A world class athlete comes back to his hometown to train for two competitions.

One tournament makes a Sun City appearance, one that hasn't come to the United States in over a decade.

"Right now, we're training here in preparation for the U.S. Open which is one of the biggest international tournaments in the world," said Julio Saunders, a competitor with the US Army World Class Athlete Program.

Saunders is stationed in Colorado but came to his hometown of El Paso to prepare for the tournament.

He's back at the very gym he started training at.

"I decided to come back home to my roots and get on that podium back from where I started from," said Saunders.

But that's not the only thing that makes El Paso unique.

Fort Bliss has been chosen to host the 2013 CISM World Military Taekwondo championships in October.

"It's like, the Olympics for the military. You'll have the top flight competitors from all the countries, all the militaries. There are actually world medalists Olympians so it'll be really really great competition that will be here," said Saunders.

The competition hasn't been held in the U.S. since 2000.

"The reason why we love it is because we get so much international competition. They have the fighters come from across the border, it gives us international experience also. It's great training," said Saunders.

But says it's more than all about competition.

"It's not just about fighting. It's about learning the system and learning the game. That's what makes this sport tough," said Saunders.

Ryan McCulloch is Julio's partner who will also be competing in both competitions.

The U.S. Open will be held Feburary 19-23 in Las Vegas.

The CISM World Military Championship will be held in October on Fort Bliss.