Reprint from the USTF Flash    

     On Saturday, May 16th, Axe Taekwon-Do at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska hosted the 8th Annual Axe Taekwon-Do Invitational Tournament, which is a USTF sanctioned tournament.  The event began at 10:30 a.m. and was finished at 4:30 p.m. Students from Colorado, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska participated.  Students competed in team patterns, individual patterns, sparring and breaking competition. 

     There were numerous distinguished USTF officials in attendance.  Grand Master Sereff – USTF Testing Director, Sereff TKD, CO; Sr. Master Martin, Martin’s Casper TKD, WY; Sr. Master Steadman, USTF Region 2 Director, Sereff TKD, CO; Sr. Master Stephenson, USTF Region 6 Director, Kirksville TKD, MO; Sr. Master Griffin, Sereff TKD, CO;  Master Hannon, USTF Kansas State Director, Hannon TKD, KS;  Master Johnson, Sheridan TKD, WY; Master Pettijohn, Maestas TKD, CO;  Master Martin, Maestas TKD, CO; Mr. Sisco, 6th dan, USTF Wyoming State Director, Casper Recreation Center TKD, WY;  Mr. Bushor, 6th dan, USTF Nebraska State Director, Axe TKD, NE and Mr. Finan, 4th dan, USTF Armed Forces Director, Axe TKD, NE.     The Tournament Director was Sr. Master Stephenson.  Tournament Promoter – Sr. Master Todd – USTF Region 3 Director and Chief Referee – Mr. Patrick Finan, 4th dan – USTF Armed Forces Director.

     Opening the tournament, Ms. Ashleigh Ragone, 2nd dan sang the National Anthem.  Starting with team patterns where students displayed their timing, creativity and technique.  Team pattern winners in the Black Belt and Color Belt divisions were both from Kirksville TKD, in Kirksville, Missouri.  The tournament continued with the individual patterns, sparring and breaking divisions.  There were too many individual winners to list in the news, but pictures have been posted on the Axe Taekwon-Do Facebook page and the winners for every division will be listed on the Axe Taekwon-Do webpage. After the individual patterns and sparring competition, points were tabulated for an overall Grand Champion of the tournament.  The Black Belt division winner was Mr. Ben Pemble, III Dan from Maestas Taekwon-Do.  The Color Belt division winner was Mr. Andrew Phan, 1st gup, from Kirksville, Taekwon-Do.  This is the third year in a row for Mr. Phan!

     Individual schools represented were:  Sereff Taekwon-Do, Martin’s Casper Taekwon-Do, Kirksville Taekwon-Do, Axe Taekwon-Do, Hannon Taekwon-Do, Sheridan Taekwon-Do, Maestas Taekwon-Do, Casper Recreation Center, Taekwon-Do, Casper College Taekwon-Do, and Thornton Taekwon-Do.  We want to thank all instructors and students who helped make this a great event!  The tournament also provided many USTF referees with valuable experience.  A special thanks to our photographers for this event, Grand Master Sereff and Mr. Larry Jones.  Our goal is to increase our attendance each year, so look for us in 2016!  We are ready for Boston!                                             

The Tenets of Taekwon-Do (Patrick Finan, 4^th Dan)

     There are five tenets of Taekwon-Do that we, students of the art, strive to live by.  We have them as part of our training, and hopefully as part of our daily lives. They are a means to improve who we are, in and out of class.  They are a simple action that can have a tremendous impact.

      Courtesy is showing respect to others.  View it as the Golden Rule- treat others as you would like to be treated.  If you are polite, kind, and considerate to others, they, in turn are more likely to treat you with the same actions. On the contrary, if you are rude and disrespectful, you are not likely to gain their trust or respect.

     Integrity is the wisdom to know right from wrong and doing what is right, even when no one is looking.  If you find yourself quickly looking around to see who is watching you before you do something, your conscience is already telling you that what you are thinking of doing is probably wrong and you should not do it.  A person with integrity does not “cut corners” or make poor choices simply because no one will know or see you.  The idea is to have a pure conscience.  Remember, you will always know the choices you have made.

     Perseverance is setting a goal and striving to accomplish that goal.  Your perseverance comes in when you work hard to ensure you accomplish that goal.  It is a very rewarding feeling to achieve a goal you set out to reach.  Persevere and you will attain it.

     Self-Control is being in control of yourself.   You want to make sure you can control yourself, physically and emotionally.  In class when you are sparring, you want to make sure you execute techniques with control so you do not hurt someone while you are training.  When the instructor says light contact, you need to be able to have control enough to ensure you have only light contact.  You also need to make sure you control your emotions.  For instance if someone critiques something you did, it is inappropriate to sit there and throw a fit because you did not like what they said. 

