Annual Holiday Party:  On Thursday, December 18th from 545pm - 830pm we hosted our annual Axe Taekwon-Do holiday party.  We held a chili contest and the winner was Mr. Luke Blasey's father.  Mr. Blasey will receive a free month of Taekwon-Do class.  The competition was rough and Mr. Swann came in second place.  We may continue this format again next year as I received some great comments!  A special thanks to Mrs. Duralia and Mrs. Chamberlin for volunteering their time for the event.  Also thank you to all students and families that attended. 

Testing Changes for 2015:  (By Sr. Master Todd)  Prices will remain the same for color and black belt testing.  Test board changes:  The testing board will be comprised of  me (Sr. Master Todd), Mr. Bushor, K., and Ms. Bowing.  I will rotate the testing director between Mr. Finan and the other black belts.  Dress:  If you are testing you will wear your dobok.  If you are just watching, I will announce the dress for the black belts.  Color belt students will wear doboks at testing, if testing or not.  If we have one person testing for a black belt rank all black belts will wear their USTF "blues".  Again I will make an announcement in advance. Currently I have tests scheduled for:  Feb 17th, Jun 4th, Aug 27th and Nov 19th. 

Holiday Spirit = Taekwon-Do Spirit:  (By Sr. Master Todd)  As I briefly discussed in my last newsletter I have extended an invitation to all former black belts that I have contact with and invited them to return to Axe Taekwon-Do, we will see what happens.  About half responded nicely some have not responded at all.

Class Size:  We encourage all students and their families to help us spread the word that we have Taekwon-Do classes and encourage others to join the class.  We have flyers and brochures we can provide you if needed.  Our overall size is about the same as usual but we have a lot of inactive students right. now.  We would like to increase our overall size in 2015.  We would appreciate your assistance with recruiting new students.

USTF Initial & Annual Membership Fees:  It is time again for the Annual USTF Maintenance Fees.  The Initial Fee for USTF first time memberships is $50.00.  The Annual USTF Maintenance Fees are determined each year and for 2015 the fees are $75.00.  This fee is due no later than Thursday, February 26^th, payable to Mr. Bushor.   The Annual USTF Maintenance Fees for 2015 stayed the same this year. These fees allows the USTF to operate a full time office.  In order to continue to help our Taekwon-Do families, the following discounts will apply:

  For family discounts;     1^st family member is $75.00

                                      2^nd family member is $50.00

                                      3^rd family member is $25.00

                                      4^th family member is Free

  As the USTF Nebraska State Director, Mr. Bushor, 6th dan is responsible for collecting, tracking and working this program.  All students Green Belt and above must be members of the USTF.  We collect your initial fee when you test, typically for Green belt.  The appropriate forms and fees are forwarded to the Headquarters in Colorado. We pass out the USTF and ITF patches and membership cards when they are returned to Mr. Bushor.  Students who recently joined the USTF (since October) will not need to pay the maintenance fee this year.  If you have any questions please ask Mr. Bushor kbushor@cox.net. 

USTF Tournaments:  (By Sr. Master Todd)  There will be plenty of opportunities to sharpen your skills and enjoy friendly competition in 2015.  Briefly:

March 21 - Maestas Tournament, Arvada, Colorado.  This will be our first trip to this tournament.  This is their 15th annual tournament and Master Martin & Master Pettijohn have a great school.  I have the flyer loaded on the Axe TKD website.  The tournament features breaking, patterns & sparring.  There is also a competition for the school that earns the most 1st, 2nd or 3rd place awards.  It should be interesting.  We will start compiling a list of anyone wanting to attend so we can plan rooms/rides.  For this tournament we would leave Bellevue on Friday and return Sunday.

May 16 - Axe TKD tournament, Offutt Youth Center. This will be our 8th annual tournament.  Remember all students are required to attend at least one tournament per year.  While I hesitate to make anything mandatory, I would like to see all students of Axe Taekwon-Do attend this tournament.  We will have competitors from Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Missouri who have already inquired about our tournament.  It will feature breaking, patterns and sparring.  I have the flyer loaded on the Axe TKD website.

July 25/26 - USTF Internationals, Boston, Massachusetts.  This will be the largest USTF tournament in the past 15 years or more.  USTF has invited schools from Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia and South America.  I personally know there will be competitors from the following states:  Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Alaska, NEBRASKA, Kansas, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.  If you are interested in attending this event, Axe TKD is renting a 15 passenger van and driving whoever would like to attend.  If we get more than 15 people we will rent a second van.  We will plan rooms to keep the prices down.  Please contact Sr. Master Todd for more information, either in class or at ustfneb@cox.net.  We will have a flyer and registration details posted soon.  We are planning fund raisers now to defer some of the cost for Axe competitors.  We will hold an informational meeting soon.

Sept 19 - USTF Tournament in Casper, Wyoming.  We will also be compiling a list of anyone wanting to attend so we can plan rooms/rides.  For this tournament we would leave Bellevue on Friday and return Sunday.

Sept - USTF Tournament in Kirksville, Missouri.  The exact date is unknown at this time but we will announce the details when we have them.  We will also be compiling a list of anyone wanting to attend so we can plan rooms/rides.  For this tournament we would leave Bellevue early Saturday morning and return Sunday.

Oct - USTF Tournament in Broomfield, Colorado.  The exact date is unknown at this time but we will announce the details when we have them.  We will also be compiling a list of anyone wanting to attend so we can plan rooms/rides.  This tournament is typically held on a Sunday so we would leave Bellevue Saturday morning and return Monday.

I understand that students and families may not be able to attend all events.  The May tournament is easy since we don't travel.  I would suggest you look these events over and decide what you want to do.  All are USTF events and will be run safely.  The Boston event will probably be the most exciting.  

USTF Instructors Course: USTF Class C Instructors Course, April 18th & 19th in Broomfield, Colorado.  This course is open for all students but you must be a red belt black stripe or above to certify for the Class C Instructor.  No students can test for 2nd degree black belt until they successful passed this course.  The course is taught by Grand Master Winegar, the USTF Director of Technique.  The course is 8am-6pm both days.  We will leave Bellevue on Friday, April 17th and return Monday, April 20th.  The cost is $200 for certification and $75 for refresher.  Again you should attend these courses after initial certification whenever possible to learn as much as you can.  This course covers every aspect of Taekwon-Do from white belt through black belt.  The course is designed to make you a better black belt.  Written tests are only administered for initial certification.

USTF Newsletter-Flash:  (By Sr. Master Todd)  I hope everyone read the USTF Flash that Mr. Bushor sent out.  It has been posted on our Axe Taekwon-Do website.  Mr. Finan has a nice article from his latest deployment.  We have a nice class picture and promotion announcement from our November testing.  There are numerous articles and pictures from other USTF schools around the country showing you that Taekwon-Do is doing well.

Weather:  Remember the Youth Center weather policy.  We will have class as long as the Youth Center is open.  If the base closes due to weather, the Youth Center will close.  We never close class on our own.  Use your best judgment with your safety in mind; if it’s slick out, it may be your individual judgement to drive to class or not.  In the event the Youth Center closes, we will post the closure on Facebook, and attempt to email and/or everyone.   In the past, the Youth Center has closed with very little warning, so on stormy weather days make sure you can get into the Youth Center before your ride leaves.