Masters Training

Grandmaster Robert Stevens premiered his seminar "Master Instructor Development Program" to sixteen high ranking black belts at Stevens Taekwondo Academy: A New Way of Life June 11. Grandmaster Dwight Stevens introduced his son, who is the director and master instructor for the taekwondo program at the Denver Athletic Club, as 'the real thing" in taekwondo mastery, with three decades of experience.

Grandmaster Robert Stevens deiscussed the various elements of leadership, different perceptions of skills and ethics and then led the group in specific application scenarios. Stevens also reviewed sel-defense techniques for use against weapons and multiple opponents.

"I thought it was an excellent seminar in prectical leadership," said Senior Master Mark Henkel.

Grandmaster Robert Stevens noted that Stevens Taekwondo Academy is one of the few schools in the nation where that many high-ranking black belts could be assembled for such taining. Attending the seminar were sixth dan black belts Mark Henkel and Bill Dragolovich, fifth dan black belts John Henkel, Hilde Henkel, Carol Landrath and Dr. Ron Locascio, fourth dan black belts Justin Buehler, Kim Buehler, Annette Danczyk, Jerry Hajewski, Karrie Lane, Jill Reed and Daniel Zierke, third dan black belts Stephen Decker and Mandi Hoppa and second dan black belt Kris Strohbusch. Each received a certificate and a belt rank lapel pin.

Both Stevens expressed appreciation for the use of the excellent facilities at Senior Master Karen Johnson's studio.

Masters Workshop June 12

Register now for the special Masters Workshop on June 12 in Stevens Point. This unique training session with Grandmaster Robert Stevens is open to black belts 3rd dan and above. The workshop will include handouts, power point presentation, practical applications and certificates.

Time: 1 to 3:30 p.m. June 12
Location: Stevens Taekwondo Academy: A New Way of Life, 210 Isadore Street, Stevens Point
Cost: $30, payable to Stevens Taekwondo Academy, send to Dr. Dwight Stevens, 3323 Echo Dells Ave, Stevens Point WI 54481
Attire: do-bok preferred

April Testing and News

Two mother-son taekwondo duos achieved black belts in the testing Sunday at Stevens Point YMCA.

Kim Regnitz and her eleven-year-old son Dylan Regnitz earned second-degree black belts following their demonstration of advanced kick combinations, sparring and the keumgang form. Kim smashed through a two-inch board with a back spinning sidekick, while Dylan used a working step back spinning sidekick for his standard board.

Lauren Shimulunas moved up to full first degree black belt with her successful back spinning hook speed break, sparring and kicks. Shimulunas also performed koryo and four taegeuk forms and answered all questions in an oral exam on taekwondo history, tenets and creeds.

Pamela Lake and her son Leland Lake, Max Pfeiffer, Chong Chang and twelve-year-old Ginny Neufeld joined black belt ranks as deputy black belts. this group demonstrated five taegeuk forms, sparring and kick combination skills. Pamela Lake broke her board with a butterfly kick, Leland Lake with a working step back spinning sidekick and Pfeiffer used a jumping back spinning sidekick. Chang snapped his board with a back spinning hook kick and Neufeld used a working step back spinning sidekick.

More than 80 students tested for higher color belts, with three earning trophies for excellence. New high yellow belt Norman Chandler won first place, Judah Ford earned his high green belt and second place and high yellow belt Stephon Freeman took home the third place trophy.

Black belts Jill Reed, Ben Nummelin, Elizabeth Lovejoy and Hannah Lovejoy demonstrated a sharp compass-point koryo for the 200 people present for the testing. Grandmaster Dwight Stevens judged the event, assisted by senior masters Mark Henkel and Bill Dragolovich.

Black Belt News

MASTERS SEMINAR coming June 12! Mark your calendars and check back for more information soon. Grandmaster Robert Stevens will be teaching a half-day seminar for taekwondo masters (and those who anticipate testing for fourth dan during 2010). This will be the Saturday before the June belt promotion testing. Time, cost, location and topics will be posted when available.

Bri Tarpey tested successfully for her second dan black belt, prior to the April testing, due to scheduled knee surgery. congratulations and best wishes for a rapid recovery!

Master Kevin Klapoetke has been collecting data for his doctoral thesis at CERN, the super-collider under the mountains in Switzerland, for the past several weeks, during the historic and successful efforts in April. Note that none of the fears of black holes destroying the Earth proved to be valid.

Tournament News

Three STA students participated in the 33rd Annual Pan-American Open Taekwondo Championship, held in Rochester Minnesota April 10.

2nd dan black belt Ryan Franckowiak grabbed first place for men's black belt board breaking with his flying sidekick over a table and through three boards. He also place third in sparring. Bo dan black belt Greg Hakomaki place second in sparring. Green belt Kim Richardson won first place in forms, performing taegeuk sah jang and first in sparring, adding a second place in breaking , using a combination of a back spinning hook kick speed break, a self-held punch, and a spinning sidekick through two boards.

