Mr. Todd and I will be sharing the duty of writing the class newsletter each month, and this is my first crack at it.  With a new school and new instructors, we will be trying to improve how everything is done.  The promotion testing is one of the things that we have tried to improve, and from everything I have heard so far it went very well.  Mr. Todd was able to get everyone evaluated, fed, and on there way in record time.  I remember as a color belt myself; there was nothing worse than having to sit on the sidelines waiting for the testing to be done.  We will continue to look for ways to make the class better for both the students and the instructors.

Pizza Party
    The much awaited pizza party is now scheduled for Thursday night, 20 May.  Again we would like to invite you and your family to enjoy some pizza with the class.  We will serve the pizza and sodas starting at 6pm.  If you would like to bring your favorite dessert to share with the class, I’m sure everyone would appreciate it.  Please let either Mr. Todd (rtodd@axetkd.com / 293-2610) or Mr. Bushor (kbushor@cox.net / 291-4013) how many people in your family will be attending the party.
Tuition
    This is always a sticky subject, and it is not directed at you if you pay your tuition on time.  Your instructors provide instruction beginning the first class of the month and we expect you to pay your tuition in a timely manner.  We do understand that there may be times when you cannot pay by the first class of the month, but every effort should be made not to fall behind by more than a month.  If you have a problem with the tuition, please contact Mr. Todd or Mr. Bushor.  We will work something out if at all possible.  The Youth Center will continue to notify us if students fall behind on their tuition.  As you will not have to ask us to teach you, we should not have to ask you to pay your tuition.
Sparring Gear
    We have had a good response so far from students wanting to purchase sparring gear.  We would like to make one large order to keep the shipping charges to a minimum, so we will be taking orders from students up through June 1, and then we will place the order.  This will give everyone a few pay periods to budget for the equipment.  This will not be the only chance to purchase the equipment, but we need to set a cut off date.  We encourage students to purchase sparring gear as we are going to be participating in free sparring with light contact.  This is one of the building blocks of Taekwon-Do and an essential part of class.  All students will wear headgear; hand and foot gear, mouthpiece and males will wear a protective cup and supporter.  These are the prices of the sparring gear we intend to order:  hand gear $22-$25 a pair; footgear $22 a pair; shin guard (not required but suggested) $8 - $10 a pair and head gear $25 each.  We have catalogs with photos, sizes, and colors to select from.  If you do not have your own sparring gear, we have a limited supply of gear that students can share.  We suggest you purchase a mouthpiece and protective gup (males) from Wal-Mart or Target, these items are required if you intend to participate in tournaments in the future. 
Technique
    In this last section I would like to share some of the knowledge that General Choi left us in his 15 volume Encyclopedia.  This first selection is on the Theory of Power.  The beginning student may ask: “Where does one obtain the power to create the devastating results attributed to Taekwon-Do?”  This power is attributed to the utilization of a person’s full potential through the mathematical application of Taekwon-Do techniques.  The average person uses only 10 to 20 percent of his potential.  Anyone, regardless of size, age, or sex who can condition himself to use 100 percent of his potential can also perform the same destructive techniques.
    Through training will certainly result in a superb level of physical fitness; it will not necessarily result in the acquisition of extraordinary stamina or superhuman strength.  More important, Taekwon-Do training will result in obtaining a high level of reaction force, concentration, equilibrium, breath control, and speed; these are the factors of physical power.
REACTION FORCE - According to Newton’s Law, every force has and equal and opposite force.  When an automobile crashes into a wall with the force of 2,000 pounds, the wall will return a force or 2,000 pounds; or forcing the end of a seesaw down with a ton of weight will provide and upward force of the same weight; if your opponent is rushing towards you at a high speed, by the slightest blow at his head, the force with which you strike his head would be that of his own onslaught plus that of your blow.
    The two forces combined; his, which is large, and yours, which is small are quite impressive.  This, then, is the reaction force from the opponent.  Another reaction force is your own.  A punch with the right fist is aided by pulling the left fist to the hip.
CONCENTRATION - By applying the impact force onto the smallest target area, it will concentrate the force and therefore, increase its effect.  For example, the force of water coming out of a water hose is greater if the office is smaller.  Conversely, the weight of a man spread out on snowshoes makes hardly any impression on the snow. The blows in Taekwon-Do are often concentrated onto the edge of the open palm or to the crook of the fingers.
