Outstanding Black Belt of 2008

Ben Nummelin, second degree black belt, was honored by the Stevens Taekwondo YMCA Academy as the Outstanding Black Belt of 2008 recently. Nummelin, who had wanted martial arts training for a long time, has trained at the academy since September 2004, following the recommendation of his friend Master Kevin Klapoetke.

Nummelin was nominated for the award by fellow black belts who cited his contributions in teaching and his excellence in demonstration of forms and sparring. Nummelin is a geotechnical engineer for Nummelin Testing.

The award, a memorial to black belt M. J. Attoe, who died in a 1994 car accident, was presented by Joyce Kavalauskas, Attoe’s mother.


Taekwondo students test

Four martial artists earned new or higher black belts in promotion testings at the YMCA recently.

Ten-year-old Rosabella Wolosek became the fourth member of her family to earn the rank of second-degree black belt, joining sisters Stephanie, Morgan and Elisabeth . Rosabella performed the keumgang form, demonstrated advanced sparring and kick combinations and then cleanly snapped one board with a back spinning sidekick and another with an axe kick.

Leopoldo Soria and Whitney Lotzer achieved full black belt status in extensive testing which included advanced kick combinations and sparring, performing koryo and four taegeuk forms and a lengthy oral grilling on the history, symbols and rules of taekwondo. Soria broke his board with a back spinning sidekick. Lotzer combined an inside crescent with a back spinning hook for her board break.

Entering the black belt ranks as a deputy black belt, Kimberly Verburgt sparred, demonstrated five taegeuk forms and snapped her board with a 360-back spinning sidekick.

Three of the more than sixty students testing for color belts were awarded trophies for excellence. High blue belt Russell Winkel won first place, high yellow belt Alexandria Ludwig earned second place and new yellow belt Alyssa Abel took home third place honors.

Grandmaster Dwight Stevens was assisted in judging the testing by senior master Mark Henkel and master Bill Dragolovich.

2008 Black Belt Christmas Party

This year’s Christmas party was held at the Boston School Forest lodge in Plover. The outdoor paths were lit with luminaries and the wildlife displays interested adults and children, bringing about some very interesting conversations about wolverines, fishers and wolves.

The food was again delicious and abundant. Everyone enjoyed the crackling fire and time to relax and talk.

Dr. Stevens was surprised and pleased by the digital frame, pre-loaded with nearly 100 photos of black belts, trophy winners and other taekwondo shots, contributed by Luanna Held, Carol Landrath, Kim and Justin Buehler and Hilde Henkel. Other gifts included a entry mat with “The family that kicks together, sticks together” and a sharp U S Army insignia cap.

The piñatas provided quite a challenge this year but indomitable spirit finished them off.

Other black belt news news:

Master Chelsea Lovejoy missed the black belt party in favor of graduation ceremonies.

Master Kim Buehler was perhaps the most pregnant black belt to run testing in December as she demonstrated perfect form and balance. The second daughter of masters Kim and Justin is due mid-January.

Three Earn Black Belts

More than 65 students of Stevens Taekwondo Academy earned new belts, including three black belts, in the promotion testing held recently at the Stevens Point YMCA.

Matt Moore earned a second degree black belt with demonstrations of kick combinations, sparring and the keumgang form. Moore powered through a two-inch board with a jump spin side kick.

Ryan Franckowiak moved up to first degree black belt following his testing which included advance kick combinations, performance of koryo and four taegeuk forms, sparring, and a lengthy oral examination on the tenets and history of taekwondo. Franckowiak split a board with a back spinning hook kick.

Thomas Lisack entered the black belt ranks as a deputy after his performance of five taegeuk forms, kick combinations and sparring. Lisack smashed through his board on the first try with a working step back spinning side kick.

New high red belts Bryant Hedrington and Sam Smith took home the trophies for excellence in the testing

Grandmaster Dwight Stevens judged the testing, assisted by Masters Mark Henkel and Bill Dragolovich. Masters Eric Eberhardy and Shawn Strunsee, from the Milwaukee Southwest YMCA participated.

Black Belt Christmas Party

Information about the annual party will be coming to all on the active black belt list soon. Meantime, plan on December 13 in Stevens Point and please send any ideas about gifts or contributions for them to Master Karen Johnson or Master Hilde Henkel.

