Monday, December 17, 2012

December 2012 Testing and Schedule for 2013


More than 75 martial artists from all over the state braved winter’s first storm to successfully test for new taekwondo belt levels, with a good turn out of friends, family and instructors filling the Stevens Point YMCA gym in support of them.




All the black belt candidates demonstrated advanced kick combinations and sparring skills.  Charles Zoromski performed the taebeck form and snapped a board with a spinning hook speed break., earning his third degree black belt.  Xichen Cheng earned his second degree black when he performed the keumgang form before smashing a two-inch board with a flying side kick.

Father-son duo Thomas and Jacob Oakland, Andrew Krause, Kerrigan Neidert, Abby Dremel, Reggie Stern and Caleb Siewert performed koryo and four taebek forms in excellent precision.   All these candidates answered oral questioning on the meaning of terms, history of taekwondo and codes and tenets of the sport.  Advanced board breaks using a back spin side kick for Andrew Krause and Thomas and Jacob Oakland,   a spinning hook kick for Kerrigan Neidert, Abby Dremel and Caleb Siewert , and a flying side kick for Reggie Stern completed their successful testing for first degree black belt.

Qualifying for deputy black belt levels, Tammy Weiss used a butterfly kick for her board break, Matthew Whitley and Laura Krings snapped their boards with flying side kicks and Shelby Finnessy broke her board with a back spinning side kick.  This quartet also demonstrated five taegeuk forms.

Three color belt students were awarded trophies for excellence in testing.  Blue belt Michael Buchkowski won first place, blue belt Grace Carroll took second place and high green belt Lydia Miller earned third place.

This testing included students from the Stevens Taekwondo Academy main school at the YMCA, branch schools on Isadore Street, in Wausau and in Port Edwards, the Waupaca Tae Kwon Do Academy, the UW-Stevens Point taekwondo program and the UW-Platteville Taekwondo Club.  The testing was judged by master instructor Dwight Stevens, assisted by senior masters Mark Henkel and Bill Dragolovich.


Schedule for YMCA Classes and 2013 Testings

January 8       New session (Winter I) begins
February 10   Belt promotion testing 1 P.M. in YMCA Gym
February 14   Last class of Winter I session
     NO CLASSES February 19 & 21
February 26   First class of Winter II session
April 4           Last class of Winter II session
     NO CLASSES april 9 & 11
April 14         Belt Promotion Testing  1 P.M. in YMCA Gym
April 16         First class of Spring session
May 23         Last Class of Spring session
     NO CLASSES May 28 & 30
June 4          First class of Summer I session
June 9         Belt Promotion Testing 1 P.M. All Purpose Room
July 11        Last class of Summer I session
    NO CLASSES July 16 & 18
July 23       First class of Summer II session
August 11    Belt Promotion Testing 1 P.M. all Purpose Room
August 29    Last class of Summer II session