Excel Taekwondo Center

Excel Taekwondo Center opened its doors on January 1, 2001. The first location had 2,200 square feet and was in a strip mall on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. To accommodate growth, the school moved to a 4,400 square foot facility in 2005. However, more space was needed as the school continued to grow. In 2007, the school moved to its current location with more than 6,000 square feet in space, making Excel Taekwondo Center one of the biggest schools in the area.

Ulysses and Catherine Marcelino established Excel to pursue what they love – to practice and teach Taekwondo. Taekwondo positively changed their lives and they aim to share the benefits with their students.

Mrs. Catherine Marcelino comes from a family of Taekwondoins. Her uncle, Jamie Martin, was a member of the first Philippine National Taekwondo Team and was a bronze medalist in the 1^st Asian Taekwondo Championships in 1974. Ten years after, her brother, Arnold Baradi, won the gold medal in the 6^th Asian Taekwondo Championships. Her two sisters, Diana and Eva Ditan, were both members of the national team.

Mrs. Marcelino started Taekwondo in 1985 at the Las Pinas Taekwondo Gym, a school owned by her family. Her instructor was her brother Arnold. Prior to joining Taekwondo, she enjoyed watching the children practice at their gym and often imitated their movements. She was too shy to join the class at that time. She decided to formally begin Taekwondo after her brother won the gold medal in the Asian Championships.

She became a member of the Philippine National Team in 1990 after winning the national team selection. Her sisters joined her a year later. While in the national team, she spent an hour each way traveling to and from practice every day. When traffic was bad, her travel time increased to two hours. At that time, she was also attending college at De La Salle University. After getting home at about 10 PM, she would still do her school work and prepare for the next day. The morning workout sessions started at 6 AM so she had to get up at 4:30. In spite of her difficult schedule, Mrs. Marcelino almost never missed a day of practice. She was the flyweight national champion until her retirement in 1998. She graduated from De La Salle with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a minor in Actuarial Science.

Mr. Ulysses Marcelino started Taekwondo in 1982. He joined the Taekwondo Club in Lourdes School of Quezon City (LSQC) in the Philippines after being continuously bullied in school. He decided to learn Taekwondo to learn how to protect himself. His instructor at LSQC was Dr. Noli Gabriel. The LSQC Taekwondo Club had its practice sessions in the drafting room which had bare concrete floors.

In 1989, he joined the Carlos Palanca, Jr. Memorial Taekwondo Championships, the National Team Trials. He finished third and did not make it to the national team. In 1990, he tried again and qualified for the national team selection by winning the silver medal. He gained the middleweight spot in the Philippine National Team by beating his opponent. From 1990 to 1997, he held the middleweight division title. In 1996, he was selected to become the trainer of the women’s national team. He retired in August 1997 and moved to the United States.