Kennesaw siblings represent USA in world martial-arts competition
Every few months, George Adams finds himself back in the basement building more shelves.
More than 500 trophies and medals overwhelm the room, each a memento in his children’s martial-arts careers.
But if Andrew and Alexandra should return to Kennesaw as victors once more, their spoils will manage to overshadow the rest.
The pair will be among the representatives for the USA in the Amateur World Kickboxing and Karate Association World Championships in Scotland.
Together, they will compete on their first national team overseas.
Both began practicing taekwondo at the age of 4 before joining James Henry’s Taekwondo Center two years ago.
“They are very hard-working pretty much every day,” Henry said. “They compete probably more than any student I’ve had in some time.”
The children compete about 25 times a year while training five nights a week.
Andrew boasts four national AAU titles while Alexandra holds three -- no doubt the product of their rigorous training and competition schedule.
And now, they will have the opportunity to take their competition overseas.
“It was a big leap,” George Adams said. “Although winning AAU titles was big, when they’re standing before a world crowd stage in Scotland, it’ll be awesome and inspiring.”
For Andrew, the excitement surrounding the competition began to set in with souvenirs he received well before competition.
“Well I was pretty excited about the jackets and pants,” he said. “They give you uniforms that say team USA.”
There’s no telling how many more trophies and medals the children will accumulate, or better yet, how many more shelves can fit in the basement.
Luckily, their father may be able to count on a tentative end.
“I’m going to do taekwondo until I’m 22,” Alexandra said. “Then I’m going to get a job.”