YMCA Taekwondo Schedule

NO CLASSES April 13 & 15
April 20 First class of spring session
May 27 Last class of spring session
NO CLASSES June 1 & 3
June 8 First class of summer session I
June 12 Masters Seminar Grandmaster Robert Stevens
June 13 Belt Promotion Testing 1 p.m. All Purpose Room
July 15 Last class of summer session I
NO CLASSES July 20 & 22
July 27 First class of summer session II
August 15 Belt Promotion Testing 1 p.m. All Purpose Room
Sept. 2 Last class of summer session II
NO CLASSES September 7 & 9
Sept. 14 First class fall session I
October 10 Belt Promotion Testing 1 p.m. Gym
October 21 Last class of fall session I
NO CLASSES October 26 & 28
Nov. 2 First class of fall session II
December 9 Last class of fall session II
December 11 Black Belt Christmas party
December 12 Belt Promotion Testing 1 p.m. Gym

Black Belt Application Forms

Black belts who have arranged with Dr. Stevens to test for a new dan level need to submit the current black belt application form at testing, which can be found at:
http://usa-taekwondo.us/pages/2358
Scroll down to the red title and select the forms needed. These are writable formats. Remember they need to be typed, not hand written.
Other information needed is the Stevens Taekwondo Academy school number (1353) and address (3325 Echo Dells Ave, Stevens Point). Phone and fax numbers are the same (341-5271) with the email for the form of dr6666@charter.net.
Remember to prepare with all the proper documentation, including a photocopy of the current dan certificate, 2 photos of exactly the size specified on the form (unless you want an odd-looking card photo), and documentation of your current membership in the USAT.

March Tournament News

Several Stevens Taekwondo Academy students won trophies in the Southside invitational Taekwondo Competition in Milwaukee recently.

The competition used a combined score from forms, board breaking and sparring to determine the overall winner for each division.

Deputy black belt Sara Shuler won first place in the women's black belt division, performing the taegeuk pal jahn form and breaking two boards with a spinning side kick and another with a spinning hook kick.

Second dan black belt Ryan Franckowiak took second place for black belt men. he broke three boards with a high-flying side kick over a table, took first place in sparring and performed the keumgang form.

Third dan Stephen Decker earned third place in the block belt men's division, performing the pyongwon form. He also broke two boards with a speed side kick and another with a spinning hook kick.

In the women's color belt division, green belt Kim Richardson won the first place trophy with a back spinning side kick through two boards and performance of taegeuk sam jahn. In the same division, high yellow belt Brooke Decker took third place with taegeuk ee jahn and board breaks of sequential sidekicks using alternate legs.

Dr. Dwight Stevens was recognized at the tournament as a consultant and grand master. The tournament, sponsored by Dragons Taekwondo and USA Taekwondo, brought in some 100 competitors from around the state.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS & TRAINING:
2010 Tri-State Open Tae Kwon Do championships will be held April 24, 2010 in Union Grove, starting at 10 a.m. sharp . This tournament is sponsored by Master Dennis Nelson and the Kenosha Tae Kwon Do Club. Pre-register by April 16 for a chance to win flat screen TV. More information at www.kenoshataekwondo.net
The 7th Annual Capitol City Classic Open Martial Arts Tournament, sponsored by Paiks Traditional Martial Arts, will be held May 2, 2010 in Middleton Wisconsin. For more information contact Master Peter Paik at 608-233-9999 or go on-line to www.paikstmac.com
The 10th Anniversary Female Athletes International camp, with coacheing by female Olympians and national Team Members, runs July 18 - 23 in Olympic Training Center CO. For more information go to www.family-taekwondo.com under the Female Athletes Int'l tab.

February Testing

Three students at Stevens Taekwondo Academy spent an unusual Valentine's Day, earning black belts at the YMCA.

Katelyn Faulks and Sam Smith earned full black belt ranking follow demonstration of koryo and four taegeuk forms, sparring, kick combinations, and an oral examination on the history, techniques, symbolism and significance of taekwondo. Both cleanly snapped boards with spinning side kicks.

Allison McLeod joined the black belt ranks as a deputy black belt with her performance of five taegeuk forms, kick combinations, sparring and a board break using a roundhouse spining side kick.

Three of the sixty other martial artists who tested successfully for higher color belts earned trophies for excellence in testing. High green belt Hannah Butzen won first place, blue belt Jeff Ross earned second place and green belt Caleb Harris was awarded third place.

Students participating train at the UW-Stevens Point Taekwondo program and Stevens Taekwondo Academy schools in Stevens Point, the Stevens Point YMCA and South Wood County YMCA. Grandmaster Dwight Stevens judged, assisted by senior masters Mark Henkel and Bill Dragolovich.

BLACK BELT NEWS

Third dan black belt Haley Sankey has established a facebook group as a forum for past and present students of Stevens Taekwondo Academy to interact, share photos and discussions. All STA students are welcome to join the group.

Basic Information

Several folks have been interested in the basic information handed out to beginners. Some of the Korean spelling has been updated to match that in the black belt handbook.

Respect and Courtesy are part of taekwondo and this school:
>Show respect for the do jang by bowing when you enter and elve
>Show respect for your instructor and other black belts by bowing and speaking to them as "Sir" or "Ma'am"
>Show respect for other students with courtesy and safe behavior

Basic Taekwondo Terminology
Attention --- charyot
Bow --- kyung eh
Ready --- choon bi
Begin --- shi jak
stop --- keu mahn
rest --- she yeo
turn around --- duee ro do ra
break --- kalyeo
continue --- kae sok
trianing hall --- do jang
yell --- ki hap
master instructor --- sab beom neem
grand master --- kwanjang neem
uniform --- do-bok
belt --- di
blue --- chung
red --- hong

Korean Numbers
1 ---hana
2 --- tul
3 ---set
4 ---net
5 ---ta-sot
6 ---yo-sot
7 --- il-gohp
8 ---yo-dul
9 ---a-hup
10 ---yuhl
20--- sumul
30--- soren
40 ---mah-hun
50 ---schwin

Beginners are encouraged to attend a testing before they test, and informed they need to know the blocks, kicks and will break a board.