Holiday Party

We will have our annual holiday party in class on Thursday Dec 22.  All students and their families are invited.  We request that students wear regular clothes, no Taekwon-Do uniforms.  The party will run from 6pm-830pm.  Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Buckley are coordinating the party.  There is a signup sheet by the attendance book, so please sign up to bring a dish.  Typically, it is a potluck type of affair with some games for the students. 

Gifts

If you (parents) are looking for holiday gift ideas for your kids, please contact Mr. Bushor.  We have a commercial account with Century Martial Arts.  There are plenty of ideas for gifts.  Please look at http://www.centurymartialarts.com/  The prices listed may not be the actual prices as we receive specials all the time.  Please contact Mr. Bushor for more information.

Testing

We will have promotion testing this year in February, May, July, and November.  Mr. Bushor will clarify who will test at least 3 weeks before the testing.  All students are considered during these promotion times.  Your attendance is typically the first thing considered.  If the attendance requirements are not met then we usually defer your testing to the next time frame.  Then we consider your physicals skills (can you do everything correctly), attitude, and if you are up to date on all fees.  If you are not ready physically or your attitude isn’t ready then we will not test you.  We want you to be proud and deserve your new rank.  We are not a belt mill that promotes simply by students attending and paying for their lessons.  Finally fees must be up to date including your membership fees and tuition.  We do ask a lot of our students, but we will train you in all areas of Taekwon-Do and you will be deserving of every rank earned.

Tuition

The Youth Center is taking an aggressive role with all youth programs.  All students are required to be up to date on their tuition and payments are due at the first of the month.  The Youth Center is going to begin notifying students that are late that they can't continue to participate in class until they have paid.   We do hope this doesn't occur with any of our students.  Please inform the Youth Center staff at the front desk if you are going on vacation or going to miss a month so they are not contacting you or us. 

USTF Election

Currently, we are in the middle of the election process to elect a new president of the USTF.  The USTF was formed in 1974 at the direction of the founder of Taekwon-Do, Gen. Choi Hong Hi.  Sr. Grand Master Sereff went from the instructor of a small gym with six students to the President of 15,000 plus student organization.  Sr. Grand Master Sereff has been the president since 1979.  That is longer than some of you have been alive!  This election will replace a living legend in position only.  We can never truly replace Sr. Grand Master Sereff, but he has earned his right to retire from the politics of running the USTF as he has requested.  As a result, Master Todd has been selected to run against Sr. Master Martin from Wyoming.  The HQ USTF will announce the election results on December 15th.   Only Grand Masters, Sr. Masters, Masters, Regional & State Directors are allowed to vote.  

Website

Remember we do have a website for the class at http://www.axetkd.com  This is our class website, and if you have suggestions or questions please email Master Todd at ustfneb@cox.net.

Facebook

You may notice we are posting more pictures on Facebook instead of the axetkd website.  The facebook site has several administrators in the class so we can upload pictures much faster.  If you are a member of Facebook please check us out.  If not maybe consider joining Facebook for Taekwon-Do.  I only joined Facebook for Taekwon-Do.  Just search for AXE Taekwon-Do.  We monitor this page constantly and there will not be any inappropriate material or conduct on that site.  In our constant desire to produce quality black belts and upstanding members of the community, we do monitor all black belts on facebook to ensure they are always gentlemen and ladies both inside and outside Taekwon-Do.  Also, Facebook is free and easier for us to maintain than the website. Please visit our page for our most recent pictures.

