December 2014: Testing and Tournaments

Successful black belts:  Karrie Lane, Reece Peeters, Griffin Peeters, Payton Buchkowski and Dwight Stevens.  Back row:  Gave Hurrish, Jiaxin He, Abi Glaum, Jeremy Kunst, Tanner Rogers.

Jessica Tomaszewski and Oliver Shave

December Testing

More than 45 area taekwondo students kicked up their heels for the end of the year with successful testing at the Stevens Point YMCA recently, with nine reaching or increasing black belt rank.

Karrie Lane earned fifth degree black belt status in a sharp testing, which included the difficult split double front kick the sipjim form and a presentation on the history, meaning and elements of the taegeuk forms.

Payton Buchkowski, Jeremy Kunst, Reece and Griffin Peeters and Tanner Rogers all achieved full first degree black belt status after extensive testing, which included performing koryo and four taegeuk forms, sparring, impressive board breaking and an oral examination on the tenets and history of taekwondo.    Buchkowski, sponsored by his father Michael Buchkowski, owner and instructor of North Star Taekwondo, broke his board with a 360 spinning side kick.  Kunst, sponsored by senior master Mark Henkel, smashed his board with a left spinning side kick.  Rogers, sponsored by Lauren Shimulunas, used a crescent kick.  The Peeters brothers  were sponsored by Lydia Miller, each snapping a board easily with spinning side kicks.

Gabe Hurrish, Jiaxin He and Abi Glaum joined the black ranks as deputy black belts with demonstration of five taegeuk forms, advanced sparring and kick combinations and board breaking.  Hurrish used his non-dominant leg for a back spinning hook kick to snap his board.  Jiaxin He easily snapped her board with a combination roundhouse-back spinning side kick, while Glaum broke her board with a back spinning hook kick. 

Two color belt students earned trophies for excellence in testing.  High yellow belt Jessica Tomaszewski won first place with high green belt Oliver Shave taking home the second place trophy. 

 

Stevens Taekwondo Academy master instructor Dwight Stevens judged the testing, assisted by  masters Mark Henkel, Bill Dragolovich , Henk Boese of Eau Claire and  Jerry Hajewski of Wauwatosa.

December Tournament Results

Klein, Martin, Salm, Rogers

Local taekwondo students placed at two tournaments in December, honorably representing their instructor Senior Master Karen Johnson and bringing home several medals. 

Competing at the first UW Madison Interschool Invitational Taekwondo Tournament, green belt Amanda Salm won first place in  the adult women’s sparring, with some amazing head kicks.  Salm also earned second place in the women’s forms competition.  High green belt Matt Klein grabbed silver medals in both the men’s forms and sparring divisions.  Black belt Tanner Rogers took the bronze medal for men’s black belt sparring, while blue belt Kevin Martin was edged out of the medals despite two great matches in men’s sparring.  The event was sponsored by the UW-Madison  Taekwondo Club.

Closer to home, two students competed in the Central Wisconsin Evolution Tournament, sponsored by Five Rings Taekwondo at PJ Jacobs Junior High on the same date.

Second degree black belt Isaac Williams placed in all three areas of the 12 to 14 year-old boys division, taking first place in board breaking by snapping three boards using a butterfly kick, a spinning hook speed kick and an autobahn kick. Williams also grabbed the silver medals in forms and sparring competition.

First degree Mike Molden won two silver medals in both forms and sparring competition for the 18- 32 year men’s division.

Schedule Reminder:  YMCA classes resume on January 6, 2015.

October 2014 News: Testing and Tournament

Stevens Taekwondo Academy added two new black belts and promoted four others in testing recently at the Stevens Point YMCA.  Nearly forty color belt students successfully tested for promotion as they demonstrated improved skills.

Mark Regnitz and Mark Poirier earned promotion to third degree balck belt, impressing the judges with a sharp execution of the taebek form and vigorous sparring.  Both men chose a spin hook for their speed break, with Regnitz snapping his on first attempt.

