Casper Tournament: (By Master Todd) 

Since the newsletter is a little late this month I will add the results from our trip to Casper Wyoming.  The tournament was well attended by students from the USTF.  This was the 15^th annual tournament in Casper.  Schools from Colorado, Nebraska, Utah, Alaska, Washington and Wyoming participated.  There were about 90 people in attendance. Axe Taekwon-Do did very well and we will post pictures on Facebook and our website soon.  For those that did not attend; we left early Friday, 9/12 at 4am and enjoyed a 12 hour drive to Casper.  Sr. Master Martin was the ever gracious host and took us all to a nice dinner at local private club called Casper Petroleum Club; this club is listed as Wyoming’s Premier Private Club since 1949.  We are truly grateful for Sr. Master Martin who provided a memorable experience for us all and a great dinner.  The tournament was great on Saturday and we enjoyed another great meal at a local restaurant after the tournament.  We packed up early Sunday morning and enjoyed another 12 drive home.  For students that haven’t attended this tournament you are missing out on a great USTF bonding experience. 

Kirksville Tournament:

The next tournament is Saturday, September 20^th.  We will depart around 4am on Saturday and travel to Kirksville, Missouri arriving in time for an early tournament time.  We have rooms reserved for Saturday night and will return to Nebraska Sunday.  There is still room and we invite all students, not just black belts to attend with us.  Please let Master Todd, Mr. Bushor or Ms. Bowing know if you would like to attend.  There is no advance registration but we would like to know prior to 9/18 if you are going so we can finalize our room reservations.  This is typically a great tournament and one of the least expensive in time, travel and costs.  We encourage you to show your school spirit for Axe Taekwon-Do and travel with us to Kirksville to compete against the USTF Region 6 students.  

Testing:

On August 21, we hosted our quarterly promotion testing. We congratulate everyone who tested and received their new belt ranks, everyone looked amazing. Special congratulations go out to our two new black belts, Mr. Daniel Cook and Ms. Staci Chamberlin. You can read more about both of these new black belts on the Axe TKD website.  Remember that every rank is important and an accomplishment. Congratulations to everyone and thank you for being a part of our Taekwon-Do family.

Promotion Dinners:

We recently hosted a promotion dinner at LaMesa restaurant in Bellevue after our last testing.  This event was not as well attended as we would have expected.  We schedule these events for all students to come and celebrate the success of those students testing and to enjoy the comradery of the Axe Taekwon-Do family.  If you haven’t attended one of these events we encourage you to come check it out.  If there is something about them you don’t like, please let Master Todd know about it.  These events are not mandatory but we would like to see better attendance in the future.  As with most things in Taekwon-Do when we say “not mandatory”, we mean it, except for black belt students who have more expectations on them for supporting events, their instructor and school. 

Upcoming Tournaments:

Tournaments are a safe way for students to challenge themselves and utilize what they have learned in class instruction.  A reminder, students who are red belt and above are required to attend at least one per year to be eligible for promotion.     

September 20 Tournament – Kirksville, Missouri.  We will be departing very early (4am) Saturday the 20th (it's about a 5 hour drive), the tournament is on the 20th, we will travel back Sunday, the 21st.  This is their 26^th Annual Tournament.  The cost is $40 and you can compete in sparring, patterns and breaking (green stripe and above for breaking and you must be 16 years old or older to break).  This tournament also features team patterns for $20 per team.  The teams will be formed/approved by Master Todd based on who is attending.  We can enter black belt and color belt teams (minimum of 4 per team, maximum of 5 per team).  The flyer is on the Axe TKD website.  The Missouri school always supports our tournament and we try to do the same for them.  Currently we have two black belt teams formed.

October 19  Tournament - Denver, Colorado.  We will depart early Saturday the 18^th.  This tournament is on Sunday the 19^th, and we will travel back Monday, the 20th.  This is the biggest tournament of the USTF every year.  It typically features over 45 divisions.  The cost is $25 for one event or $50 for both.  There is also a pre-registration discount of $2 for one event or $5 for both and a $5 family discount (one per family).  The tournament features sparring patterns and team breaking competition.  The team breaking will be approved by me and we can enter adult and junior teams.  More information is including on the breaking on the attached flyer.  Master Todd is also being promoted to 8^th degree black belt, Sr. Master status by Sr. Grand Master Sereff, 9^th dan, President of the USTF during the tournament.  The flyer is on the Axe TKD website.

All traveling tournaments are planned in advance to include hotel, food and gas expenses.  In order to keep costs down, we would like to know if you are planning on attending, even if you are a maybe at this point.  Students can travel without their parents and will be supervised at all times.  If you are considering going to a future tournament, it is never too early to let Master Todd or Ms. Bowing know!  Ms. Bowing will keep you informed and up to date as we have information to share.  As always, we welcome any questions to help you make a decision.

USTF Class B Instructors Course:

There will be a Class B Instructors Course in Broomfield, Colorado on November 8-9^th.  You must be a 3^rd degree black belt to certify for the Class B, but the course is open to all black belts.  This course covers requirements from 1^st degree black belt through 4^th degree black belt.  It also covers all the various flying kicks, it is very challenging but a fun course.  Only the 3^rd degrees will take the written test.  Cost for certification is $200.00;  2^nd degrees are $100.00 and recertification is $75.00.  You must be Class B certified prior to being allowed to test for 4^th degree.  This course is typically offered every other year.