Calendar

December 8 – Sr. Grand Master Sereff’s Birthday

December 15 – USTF Presidential Election Results Announced

December 22 – Axe Holiday Party

December 26-Jan 2 Class closed for holidays (no class Dec 27 or 29)

January 3 – Classes resume

February – BB Pretest and Axe TKD testing

May – BB Pretest and Axe TKD testing

June 24-29, 2012 – Sereff World Camp, Estes Park, CO

August – BB Pretest and Axe TKD testing

November – BB Pretest and Axe TKD testing

Axe Taekwon-Do (by Mr. Bushor)

I have been asked a number of times “Where did Axe Taekwon-Do come from?”  The name AXE came from Araxos Air Base in Greece (yep, Greece).  I was assigned to the 731st Munitions Support Squadron (MUNSS) at Araxos Air Base in Greece from September 1996 to September 1997.  This is a relatively small base with about 100 Americans on a Greek base.  The base is located about 20 miles south west of Patras in the north west corner of the Peloponnese peninsula.  Type “Araxos” into GOOGLE MAPS to see exactly where it is.  The nickname of the unit was “The Axe” and that is where I came up with the name Axe Taekwon-Do.  The first week I was in Greece I walked about 5 miles to the nearest Taekwon-Do school and it turned out to be a World Taekwon-Do Federation (WTF) school.  A few weeks later I took the bus to Patras, about 20 miles away and found a second school, another WTF school!  Turns out the closest ITF school was in Athens, about 4 hours away.  I was only in Athens a few times and was never able to find the school.  I started working out in the handball court on base, eventually a few people started watching me workout, and soon I had my first student.  The class expanded to about 10 students and included some of the Greek children on the base.  They made teaching class very interesting since I only spoke a few words of Greek and they only spoke a few words of English and none of us spoke Korean at all!  When I finally returned home after a year, I rejoined Sr. Master Meek’s class and put Axe Taekwon-do aside, knowing one day I would have the opportunity to open my own school.  In 2004, Master Todd and I took over Sr. Master Meek’s school when he moved to South Carolina for a new job.  Master Todd asked me if I had any suggestions for our new school and I offered up the name Axe Taekwon-Do.  The rest is history, as they say.

Taekwon-Do School Names (by Master Todd)

To follow Mr. Bushor, I am often asked why did I allow the name Axe Taekwon-Do and who really runs the school.   Well I started teaching Taekwon-Do as a blue belt red stripe, inheriting a school that was handed down from Sr. Master Meek to another black belt (Mr. Lewis, my second instructor) who eventually left the school to me.  My options were to take over or there would be no TKD classes in Wichita, Kansas.  So I named it Todd's Taekwon-Do Center (real original).  Back then most schools were named after the instructor.  From there I moved to Whiteman AFB in Knob Noster Missouri and you guessed it, opened Todd's Taekwon-Do Center.  Our shirts were not very original either, we took the USTF patch and just put our name around it.  Then I moved to Incirlik AB in Turkey and once again the Todd's Taekwon-Do Center.   Then on to Onizuka AS in Sunnyvale, California.  There my instructor at the time was Master Jue who had Jue's Taekwon-Do but was encouraging us to be more original with our school names so I launched USTF California Taekwon-Do.  Then back to Bellevue where I had a commercial school down on Mission Street near the police station, named Bellevue Taekwon-Do.  Finally I went back to Whiteman AFB in Knob Noster Missouri and ran two schools, Whiteman Taekwon-Do and Windsor Taekwon-Do.  Then retiring from the USAF, opened Axe TKD with Mr. Bushor.  I welcomed this name suggestion from Mr. Bushor since I wanted a more original name and as you can see from my past, I haven't been very original.

So who really runs Axe TKD?  When I took over this class, as with any martial arts school there can only be one instructor and that is your senior person, me.  I asked Mr. Bushor to be a business partner with me since throughout my Taekwon-Do career I have run the business and the teaching end of the class alone.  With my new job in the "civilian world".  I don't have the time to do it all.  He agreed to be a business partner with me under the Axe TKD name.  So in class and Taekwon-Do there are decisions we may discuss but I make the final decisions based on my longer tenure in the martial arts and rank.  That is not to say I haven't changed my mind plenty of times based on his input.  He handles the equipment ordering and ensuring the color belts are ready for testing and the USTF memberships, in addition to being the USTF Nebraska State Director.  So he is my "right hand man".  I am responsible for the overall teaching and for the development of the black belts and I am currently the Regional Director for the USTF, including Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota and North Dakota.    We both stay busy with Axe TKD and we would not be able to handle the size of this class without the business partnership.  We are currently easing Ms. Bowing into the mix ensuring one day that she is ready to run a martial arts school on her own.

