December 2015

High flying kicks and family accomplishments highlighted the  recent testing of Stevens Taekwondo Academy students at the Stevens Point YMCA.

Six students gained new or advanced black belts.  Tanner Rogers, Chong Chang and Jacob Kujawa all achieved second degree black belts with  their performance of advanced kicks, sparring and the keumgang form.  Rogers shattered a two inch board very impressively using a flying side kick over four chairs.  Chang  and Kujawa each broke two-inch boards with  back spinning side kicks.

Daniel Roach and Anika Brandl earned full black belt status in their testing.  Both  demonstrated advanced kicks , sparring and koryo and four tae geuk forms.    Roach used a working step back spinning side kick to break his board, and Brandl executed the same kick using her non-dominant leg to break.

Nine-year-old Oliver Shave joined black belt ranks as a deputy black belt after performing kicks, sparring and five taegeuk forms.  Shave, who broke  his board with a skipping side kick, is the second generation of Shave black belts.  His parents Peter and Nikki Shave, met each other at taekwondo.

Three of the more than twenty color belt students received trophies for excellence in testing.  High yellow belt Chandler Ludke won first place, high green belt Zaid Alkasrawi grabbed second, and blue belt Samara Poirier took home the third place trophy.  Poirier is a third generation taekwondo student—her grandfather Richard Klapoetke, uncle Kevin Klapoetke and parents Mark Poirier and Karen Klapoetke-Poirier all earned black belts through Stevens Taekwondo Academy.

Master instructor Dwight Stevens was assisted in judging the testing by senior master Bill Dragolovich and master Dan Zierke.  Master Kim Buehler directed testing.

Local Students Medal at Tournament

Four taekwondo students from UW-Stevens Point brought home medals from the UW-Invitational Taekwondo Tournament in Madison  recently.

Tanner Rogers won  two bronze medals, for placing third in both forms and sparring in mens black belt division.  Red belt Mandi Salm competed in the womens black belt division and grabbed second place for sparring.  Black belt Jake Kujawa earned as bronze medal in sparring and  in his first tournament, high white belt  Roland Fuller brought back the bronze medal in forms competition.