Meet Sabum ARIELLA FIGUEROA

When I was nine years old, my family and I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada from New York City. My mother could tell I was lonely, sad, and struggling to make friends. We took a tour of a local YMCA hoping I would find something that piqued my interest. I vividly remember watching an ITF Taekwon-Do program from an observation deck on the second floor. I was so captivated by the students literally running across the walls like Sonic the Hedgehog, using the wall as a springboard to launch themselves through the air, and performing what I now know to be a flying turning kick while breaking a board in mid-air—one student after another! I was so enthralled that I didn’t even realize my family had continued the tour without me! I ran to my mother and asked her to sign me up immediately, hoping I could start that very day. What started out as a wildly fun after-school activity turned into a way of life for me.

My most memorable moment was winning my first world title in Dublin, Ireland, in 2017. It was my very first ITF World Championship. In the two years leading up to the competition, I had pushed my body through relentless training, fine-tuned every technique, and visualized success a thousand times over. But nothing could have truly prepared me for what it felt like to stand in that ring, knowing everything I had worked for and sacrificed had come down to those final two tuls. The exhaustion was real—my legs were heavy, my lungs burned, and every instinct told me I had already given everything I had. But in that moment, I discovered a level of resilience I didn’t know existed. It wasn’t just about skill or conditioning anymore. It was about digging deep into something more—an inner strength that refused to let me give up. When doubt crept in, when fatigue whispered that I had reached my limit, I found another gear. I pushed through every technique, every moment, forcing myself to exceed my perceived boundaries. When the umpires declared me the World Champion, I realized that resilience isn’t something you’re just born with—it’s something you forge in the moments when quitting seems easier than continuing. That championship didn’t just prove I was the best in the world at that moment—it showed me that I am capable of more than I ever imagined, even when the odds push back.

5x USA National Champion

4x Finnish National Champion

World and European Champion in tuls

World Cup winner in tuls

Bronze World and European medalist in traditional sparring

Currently, I split my time between my dojang, Black Eagle Taekwon-Do, in Tampere, Finland, and my home in Oahu, Hawaii. I'm an instructor at Black Eagle Taekwon-Do, and I also teach online lessons and travel throughout the world to give seminars.

The biggest and most important event of my calendar this year, will be the upcoming World Championships in Croatia. I am not only thrilled to share the tatami with tremendously talented athletes but also excited for the chance to see friends from across the globe! I like to think that the ITF also stands for “International Taekwon-Do Family.”

My experience working with Mightyfist:

Working with Mightyfist has provided me with valuable opportunities to expand my athletic journey. In 2022, I worked with my instructor, Master Thierry Meyour, and teammate Mira Sjövall (also a World & European Champion, World Cup winner, and 2x best overall competitor) to help design the latest iteration of Mightyfist’s dobok, the LUMIX. We were the first practitioners to premiere the newest edition of Mightyfist’s illustrious uniforms at the 2023 European Championships in Romania. It’s my uniform of choice for every training session, seminar, and competition!

Helping to design the LUMIX has allowed me to expand my expertise outside of the tatami, while also contributing to the creation of a high-quality, durable product that everyone from 10th gups to Grand Masters can enjoy for years to come!