Airman wins gold medal in national Taekwondo championship

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi
  • 65th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
LAJES FIELD, Azores --  A Lajes warrior from the 65th Security Forces Squadron recently competed in the 2011 U.S. National Taekwondo Championship and came back with two medals -- a gold and a bronze medal.

Airman 1st Class Matthew Dunlap, 65th SFS patrolman, said winning a gold medal in a national competition was a great feeling, despite being out of major competitions for about three years.

"It's been three years since I had been on a competition floor," said Dunlap. "So, it was a big jump going from working military lifestyle to switching back to a competitive mode.

"It was hard practicing because there is no one here that knew how to train, so I had to do all the training on my own," he added.

When Dunlap arrived in San Jose, Calif., for the fight, scheduled for July 2 and 3, he met his former Taekwondo coach, and he was able to get in some more preparation time.

"He helped me out with some training, but when I got on the floor, I was on my own and my 16 years of training kicked back in," said Dunlap.

According to him, fighting and doing well just came naturally.

During the competition, with more than 4,000 competitors, Dunlap competed in the 174-180 pound weight class, and age group of 18 to 36 years.

First, Dunlap was selected to compete in the grassroots division, which would allow him to advance to the world-class division if he won. And that's just what he did. He won his first fight, 7-3, winning a gold medal.

"My first fight was probably my toughest fight," he said. "I didn't have the opportunity to feel the arena and the competition area."

He moved up to the world-class division, where he also won his first fight, 5-3. In the next fight, a second contestant stopped Dunlap from moving on to the next level.

If Dunlap had won that division, he would have advanced to participate in the U.S. National Team trial.

Dunlap said his passion for the sport is one of the reasons he joined the military. He began fighting when he was 5, and after a couple of fights, he fell in love with the sport. His passion to get the best out of it skyrocketed. Since then, he hasn't stopped adding to his medal racks.

Dunlap won his first gold medal when he was 10 in a state championship, and ever since, he has been in more than 12 states championships and three nationals.

"I have been in three world championships," he added. "I have also won a Pan American Championship with a gold medal. The PANAM Games was a big milestone in my Taekwondo career."

In his last year in the world championship, Dunlap was ranked fifth in the World.

Dunlap lost count of the number of medals he had won after about 16 medals. 

He attributes his success to determination, hard work and drive to keep training despite obstacles. He also said the Air Force physical training exercise helped along the way.

Dunlap has always achieved an excellent score on his PT test.

"Air Force fitness has a big impact on my training," he said. "By participating in Air Force PT and incorporating some of my squadron PT into my training, I got a lot stronger. I am now more aggressive and competitive, and my attacking and defending tactics are executed with more confidence."

Dunlap is so determined to represent the Air Force, that funding a permissive temporary duty out of his own pocket to attend a competition won't deter the Airman from following his dreams.

He spent about $2,000 just to fund his trip to this recent competition.

"Everything I have done up to this point has been all about how it's going to affect my Taekwondo," Dunlap said. "When I am playing a different sport to keep in shape or training on my own for more than four hours a day... everything I do each day revolves around Taekwondo."

He said winning a gold medal and a bronze after a long absence from major competitions is a testament to his determination to represent the Air Force very well.

"All my friends and people I have competed with over the years were surprised to see me come back, especially representing the Air Force," he said. "They were all surprised to see the Air Force on my uniform. It made me a little more proud to compete because I wasn't representing a local school. I was representing the United States Air Force. It made me stand up taller and hold my head up higher."