Black Belt News

Third dan black belt Donelle Ostrowski captured the grand championship of forms, and a four-foot-tall trophy, for a record-setting fourth year running at the Mid-Wisconsin Taekwondo Championships in Wisconsin Rapids. The event is hosted by the Park Institute and Master John Chrystal.

Masters John Henkel and Andrew Williams participated in, and survived, an ambitious six-hour taekwondo workout in Madison Wisconsin recently.

Robert Konopacky, the father of black belts Kevin Konopacky and Jill Reed, and grandfather of black belts Bethany Reed, Krysti, Kolby and Kahner Konopacky, died recently. The entire family has the sympathy of the black belt family.

Stevens Taekwondo Academy August Testing

Sharp skills and power board-breaking highlighted the belt promotion testing for Stevens Taekwondo Academy at the Stevens Point YMCA Sunday.

Five students earned new or higher black belts, including two advancing to master level. Richard Klapoetke and Dan Zierke demonstrated advanced kick combinations, the pyongwon form and delivered a speech as they successfully tested for fourth degree black belt level.. Klapoetke, whose son Kevin is a fourth degree black belt and daughter Karen Poirier a second degree black belt, spoke about the importance of regular workouts to avoid diabetes and to improve overall health. Klapoetke smashed a three board stack with a spinning side kick. Zierke talked about the place of awareness and attitude in self defense. Zierke combined a palm thrust board break with a back spinning sidekick on a second board.

Ryan Zorn earned a second degree black belt with his performance of the keumgang form, demonstration of advanced kick combinations and sparring. Zorn shattered a two-inch board with a working step back spinning side kick.

Entering the black belt ranks as deputy black belts, Ross Alff and eight-year-old Arrington Polman performed five taegeuk forms, sparred and advanced kick combinations. Alff broke his board with a back spinning side kick, with Polman using an inside crescent kick into a back spinning side kick.

High green belt Kim Regnitz won the first place trophy for excellence in the color belt testing. Sara Schuler, high white belt, earned the second place trophy with blue belt Dylan Regnitz, son of Kim, taking home the third place trophy.

The testing was judged by Grandmaster Dwight Stevens, and taekwondo masters Matthew Ford, visiting from Cinncinnati, Mark Henkel and Bill Dragolovich.

Black Belt News:

Several senior black belts, including Dr. Matt Ford in from Cinncinnati, relaxed the evening before the testing, gathering for a corn roast at the Henkel place in Rudolph. There is talk of making a corn roast an annual event for black belts.

YMCA Stevens Taekwondo Academy Schedule

July 29 First class of Summer II session
August 10 Belt promotion testing, 1 p.m. APR
Sept. 4 Last class of session
NO CLASSES SEPTEMBER 9 & 11
Sept. 16 First class of Fall I session
October 12 Belt promotion testing 1 p.m. APR.
October 23 Last class of session
NO CLASSES OCTOBER 28 & 30
Nov. 4 First class of Fall II session
Dec. 11 Last class of Fall II session
Dec. 13 Black Belt Christmas Party (tentative)
Dec. 14 Belt promotion testing, 1 p.m. Gym
NO CLASSES FOR WINTER BREAK
January 6 First class of Winter I session
February 12 Last class of Winter I session
February 15 Belt promotion testing 1 p.m. (tentative)
NO CLASSES FEBRUARY 17 & 19

Taekwondo warm-up, forms, breaks and sparring --students from Stevens Taekwondo Academy demonstrated it all for shoppers at the Stevens Point Krazy Days last weekend.

Under the direction of Masters Kim and Justin Buehler, more than a dozen students of all belt levels just what taekwondo means, coping with hot temps and a small stage outdoors to do so. Participating in the demos on Friday and/or Saturday were: Sam Smith, Arrington, Annaleigh & Annika Pulman, Stephanie, Morgan, Elizabeth & Annabella Wolosek, Ryan Franckowiak, Seth Zorn, Matt Straub, Bryant Hendrington, Sara Shuler and Allison McCloud.

As a finale to the demos, Franckowiak and Straub wowed the crowd by breaking concrete bricks.

June Testing & Black Belt News

Three students at Stevens Taekwondo Academy earned the rank of first dan black belt in testing at the YMCA Sunday.

Kim Sherwin and brother-sister duo Max and Riely Held demonstrated fifty kicks, the koryo and four taegeuk forms and sparred. Each answered questions in oral examination on the history and o tenets f taekwondo. Sherwin smashed one boards with a switching front kick and another with a spinning side kick. Twelve-year-old Riely Held snapped her board with working crescent kick into a back spinning side kick. Ten-year-old Max Held cleanly split his board with a working roundhouse into a spinning hook kick.