The Right Tool For The Right Job.

You wouldn’t use a screwdriver to pound a nail into a board or a saw as a screwdriver, any more than you should use your finger tips to break someone’s leg.  Using the right Taekwon-Do tool against the correct target is important in defeating your opponent.  Even the best woodsman must stop cutting down trees if his axe or saw is broken.  Even a master of Taekwon-Do can be defeated if he or she breaks a hand or foot during combat.

The parts or surfaces through which the shock or power of a technique is transmitted to the opponent’s body are considered the tool, either attacking or blocking.  The tools are divided into hand parts, foot parts, and miscellaneous parts.  Let’s begin by looking at the hand parts.  The FOREFIST is generally used for attacking the philtrum (just below the nose), the ribs, solar plexus, chest, abdomen, jaw, etc.  The part of the fore fist generally used is the first two knuckles (forefinger and middle finger).  The top and front of the fist should form a right angle so the punching surface (first two knuckles) can make direct contact with the target.  The wrist should not be bent when the fist is clinched and the thumb should be placed on the forefinger and middle fingers holding them in place.  The fingers should be pressed firmly into the palm and the fist must be tightly clenched at the moment of impact.  Other targets of the fore fist include the sternum, point of the chin, the floating ribs, epigastrium, mandible, heart, spleen, liver, and lower abdomen.

Some additional points to remember when using your fore fist include punching from the hip to the target at full speed using the shortest distance.  Avoid unnecessary tension of the arms and shoulders (relax, because it increases your speed).  Pull the opposite fist to the hip at the same time as punching (with a few exceptions).  Relax immediately after striking your target.  Twist your fist a full 180 degrees at the moment of impact (except for vertical and side punches).  And finally, when possible keep your rear foot firmly on the ground at the moment of impact.

There are a number of variations of fists that I will describe next.  The BACK FIST is primarily used for attacking the skull, forehead, temple, philtrum, and abdomen, with the floating ribs and epigastrium as secondary targets.  The knuckles of the forefinger and middle finger on the back of the hand are the actual tools used.  The SIDE FIST, which is on the opposite side of your thumb, is used for attacking the skull, elbow joint, ribs, solar plexus, philtrum, and abdomen; and is occasionally used for blocking.  The UNDER FIST is created by rolling your four fingers into the palm and pressing the forefinger slightly with your thumb.  The second knuckles of the forefinger, middle finger, and ring finger are the tool.  It is used to attack the jaw, lips, temple, solar plexus, Adam’s apple, and philtrum.  The LONG FIST is very similar to the Under Fist except that the main knuckles are stiffened and the thumb is bent firmly, leaving some space between the forefinger and the thumb.  It looks like you have only half closed your fist.  It is used to attack the temple or Adam’s apple of your opponent.  The OPEN FIST is made when the wrist is bent upward and all except the main knuckles are bent towards the palm.  The hand is cupped and the wrist is bent.  It is used to attack the nose, jaw, and the point of the chin; and is used for blocking occasionally.

There are three different KNUCKLE FISTs, the Middle, Fore-Knuckle, and Thumb Knuckle Fist.  These tools are more effective to a smaller vital spot at a close range if the snap motion is used correctly.  The MIDDLE KNUCKLE FIST is made by pushing the secondary knuckle of the middle finger out of the fore fist with the side of the thumb.  It is used in striking the temple, philtrum, and the solar plexus (with an uppercut motion).  The FORE-KNUCKLE FIST is formed by pushing the secondary knuckle of the forefinger out of the Under Fist with the thumb.  You use it to attack the Adam’s apple, temple, or philtrum.  The THUMB KNUCKLE FIST is like a Fore-Knuckle Fist but the Fore-Knuckle is not pushed out, but the thumb is the attacking tool.  It can be used to attack the point of the chin, philtrum, temple, or solar plexus.