CMS Seventh Grader Jessica Goldman of West Windsor received the silver award in form and the gold award and world champion title in weapons at American Taekwondo Association’s World hampionship competition held in Little Rock, Arkansas, in June.##M:[more]##
Jessica, 11, will be a seventh grade student at Community Middle School in September. She has been studying Taekwondo for six years at ATA Black
Belt Academy in Monmouth Junction. She also plays baseball, practices cheerleading, and is studies gymnastics at Motion Gymnastics in Pennington.
She has attended competitions this past year in Orlando, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Panama City, Pittsburgh, and numerous events in New Jersey and Delaware.
Jessica was born in Hackensack and moved to West Windsor from South Brunswick four years ago. Her father, Roy, is director of manufacturing with Mother’s Work based in Philadelphia. Her mother, Denise, is a personal trainer at Gold’s Gym. Her brother, Jared, 9, is a third grader at Dutch Neck School.
“Her mother wanted her to study taekwondo for confidence, self-defense, and exercise,” says her father. “She also uses her gymnastic skills in martial arts.””
The belts in taekwondo signify ranks and proficiency in the current belt’s techniques including basic movies, sparring, and forms. Jessica, a black belt, has achieved white, orange, yellow, camouflage, green, purple, blue, brown, red, and red and white belts. Jessica is also a three-time New Jersey state champion triple crown winner with titles in forms, weapons and sparring. Since winning her world title, she has become a second degree black belt and has a new set of forms to learn.
