Promotion Testing:  Congratulations to everyone who tested last month.  While it may have been one of our smallest testings in a while, it went very quickly and everyone did a great job.  We will be working to fix the minor problems we saw during the testing while we teach you your new requirements.  Remember, as you progress to the next rank and try to learn new techniques and patterns, you are still responsible for remembering and doing all your old patterns, kicks, step-sparring, and Ho-Sin-Sul from all your previous ranks.  We don’t always have time to cover the old stuff while teaching the new, so it is up to you to practice everything so you don’t forget.

Black Belt Class:  The next scheduled Black Belt Class is this Saturday, May 8th starting at noon.  All Black Belts and Black Stripes are required to attend and must talk to Master Todd if you will not be there.

Senior Master Stephenson’s Promotion:  Last weekend Master Todd led a contingent of students and instructors to watch a Black Belt Testing in Kirksville Missouri.  Grand Master Winegar was the senior representative from the USTF present and shared many training secrets with everyone present.  He also promoted Master Stephenson to the new rank of 8th Dan, Senior Master Instructor.  He is only the 13th person in the USTF ever to be promoted to this prestigious rank.  Make sure you congratulate him the next time you see him.

3rd Annual Axe Taekwon-Do Invitational USTF Taekwon-Do Tournament:  This is our annual tournament and we need full participation from our students to make the event a success.  Not only do we want you to take part in the tournament events, but we will need help setting up, running, and cleaning up after the tournament.  If you don’t have this important date on your calendar yet, mark it TODAY.
 
   The tournament is sanctioned by the USTF, which means that everyone there will know and follow the same set of rules and regulations at the tournament.  This event will include individual patterns, sparring, and breaking, as well as team patterns.  All divisions will be created the day of the event at the discretion of the Chief Bracketeer.

     Sparring gear including hand and foot pads, mouthpiece, head gear and protective cup for male competitors is required for all ranks. If you need gear, Mr. Bushor will place an order to ensure they arrive before the tournament. 

     Registration starts at 8:30 am, the Black Belt Meeting will be held at 9:30 am, and the Tournament officially starts at 10:00 am.  The cost is $30.00 which includes Sparring, Patterns, and Breaking (2 breaks scored; standing side piercing kick & downward knife hand).  We will also have a Team Patterns competition, but there will be an additional cost of $30.00 per team (rules – at least 4 people per team, 5 people max. You are allowed no more than 1 Black Belt per color belt team).

     The success of our events relies on students attending and their parents support (for the younger students)., and while we hesitate to say attendance is mandatory we would like to see 100 percent participation.  The flyer is located on our website and you can ask one of the instructors for further information, remember you should participate in one tournament per year.

TKD Camp:  The "Week-End with Region 6 – 2010" is scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; July 30th, thru August 1st.  It will be at the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico Missouri.  The cost is $95.00 per student, with a Family Rate of $80.00 each for 2 or more students from the same family.  Parents, etc. who wish to attend (not participating in the TKD classes) will only be charged $70.00 per person.  The Fees includes training, meals, pool, and a place to sleep.
     Everyone who wishes to attend will need to fill out a registration form and pay a $25.00 registration fee no later than July 1st.  Registration forms and deposits can be given to Master Todd or Mr. Bushor.  Details and directions are available at www.axetkd.com.
   
    Campers will depart from the Youth Center parking lot on Friday, July 30th at noon, and we will return to the Youth Center Sunday evening, August 1st.  Master Todd and Mr. Bushor will make sure we have rides for everyone who wants to attend the camp.  This is a weekend of training that will teach you more that you would normally learn in a month of regular classes, plus the opportunity to learn from some of the best instructors in the Region.  Don’t miss it!

Schedule 2010:
May 8th – Black Belt Class (Noon)
Jun 5th – 3rd Annual Axe TKD Tournament
Jul – Black Belt Pre-Test (date TBD)
Jul – Promotion Testing (date TBD)
Jul 30th – Aug 1st – Region 6 Summer Camp, Mexico, MO
Sep 11th – Battle of the Belts – Missouri
Oct 16th – Basic Ho-Sin-Sul Course, Kirksville, MO
Oct – Black Belt Pre-Test (date TBD)
Oct – Testing (date TBD)
Oct – GM Sereff Tournament – Denver, CO (dates TBD)

Dobok Guidelines From USTF
USTF  OFFICIAL UNIFORM

When General Choi Hong Hi wrote the book, “TAEKWON DO” he specifically had a chapter on the uniform.  Grand Master Charles E. Sereff has set this as a standard. The only thing that we do not adhere to is the one-half black and one-half white belt for Junior black belts.  Please note the following

- Traditional White Uniform, Velcro center close or Cross over  (NEAT, CLEAN AND NOT TORN)
- USTF patch right side of chest
- ITF patch on left side of chest
- TREE OF LIFE on the back of the uniform, silkscreen or embroidery
- ITF on the leg of the pants, approximately knee level
- School patch on the right arm between the elbow and shoulder seam (This is optional)
- American flag on the left arm between the elbow and seam
- USTF Instructors course patch directly under the flag
- USTF Referee course patch directly under the Instructors Course patch
- Flashes on the shoulder per rank (IV Dan & above required)
- Flashes on the shoulder per rank (I-III Dan if attended USTF Instructors course & with instructors permission)

Black Belts
- All Black Belts will be single wrap.  July 1, 1985, General Choi decided to implement the single wrap black belt instead of the double wrap as previously practiced. 

Color Belts
White Yellow, Green, Blue, and Red
For the color belt rank that has a stripe, the width of the stripe on the end of the belt is 5 millimeters. The distance between the end of the belt and stripe is 5 centimeter just as the General explained in his book of “TAEKWON DO”.

In the USTF we do not use the belts that have the stripe running through the center of the belt. 

There are some schools that have been with the USTF for several years that are still using their school patch on the chest.  All USTF students need to adhere to the official uniform requirements.  If you have a school that is not using this guideline, please take care of this today. 

Remember the USTF and ITF are protected Trademarks owned by Grand Master Charles Sereff and all use of them needs to be through our licensed dealer Fugi, or with written permission.