Tamela Thomas from West Seattle was named the female under black belt grand champion in the 2008 Tang Soo Do World Championships held on July 11th and 12th 2008. 11 martial arts students from West Seattle traveled to Orlando, FL to compete in the event. The students ranged in age from 9 years old to 48 years old. The students, who train at Evergreen Tang Soo Do Academy in West Seattle, were lead by their instructor Master Steven Elmore, a 4th Degree Black Belt in the art of Tang Soo Do. They ranged in ability from orange belt beginners all the way to Black Belt experts.

The competition was truly a worldwide event with over 2,600 competitors from over 20 countries. All of the students from Evergreen Tang Soo Do Academy performed very well and won many medals with one local woman taking home one of the top honors. Thomas, a 48 year old red belt, of West Seattle, won gold medals in forms, weapons, and sparring divisions which resulted in her being named the World Champion. World Champions in the other divisions hailed from Great Britain, Puerto Rico, The Netherlands, and Mozambique. No one from Seattle or the entire Northwest region has ever won this prized championship.

Thomas? humble attitude about becoming a world champion overshadows her achievement. Even though she won gold medals in each of her divisions, she feels as if she could have done better and is already looking forward to improving her skills for the next competition. More important than winning and improving her own skills, Thomas is grateful that she can share in an activity that she loves (martial arts) with her son Tug, who is also a red belt and competed at the recent world championships along side her. Tamela and Tug exemplify the positive attributes of martial arts including brotherhood, humility, and perseverance