Joseph Lupo Jr., the owner and operator of the Bayside-based New York Black Belt Center, won a gold medal competing in an international Taekwondo tournament held in San Andres Timilpan, Mexico, on Nov. 9 and 10.
The event, known as the XVIII Mugung International Taekwondo Championships, was hosted by Grandmaster Angel Caballero. It featured more than 3,000 athletes from Mexico, Spain, Columbia and the United States competing across every age range. Competitions, held across 14 different rings, ranged from sparring to forms.
With the tournament being held in the mountains of San Andres Timilpan, 9,000 feet above sea level, Lupo and the rest of his team knew they would need to keep their cardio and fitness on point in order to be prepared to face fighters better acclimated to such an environment.
Lupo was part of the USA Masters Team, which featured Taekwondo practitioners from all around the United States, including four others from New York. He took great pride over the fact that several of those on the USA Masters Team ended up taking home hardware. This allowed him to share the joy of victory and accomplishment with his teammates.
The five team members from New York ended up collecting two gold medals, a silver medal and two bronze medals. Lupo and fellow Master Chet Bridgewater both earned the gold in sparring, with Lupo being in the under 80 kilogram class and Bridgewater the over 80 kilogram class. Masters John Rodriguez and Kurvan Abdukadirov earned a silver and bronze medal respectively in the under 68 kilogram class of sparring. Master Carlos Villanueva received the bronze medal for sport poomsae.
“To me, [the victory] was special because I got to share it with not just my entire team, but my other New York-based Masters,” Lupo said. “We’re all very close. We grew up together through the martial arts. To share it with those four guys made it even more special.”
Both Bridgewater and Rodriguez have been part of the New York Black Belt Center since the school was founded in 2010. Lupo had recently promoted Villanueva to Fourth Degree Master Instructor at his school. Lupo and Abdukadirov, who owns and operates a school in Brooklyn, have gotten to know each other well over the years through competitions between their martial arts academies.
Lupo’s students have taken immense pride and joy in his success at the XVIII Mugung International Taekwondo Championships.
“It exemplifies that I lead by example,” Lupo said. “I’m not just some instructor that tells people how to fight without fighting. I’m not a swim instructor that’s never jumped in the pool. It’s always about leading through example.”
The New York Black Belt Center has three locations, including two in Queens. Lupo runs the Bayside location, at 216-03 Horace Harding Expy. Rodriguez operates the Corona location, at 104-05 Northern Blvd. The third location operates at 2101 Saw Mill River Rd. in Westchester.
“I want to thank all my students and my family for all their support,” Lupo continued. “Without them, none of this would ever be possible.”