Three of the thirty students testing for higher color belts earned trophies for excellence in testing. New green belt Benjamin Bondon won first place, high blue belt Nikolas Morey earned second place and blue belt Annika Polman took third place.

Grandmaster Dwight Stevens also recognized three long-time martial artists, presenting their sixth degree black belt certificates from the Kukkiwon, world headquarters for the sport. Senior masters Mark Henkel, James Henkel and Karen Johnson have trained with him for 20 years . Mark Henkel is Stevens’ assistant instructor at the YMCA classes, Johnson owns and operates Stevens Taekwondo Academy on Isadore Street, and James Henkel is the instructor for the Medical College of Wisconsin Taekwondo Club in Wauwatosa.

Other black belt activities:

Master Greg Dorn and Erin Dorn have expanded their family with the birth of Adelyn Michelle on April 30. Big brother Noah Dorn now has someone he outranks!

Master Noah Zimmerman and his wife also welcomed daughter Gabriella in May.

Masters Karen Johnson and Hilde Henkel presented another Simple Self-Defense workshop for local high school students heading for France. They practiced shouting "Non!" instead of "No!" and were reminded of simple safety tips for travelors inaddition to the usual simple escapes and precautions.

Special Stevens Birthday

Grandmaster Dwight Stevens Birthday Celebration

Black belt family and friends surprised Dr. Dwight Stevens on May 10th with a full-house gathering at the Tempura House, when he expected a quiet dinner with Masters Mark and Hilde Henkel. More than 30 of all ages, with newborn Jacob Lane the youngest of three babies of black belt couples present, enjoyed an evening together, complete with flowers, birthday cake and gifts. Greetings were received from masters in Illinois and Ohio, as well as good wishes from other black belts unable to attend.

Black belts gave Dr. Stevens a gift certificate for a massage and a new testing table cover, produced by the talent and imagination of Teri Jenkins. The cover’s longer length will accommodate two tables when the judging panel is more than three masters and includes the school name, silk-screened in gold on black, gold fringe and eight gold stripes to reflect Dr. Stevens’ rank.

Other Black Belt News:

What long-time duo have recently changed their status listing on facebook?

Master black belts Chelsea Lovejoy and Andrew Williams are officially engaged. Our congratulations to both of them.

Black Belt News

Master Karrie Lane and husband Jeff Lane announce the addition of another black belt of the future: Jacob AlexanderLane, born Saturday, April 26 and weighing in at 8 pounds 8 ounces. Congratulations--two boys are twice the fun!

A few mishaps this spring for some of the black belts:

Jill Reed, in the last snow boarding effort of winter, broke her right wrist. She still managed to assist in class and at the self-defense workshop.

Dr. George Davidson tore his right bicep while zip-lining. One-handed dentistry will be challenging him for a few months.

Note to the rest of you: take care. Remember Dr. Stevens always says taekwondo is much safer than other sports/activities andtry to stay out of emergency rooms.

For those out of the central Wisconsin area: this winter won't go away, Point has gotten 3 1/2 inches of snow so far today, hiding the cheery daffodils and tulips and disheartening the residents.

Tournament and Community Outreach

April Activities of Stevens Taekwondo Academy students included competition and community outreach:

Two Stevens Taekwondo Academy students medaled at the 31st Pan American Tae Kwon Do Championships, April 12.

Hannah Lovejoy, third degree black belt, earned both a silver medal in sparring and a bronze in breaking, using a spinning sidekick through two boards and a 360 roundhouse to shatter a third board.

Ryan Franckowiak, high red belt, grabbed the silver medal in forms and took the bronze medal for smashing two boards with a spinning sidekick plus a 360 roundhouse kick through another board.

The championships drew 175 competitors to Rochester Minnesota.




Black Belts in the Community

Senior Master Karen Johnson, assisted by several of her high ranking belts, gave middle school students attending the UW-Stevens Point College Days for Kids an introduction to taekwondo. More than 25 in each group were led by Kyle Mealy, second degree black belt, through warm ups, stretches and kick combos before enjoying both bag work and tap tap sparring. Johnson’s students also demonstrated ring sparring and board breaking for the kids. Helping with the classes were Kim Sherwin, Michelle Ormond, Kim Verbrugt, Jaclyn Schmitz and Emily Urban


Master Hilde Henkel introduced 25 women to simple self-defense techniques at a seminar sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center. The seminar included information on awareness and body language and practice in yelling. Elbow strikes, kicks and simple escapes. Henkel was assisted by her husband, senior master Mark Henkel, and black belts Teri Jenkins, Jill Reed, and Haley Sankey.