     Indomitable Spirit is the belief in yourself and your abilities, even against overwhelming odds.  I recently saw an example of this while a student was preparing to take his oral exam.  He was very nervous, and wanted to read the White Book quickly again.  However, he had run out of time.  I told him to believe in himself because he knew the information.  The test he was facing seemed an overwhelming task, but he faced it head on believing in his knowledge of the information.  Once he was finished with his test, he felt good because he completed it successfully.  He believed in himself.

     We can use these tenets, not only in class, but in our daily lives as well.  Just remember to be nice, make good choices, set goals, and strive to achieve them, control yourself, and believe in yourself.  “Nothing is impossible, once you set your mind to it, with enthusiasm and persistence.” (I.K.Kim)

What brings you to class? (Sr. Master Todd)

      I recently started teaching a youth self-defense camp for the youth center.  It was refreshing to have new students that were motivated and full of energy to learn Taekwon-Do.  I know what brought these new students to class, but what makes you continue to attend class?  I have stated before that Taekwon-Do isn’t for everyone and it is a challenge to attend.  Some students hang on too long by only attending 1-2 classes per month when they really are not interested anymore but don’t want to offend me by quitting. 

     I recently lost a very important 3^rd degree from class.  Hopefully just for a period of time, but more importantly this young man had the respect and etiquette to come talk to me face to face and let me know he was quitting.  I have been in Taekwon-Do for over 30 years now.  I have never taken time off and always been in classes at least 4 hours per week.  No matter what was going on in my life, I made space for Taekwon-Do.  So in all this time only two students have ever (in my memory, which slips as we age) come to me to inform me in person they were quitting.  Most simply stop attending. We exchange email, calls, text, Facebook messages, etc..  After a time and efforts of remaining in contact, they eventually get around to the fact they are quitting. Even worse, some just leave and never say anything.  This behavior is not respectful for any student but even more disrespectful if they are a black belt. 

     Taekwon-Do have lost students in the past only to see them return in the future.  Mr. Bushor, J., Mr. and Mr. Toppi both took off an extended period of time and returned successfully.  Ms. Matos’ family was relocated to Spain and was gone several years but has now returned.    

     Although true that students have left and come back, you may want to talk with them if you are considering a break.  They came back and had to learn almost everything over again.  It was not an easy road for them.  It is the easy road to just stop attending class.  It’s so easy to just stay at home, watch TV, hang out with friends, convince yourself you are too busy with school activities, sports, raising your grades, etc.  I would challenge you to look around you.  Many of our students do all these activities AND come to class more than the minimum.  Remember to be considered active you MUST attend AT LEAST 2 classes per week EVERY week.  If I move you to “inactive” status you are not considered eligible for any type of promotion.  If you are “inactive” for more than three months you may have to recertify to maintain your current rank.  If you are “inactive” for more than six months and return to class you will not be eligible for promotion testing for a minimum of 12 months.  I point this out for students that may not be old enough yet to test for their next black belt and think they can take time off then return once they are old enough to test.  There are no short cuts in Taekwon-Do, only hard work, but there are rewards that would take me many pages to list.

     Growing up in a small town in Missouri, martial arts classes like Taekwon-Do were not readily available where I was raised.  However, I played football, baseball, basketball and did a couple years of wrestling.  I played what would be now considered “select” baseball and lettered in high school in all these sports. I STILL would have made time for Taekwon-Do if I had the opportunities that students have today. 

     So how can you do it all?  Hard work, dedication and constant attendance in class; again there are no shortcuts.  It pains me to lose black belts and other students that give up on training because they feel they don’t have time.  They are losing out on something more than just a martial art.  If you are in class now you know it provides you with self-confidence, the ability to defend yourself, and the ability to meet challenges and goals.

     Finally, I hope all students remain in class but several statements that cause me to question a student’s dedication or maybe their understanding of Taekwon-Do are: 

              1)  “I only need to attend 2 classes per week.”

Remember minimum effort will result in maximum wait times for your next promotion. More importantly, you are missing out on the entire experience of the martial arts. 

2) “I am not old enough for promotion, so I will just take fewer classes until I am old enough to test.”

You shouldn’t be concerned about what rank you are or going to be, only concern yourself with mastering your techniques, rank will come to those that train hard and continually.

3) “I am already a black belt; I have learned enough.”

Really? I have been training over 30 years and learn something new each week or a different take on technique. 

     Summer is here. School is out.  Now is the time to return to train continuously.  I also invite all former or “inactive” students to return to training.  I welcome them back with open arms.