Testing
We had our promotion testing in January and Mrs. Ragone was promoted to II Dan. If you haven’t already done so, please congratulate her on this excellent achievement. As for everyone else who tested, they all passed and were promoted to their next rank.
Instructors Course
March 26th & 27th Axe Taekwon-Do will host the USTF Class C Instructors course. The course was designed and is taught by Grand Master Winegar, the USTF Director of Technique. Unlike other martial arts simply being promoted to black belt does not make you an instructor or allow you to teach. To be considered an instructor in the USTF you must be certified. This course will be Saturday & Sunday and will last approximately 12 hours each day with a written test at the end of the course. We have more information online. It is open to color belts also. Please see Master Todd or Mr. Bushor if you have questions.
2011 USTF Maintenance Fees:
It is time to renew your USTF memberships. For all current members (Green Stripes and above are required to be members) that received a USTF Membership card last year, your 2011 USTF Maintenance Fee is $50.00 (same as last year). The USTF is offering a family discount again this year: $50.00 for the first student, $35.00 for the second, $25.00 for the third, and all other family members are FREE. The fees are due to the USTF Headquarters by the end of March, so we are establishing February 24th as the cutoff date so all the appropriate paperwork can be completed and turned in on time. Make your checks payable to AXE TKD. Mr. Bushor will send one check for all memberships.
As mentioned earlier, all students Green Stripes and above must join the USTF to be able to test or participate in any USTF sponsored event (tournaments, instructor / referee / ho-sin-sul courses, etc.). All students Green Stripes and above that are not currently members must join immediately. The cost is $50.00 per student. Sorry, there are no family discounts for new memberships. If you are joining for the first time, you do not have to pay the maintenance fee until next January.
Please talk to Master Todd, Mr. Bushor, or Miss Bowing if you have any question about either the USTF Maintenance Fee or joining the USTF for the first time.
Notes from the USTF:
To: USTF Officials and Instructors
From: USTF Headquarters
Re: USTF Membership/Maintenance
We want to thank you for renewing your USTF Membership via the Maintenance fees 2011. All events within the USTF will require this card to be presented including USTF Tournaments, Seminars, Workshops and Camps. Some of the instructors have their students send in direct and some collect the fees and submit one check. This is up to you.
With the USTF International Championship in June, it is very important to make sure you get the 2011 USTF Maintenance fee in by March 15th because the office will be very busy in preparation for the large event. This will give us time to make sure you have your cards by June! It is going to be an exciting year for the USTF and we are happy you are a part of it! Thank you so much.
USTF Internationals
We will be going to the USTF International Championship tournament in Broomfield, Colorado June 25th and 26th. This will be the largest tournament our class will have the opportunity to attend. There will be students from all over the world, and it's a two day event. We have been to a couple of these large events, and they are very exciting and fun. Whether you compete or watch it’s an experience you won’t forget! The USTF will ensure it is a safe and coordinated event for all.
There will be patterns and sparring for all, and breaking for black belts, 16 years old or older. The tournament will start with color belts at 9am on Saturday June 25th. Currently Australia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Scotland and Puerto Rico are attending.
Black Belts MUST pre-register. All adults must weigh-in on Friday, June 24th between 3pm-7pm (Denver time). Color belts need to pre-register, but if there are last minute signups, we can add them on the 24th. I would PREFER that all Axe students pre-register. The Pre-registration form and payment must be in by June 13, 2011.
For your planning and decision making, we will hit the road early that Friday morning in order to be there for the weigh in. We will return sometime late Monday, June 27th. I understand that we have a lot going on this year in class, and that June is still some time away. However, due to the length of this trip, pre-registration issues and reserving rooms, we need to start early planning rides, rooms, etc. Room and transportation costs will be determined once we know how many will attend. Registration forms, fees and t-shirt order forms are on the website, www.axetkd.com.
Please respond directly to Master Todd not later than February 15th with your decision. He will coordinate all plans of travel and costs with those who confirm with me that they are going. Those who are non-committed but decide after that deadline will need to make their own arrangements. Of course, we will help and try to accommodate individual students and their families. We want to give total expense figures as soon as possible and confirm room arrangements.
In your response, please include the number attending, competing, who needs a ride, willing to drive, and number of empty seats.
We want everyone competing to do their very best and we will start additional Saturday classes that concentrate on conditioning, sparring, patterns, and breaking on alternating weekends. The first class will cover conditioning and breaking, and will be held at the Ragone’s home (thanks for volunteering). This class will start at 12:30pm and should last about 2 hours. Please see Mrs. Ragone for their address if you want to attend. Other classes will be at different locations and will be announced as we make final arrangements.
Calendar
Feb 12th – Conditioning and Breaking Class
March 26th & 27th – USTF Class C Instructors Course – Axe TKD, 8am-8pm each day
April – Promotion Testing, Axe TKD
May 14th - Axe TKD Tournament
June 25th & 26th – USTF Internationals – Broomfield, CO
July – Promotion Testing, Axe TKD
July 29th, 30th, and 31st – Camp Taekwon-Do, Mexico, MO, Missouri Military Academy
Sept – Battle of the Belts, Kirksville, MO
Nov – Testing in Missouri (Mr. Bushor for 6th degree)
Dec – Holiday Party – Axe TKD
Perseverance (By Sharon Buckley, 3rd Gup)
We all learned as very beginning students that we should observe and implement the Tenets of Taekwon-Do at all times. All five tenets are very useful in all aspects of our lives. What is perseverance? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines perseverance as a continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition. General Choi writes in the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do, “To achieve something, whether it is a higher degree or the perfection of a technique, one must set his goal, then constantly persevere.” and “One of the most important secrets in becoming a leader of Taekwon-Do is to overcome every difficulty by perseverance.”
