopezes. "I'll be cheering them on and I'll also do some writing and blogging about them while I'm there for taekwondo magazines."
As for his own recovery and fitness level, Tang said, "I'm not 100 percent yet, but I'll be there by 2009" for the world championships.
Where, when to watch
The Olympics taekwondo competition begins Wednesday morning and continues through the heavyweight and welterweight gold medal rounds Saturday. Most of the matches are available live in streaming video at NBCOlympics.com., where a detailed schedule also can be found. All four U.S. competitors are medal favorites — welterweight Steven Lopez, featherweights Mark and Diana Lopez, and flyweight Charlotte Craig.
Taekwondo 101
Olympic taekwondo is an individual sport.
There are four weight classes where men and women compete separately. Matches are three rounds, with a sudden-death round when a tie occurs. Competition is single elimination, with double elimination to determine the bronze medal winner.
Scoring
One point is awarded for all clean, strong-hand strikes or kicks to the body. Two points are awarded for kicks to the head. The sides of the head and the face are legal, but any other head strike is illegal..A kick to the back of the head will result in a penalty. One point is awarded if a competitor knocks down the opponent, resulting in a mandatory standing eight count.
Winning the match
A match is won by the competitor who has the most points at the end of three rounds. A competitor also can win when his opponent is disqualified by referee stoppage..Referee stoppage results when the winning competitor has a 7-point lead over the opponent or when a competitor reaches 12 points total before the end of three rounds.
In the event of a tie at the end of three rounds, a sudden-death round will take place. The first competitor to score a point is declared the winner. If there is no winner at the end of the sudden-death round, the judges will decide the winner based on which competitor shows the most aggression and technique in the fourth round.