April Testing and schedule

Shattering boards and crisp form performances highlighted the belt promotion testing for Stevens Taekwondo Academy at the Stevens Point YMCA Sunday.

Six martial arts students earned new or higher black belts as they demonstrated advanced skills in kick combinations and sparring. Both Mark Stenerson and twelve-year-old Elizabeth Lovejoy smashed spinning side kicks through two-inch boards on their first kick and performed both the koryo and keumgang forms, earning their second degree black belts.

Successfully achieving full first degree black belt status, Ross Wieloch and Lee Vaughter warmed up with fifty kick combinations, answered more than twenty questions in oral examination and performed koryo and four taegeuk forms. Wieloch’s board break was an inside crescent, back spinning side kick, while Vaughter snapped his board with a low-high roundhouse into a back spinning sidekick.

Ryan Franckowiak and twelve-year-old Chris Clark made impressive entries into the rank of deputy black belt as they performed five taegeuk forms and impressive board breaks. Clark shattered his board with a 360 spinning axe kick, while “Flying Franckowiak” wowed the crowd with a flying sidekick high over a table so smash that board.

Three of the more than 40 color belts testing form promotion earned trophies for excellence. New green belt Michael Emmenegger won first place, with high green belt Annaleigh Polman earning second place and red belt Kimberly Verburgt taking third place.

The testing was judged by Grandmaster Dwight Stevens, Masters Mark Henkel and Bill Dragolovich, assisted by Masters Peter Chan and Jerry Hajewski and Abner Fernandez of the Southwest Milwaukee YMCA Taekwondo Club.

Class Schedule for YMCA:

*** No classes April 15 & 17 ***

April 22 First class of new session with makeup testing at 7:45

May 29 Last class of session

*** No classes June 3 & 5***

June 8 Belt promotion testing 1 p.m. gym

June 10 First class of new session

June 12 Makeup testing at 7:45 gym

July 17 Last clss of session

*** No classes July 22 & 24 ***

Reporting Your Tournament Information

Reporting Your Tournament Results

With the following information, I can put together an article and will both post the article on this site and submit to the Stevens Point Journal, for any student of Stevens Taekwondo Academy.

1. Name of tournament, name of sponsoring club, school or master
2. Date and location (school and city) of tournament
3. Number of total competitors

For each person competing:

• Name and belt rank
• Events and placement
• Additional information such as specific break, number of rounds sparred or form performed or name of division
• Medal or trophy awarded
• Pictures of action or with trophies are welcome, or if several people compete, a group shot—please send digital photos attached to the information, not embedded in any text.
  
  Email the information to: henkelfm@wctc.net or call 715-435-3547

Taekwondo Accomplishments

Tournament News

High red belt Ryan Frankowiak won first place for sparring at the Capital City Invitational March 1 in DeForest Wisconsin. The event, sponsored by Karate America DeForest at the DeForest Middle School, drew 230 competitors.


Black Belt News

Master Dr. Lisa Landrath Gajewski found success in a slightly different area. She and husband Zach gave birth to daughter Allison Emma on March 3. Grandmother Master Carol Landrath reports that Allison weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces, 20 ½ inches long and has black hair.

February 2008 Testing

Two women earned black belt status and more than thirty color belts advanced despite mid-winter testing at the YMCA on a day of very difficult travel.

Whitney Lotzer and Kim Sherwin earned their deputy black belts Sunday, February 17, as central Wisconsin received eight inches of snow. Both women performed five taegeuk forms, advanced kick combinations and sparring. Lotzer broke a board with a back spinning side kick. Sherwin smashed two boards with a back spinning side kick.

High yellow belt Erin Johnson won first place for excellence in testing, with blue belt Brian Hoch earning second place and high yellow Greg Hakomaki taking third place.

Grandmaster Dwight Stevens judged the testing, assisted by Senior Master Mark Henkel and Master Bill Dragolovich.

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Remember that Stevens Taekwondo Academy classes at the YMCA will not be in session March 18& 20 or April 15 & 17. The next testing dates are April 13 and June 8.