Andrew Bowling and Isaac Witte achieved full first degree black belt level following extensive testing which included advanced kicking and sparring and an oral examination on the history, tenents and terminology of taekwondo.   Both boys performed koryo and four taegeuk forms. Eleven-year-old Bowling, sponsored by Mark Regnitz,  used a working step back spinning side kick to break his board.   Eight-year-old Isaac Witte, sponsored by Master Mandi Hoppa used a long skipping side kick and back spinning side kick to snap his board at first attempt.  Witte began his training in taekwondo at age five.

Ten-year-old Mary Bunn and twelve-year-old Dalton Cevan entered black belts ranks as deputy black belts following their testing, which included skills demonstrations, sparring and performance of five taegeuk forms.  Cevan brokehis board with a working step back spinning side kick, while Bunn used an inside crescent kick, back spinning side kick.

Three taekwondo students were recognized for excellence in testing for the day.  High blue belt Alex Frasch won first place, high blue belt David Kriewald earned second place and new green belt Rachel Jorgenson took the third place trophy.

The October testing was judged by master instructor Dwight Stevens, assisted by senior master Mark Henkel, and masters Tim Vocke of Rhinelander and Jerry Hajewski of Milwaukee.

Tournament Success In Wisconsin Rapids

Eight students from Stevens Taekwondo Academy were very successful Saturday at the 34^th Annual Mid-Wisconsin Taekwondo Championships held in Wisconsin Rapids.  Each placed in one or more divisions of competition.

Third degree black belt Lauren Shimulunas grabbed second place for forms in the adult women division.  Second degree black belt Isaac Williams trophied in all three events for the pee wee black belts, earning second place in both sparring and board breaking, where he used an autobahn, a butterfly kick and a back spinning hook speed break on his boards.

New first degree black belt Isaac Witte also placed in all three events.  Witte won first place in forms, second place in sparring and fourth in board breaking.  Witte was the youngest competitor who made it to the final round for the grand championship, snapping out a very sharp performance of the koryo form.

Red belt Annika Brandl did well, placing in all three events of a tough girls pee wee division.  Annika took home a second in forms, a third in sparring and fourth place in board breaking, where she broke with a switching axe kick and a spinning side kick.  Sister Cabrini Brandl,  also garnered three trophies, placing second in forms and board breaking, where she used a back spinning hook kick and a long skipping into a spinning side kick to break.  The young blue belt added a third place trophy for sparring.

Blue belt Kevin Martin won first place in the adult men’s sparring division, and second in breaking, where he combined a inside crescent to spinning side kick and a switching front kick to break two boards.  Green belt Hero Vu won first place for sparring in the 11 to 13 year-old division and then added a second place in board breaking, where he snapped out a spinning side kick and a spinning hook.

Amanda Salm easily won first place in the green belt women’s sparring with her excellent and exciting sparring skills.

More than 100 competitors from all over Wisconsin attended the tournament at Mid State Technical College in Wisconsin Rapids, which featured several demonstration teams led by Master John Chrystal, the tournament director.  Grand Master Kun Yoo Park served as executive tournament director for the event, sponsored by the Park Institute of Wisconsin Rapids.

 

                                  Testing timing and dates reminder:
***All belt promotion testing begin at 12:30 now, and people need to arrive in advance of that time to register.

Upcoming testings dates include:
*** December 14, 2014
*** February 15, 2015
***March 29, 2015 *** NOTE this is the "April" testing date
***June 14, 2015

August 2014: a Jewel of a Testing

Newly advanced black belts with Dr. Stevens

jacob Zimmermann, Brayden Charneski, Jose Garcia

An elite group of high-ranking Stevens Taekwondo Academy black belts gathered recently at the YMCA for taekwondo testing with summer students, clearly demonstrating excellence and skills.

Matthew Ford, returning from Cincinnati, earned sixth degree black belt and the title of senior master, in addition to that of professor of management at Northern Kentucky University.  Ford performed the  rhythmically challenging jitae form before smashing four boards with a spinning sidekick.  Ford also submitted a research paper on the correlation of taekwondo mastery and current research on expert performance.  His oral presentation on the topic  emphasized the deliberate practice of core concepts.