    It is very important that you should no unleash all your strength at the beginning but gradually, and particularly at the point of contact with your opponent’s body, the force must be so concentrated as to give a knockout blow.  That is to say, the shorter the time for the concentration, the greater will be the power of the blow.  The utmost concentration is required in order to mobilize every muscle of the body onto the smallest target area simultaneously.
    In conclusion, concentration is done in two ways:  one is to concentrate every muscle of the body, particularly the bigger muscles around the hip and abdomen (which theoretically are slower than the smaller muscles of other parts of the body) towards the appropriate tool to be used at the proper time; the second way is to concentrate such mobilized muscles onto the opponent’s vital spot.  This is the reason why the hip and abdomen are jerked slightly before the hands and feet in any action, whether it be attack or defense.  Remember, jerking can be executed in two ways:  laterally and vertically.
EQUILIBRIUM - Balance is of utmost importance in any type of athletics.  In Taekwon-Do, is deserves special consideration.  By keeping the body always in equilibrium, that is, well balanced, a blow is more effective and deadly.  Conversely, the unbalanced one is easily toppled.  The stance should always be stable yet flexible, for both offensive and defensive movements.
    Equilibrium is classified into both dynamic and static stability.  They when the static stability is maintained through dynamic stability.  To maintain good equilibrium, the center of gravity of the stance must fall on a straight-line midway between both legs when the body weight is distributed equally on both legs, or in the center of the foot if it is necessary to concentrate the bulk of body weight on one foot.  The center of gravity can be adjusted according to body weight.  Flexibility and knee spring are also important in maintaining balance for both a quick attack and instant recovery.  One additional point; the heel of the rear foot should never be off the ground at the point of impact.  This is not only necessary for good balance but also to produce maximum power at the point of impact.
BREATH CONTROL - Controlled breathing not only affects one’s stamina and speed but can also condition a body to receive a blow and augment the power of a blow directed against an opponent.  Through practice, breath stopped in the state of exhaling at the critical moment when a blow is landed against a pressure point on the body can prevent a loss of consciousness and stifle pain.  A sharp exhaling of breath at the moment of impact and stopping the breath the execution of a movement tense the abdomen to concentrate maximum effort on the delivery of the motion, while a slow inhaling helps the preparation of the next movement.  An important rule to remember:  never inhale while focusing a block or blow against an opponent.  Not only will this impede movement but it will also result in a loss of power.           Students should also practice disguised breathing to conceal any outward signs of fatigue.  An experienced fighter will certainly press an attack when he realizes his opponent is on the point of exhaustion.  One breath is required for one movement with the exception of a continuous motion.
MASS - Mathematically, the maximum kinetic energy or force is obtained from maximum body weight and speed and it is all important that the body weight be increased during the execution of a blow.  No doubt the maximum body weight is applied with the motion by turning the hip.  The large abdominal muscles are twisted to provide additional body momentum.  Thus the hip rotates in the same direction as that of the attacking or blocking tool.  Another way of increasing body weight is the utilization of a springing action of the knee joint.  This is achieved by slightly raising the hip at the beginning of the motion and lowering the hip at the moment of impact to drop the body weight into the motion.
    In summarizing, it is necessary to point out that the principles of force outlined here hold just as true today in our modern scientific and nuclear age as they did centuries ago.  I am sure that when you go through this art, both in theory and in practice, you will find that the scientific basis of the motions and the real power which comes out a small human body cannot fail to impress you.
SPEED - Speed is the most essential factor of force or power.  Scientifically, force equals mass X acceleration (F=MA) or (P=MV2).  A large stone gently dropped on a double pane of glass from a height of three inches has no effect.  On the other hand a small stone thrown against the glass with great speed breaks the glass.  The flat of the hand passed in a slow motion through the flame of a candle has no results on the flame.  The candle, however, is put out with a controlled punch or kick stopped within an inch of the flame.
  

According to the theory of kinetic energy, every object increases its weight as well as speed in a downward movement.  This very principle is applied to this particular art of self-defense.  For this reason, at the moment of impact, the position of the hand normally becomes lower than the shoulder and the foot lower than the hip while the body is in the air.  Reaction force, breath control, equilibrium, concentration, and relaxation of the muscles cannot be ignored.  However, these are the factors that contribute to the speed and all these factors, together with flexible and rhythmic movement, must be well coordinated to produce the maximum power in Taekwon-Do.
Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do, Vol. II, Pages 10-34. Gen. Choi Hong Hi, 1993.