The Quest to reach Team USA
Pauline Lopez performs a roundhouse kick during training. Photo by Mitchell Hyneman. A clap rings out throughout Quest Taekwondo studio, so loud that everyone watching flinches at the sound. Kamille Carbon shouts as she kicks the red paddle so hard that it flies out of the hands of her partner, Chloe Towns. Carbon immediately drops back into a fighting stance, arms covering her face, knees bent, body low to the ground. Towns picks up the paddle and holds it in front of Carbon once more, like a red cape before a bull. Carbon kicks again, harder than the first time, but this time she misses. Her sweaty face breaks out into a smile; she sticks out her tongue and crinkles her nose, laughing. Teammates who have been watching her break out into laughter, but cheer her on, saying, “C’mon Muhammad Ali!” The easy atmosphere may be deceiving, but Quest Taekwondo is known as the power plant of Redondo Beach, producing champion after champion, year after year. From July 4 to 10, Quest athletes traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Richmond, Virginia to compete in sparring at the Amateur Athletic Union Taekwondo National Championships and the USA Taekwondo National Championships. At AAU…
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