Husband – wife duo Justin and Kimberly Buehler flawlessly demonstrated the sipjin form simultaneously as they achieved fifth degree black belt.  Justin shattered four boards with a 360-spinning sidekick and spoke on the respect expressed through etiquette in taekwondo, concluding “Etiquette in society is the oil that keep society working.”  Kimberly broke her boards on each kick of the autobahn, and spoke on the responsibilities of black belts, not only in teaching and techniques, but in modeling proper behavior, saying  “You are the face of our school.”

Mother- daughter duo Jill and Lydia Miller and Luke McChrystal successfully tested for first degree black belt, with excellent demonstrations of koryo and four taegeuk forms, advanced kick and sparring techniques and extensive oral examination on taekwondo and Korean history, symbolism, terminology and forms.  Jill and Lydia Miller each snapped a board with a working-step back spinning sidekick and 12-year-old McChrystal easily broke his board with an autobahn kick.  The Millers were sponsored for black belt by Senior Master Mark Henkel, and McChrystal was sponsored by black belt Ben Goodberlet.

Jeremy Kunst and Daniel Roach joined the black belt ranks after they demonstrated advanced kicking and sparring skills, and did five taegeuk forms.  Kunst easily broke his board with a spinning sidekick, and Roach preceded his spinning sidekick with a butterfly kick.

Three of the color belts who successfully tested also received trophies.  High yellow belt Jose Garcia won first place for excellence in testing.  High blue belts Brayden Charneski and Jacob Zimmerman were awarded second and third place for most improved students.  The testing was judged by an especially distinguished panel, as Stevens Taekwondo Academy founder and master instructor Dwight Stevens was assisted by his son Grandmaster Robert Stevens of Denver, and senior masters Mark Henkel and Bill Dragolovich.

Three Generations of Excellence

“The family that kicks together, sticks together” is the motto of Stevens Taekwondo Academy, where many family members have trained together, developing skills and closer relationships. 

At the most recent testing for belt promotion, this was highlighted when three generations of the Stevens family, all black belts, participated.  Dr. Dwight Stevens, founder and master instructor, judged the testing of color and black belts.  He was assisted by his son, Grandmaster Robert Stevens, who founded and leads the Stevens World Taekwondo school at the Denver Athletic club.

Three generations of Stevens black belts

Abby and Bella Stevens doing keumgang in unison

The third generation was represented by  Robert’s daughters Abby, 14 years and third degree black belt, and Bella, 11 years old and second degree black belt.  The sisters demonstrated the keumgang form, second degree black belt form, in sharp synchronization.  Abby and Robert Stevens awed the on-lookers when they performed Chunkwon, the  seventh degree black belt form, in unison.  Bella held everyone’s attention as she showed the creative form which recently earned her a gold medal at games in Colorado Springs, incorporating flips, splits and  music.

Black belt Mark Henkel, who has trained with Stevens for 26 years, says the Stevens’ family model is one he’d like to follow.  “My wife and sons are black belts, and I would love to see my grandchildren train when they are older.”

The senior Stevens has led his school at the YMCA for the past 33 years, and has trained hundreds of black belt practitioners now spread across the United States.  Stevens Taekwondo A New Way of Life, Stevens Point, run by Senior Master Karen Johnson, and Amherst Taekwondo, run by Master Mary Allen, are local branches, with several affiliated schools and programs run by other STA black belts, including the UW-Stevens Point taekwondo program, taught by Johnson.

Reminders:

A facebook group (Stevens Taekwondo Academy) is available to students of Dr. Stevens or Senior Master Karen Johnson.  Affiliated instructors may also join, so as to  convey information to their students.  Photos and video or the black belts breaks and demos are posted there.  Please clear any postings or events items with one of the instructors.

The YMCA classes for this session run through September 4.  HOWEVER, classes on August 26 and 28th will be held in the APR at the south end of the Y.  There are no classes September  9 and 11th, with the first fall session beginning September 16.

The next testing date is October 14, 2014.

Fall is always a time of change.  Black belts who wish to share new locations, jobs or accomplishments, email Senior Master Hilde at henkelfm@wctc.net