The tenet of perseverance has been particularly useful for me through my few years in Taekwon-Do. The art of Taekwon-Do is difficult for anyone but starting when you’re past middle-age (no age provided here!), out of shape, and overweight is no easy task. Add some arthritis to the equation and the result can often be techniques that are a struggle to accomplish. Never the less, I continue by attending class and practicing at home even though I am often achey. Master Todd and Mr. Bushor are excellent instructors and help me perform techniques within some of my limitations at the same time pushing me to exceed beyond what I think I originally can do.
Perseverance, along with patience, has been especially helpful to me in Taekwon-Do and in my personal life during this past year. I was awarded the rank of Blue Belt in January 2010. I wasn’t quite ready with Joong-Gun to test in April. It’s a little disappointing to not be able to test on time. I keep in mind that I get an extra three months to perfect everything. It’s better to learn your material well and earn that next belt rank, then to test just because it’s time.
June rolled around and I was feeling really good about the upcoming testing in July. I was ready! Then I woke up on June 30th with the most incredible pain in my left shoulder, arm, and hand. I was eventually diagnosed with a severely herniated disc between the C6-C7 vertebrae. One of the first thoughts that went through my mind as we left the emergency room was that I would be unable to continue with TKD. At my visit with the neurosurgeon, I was told that I would need surgery to remove the damaged disc and have the vertebrae fused together. The good news was that I would be able to continue with TKD. I’ll spare you all the details, but I suffered several medical complications which delayed the surgery. Then the insurance company wanted me to complete six weeks of various therapies. Finally, I had surgery on October 1. It was a success!
Six weeks after surgery I attended my first TKD class. It was very difficult as I was completely inactive for five months. Anything more than a slow walk exhausted me. But I wanted to get back into some activity and at least slowly step through my patterns. It was a lot of hard work as I needed to refresh my memory on everything and gain back my strength and flexibility. On January 22nd I tested for 3rd Gup and passed. My techniques weren’t quite as good as they were in June. However, Mr. Bushor told me he could see so much improvement since I started back to class in November. I’m pleased to finally reach my next rank after one year of many setbacks and physical difficulties.
So the next time you feel a technique or pattern is too difficult or you just can’t continue any longer, remember the tenet of perseverance. Anything worth getting, is worth the hard work to get it. As for me, I’ll continue to persevere as I gain more strength and agility, striving for my next goal. Bring on Toi-Gye!
Falling Correctly (by Patrick Finan III Dan)
As we go through our training in Taekwon Do, one thing we learn how to do is to fall correctly. This is very useful while working on your Ho Sun Sol so you do not injure yourself as your partner takes you down. The main purpose is so you can control a fall if you are ever knocked down while actually in a fight.
If you fall incorrectly, you can get the wind knocked out of you, break something, or even get knocked out. All of which would not be good if you were trying to defend yourself.
As with all aspects of martial arts, we learn by repetition. We do this to build muscle memory. That is doing something over and over again until it seems second nature to do it. This way you do not have to think about doing something when you need it, you body just knows what to do, because you have trained it over and over again.
This learning by repetition is also useful in your everyday life, such as simply walking across a street in the winter…where there is ice. This is where my story begins. I was going back to my car after lunch. There had been quite a bit of snow over the past several days, followed by a warming spell, then freezing temperatures again. I had to cross a patch of ice, and since I had the misfortune of slipping on ice a few days earlier, I was being very cautious. I was talking with my co-worker and I felt my foot start to slip. As my foot slid, I looked down at my feet, and I saw them next to my co-worker’s head, and his eyes we about as big as grapefruits. I realized I was parallel to the ground at this time, and my friend is about 5 feet 11 inches tall, so I was up there pretty high (I really wish there was a video of it). The next thing I know I am flat on my back starring up at my friend. He asked if I was ok and I said “yup!” Then I got up and walked across the street.
I asked him what he actually saw, because he was very surprised I was able to get up like that. He said he saw me slip, I went up in the air, my entire body spun about 90 degrees then I fell to the ground. As I hit he said he saw my arms hit the ground as well.
So here is what happened. As I fell, I reacted with a back break fall, tucking my chin into my chest to keep my head from hitting the ground. My feet were up so they did not hit the ground, and as my back hit, my arms smacked the ground at the same time to help dissipate the energy created by the impact. I did not have the wind knocked out of me, and I was able to get up immediately without any injury. I did not remember actually hitting the ground, but I was able to bounce back up right away.
I have to say, the back break fall is wonderful. The back break fall is my friend; I love the back break fall. Ice…not so much.
Final Thoughts (By Kevin A. Bushor, V Dan)
We publish our school news letter every month (well, almost every month) and we welcome student articles like the one above. Submit your articles to me (kbushor@cox.net) for consideration. You can write on anything that is Taekwon-Do related and we will accept articles from any and ALL of our students.
For those of you on Facebook, we have created an AXE Taekwon-Do page to help spread the word about our class. Everyone can look and write on the wall. Hope you LIKE the page!
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