August 2012

The August belt promotion testing for Stevens Taekwondo Academy became a black belt celebration as 38 black belts, 15 of master level or higher, judged, assisted or tested at the Stevens Point YMCA recently.  Ten earned new or higher belt rankings, along with the 29 color belts who successfully tested.

Dan Zierke achieved fifth degree black belt level with his performance of the sipjin form, a demonstration of self-defense techniques and breaking two boards using first a palm heel thrust and then a knife hand.  Zierke and the other black belt candidates also demonstrated advanced kick combinations and hand techniques.

Tom Lisack  and Bridget Williams moved up to third degree black belt after performing the taebeck form and  sparring.  Lisack executed a back spinning hook kick for his board break, while Williams snapped her board with a back spinning hook kick in a speed break.

Mark Regnitz, Evelyn Williams, Laura Borth, Ben Strojny and Seth Zorn all earned second degree black belts following sparring and performance of the keumgang form.  All five successfully broke two-inch boards using the spinning side kick.  Williams, the wife of senior master John Henkel,  also performed five taebek forms.

Hilary Bilbrey and ten-year-old Isaac Williams joined the black belt ranks as deputy black belts with their demonstration of five taegeuk forms and sparring.  Bilbrey broke her board with a jump spinning side kick, while Williams used the autobahn kick to snap his board.

Three trophies were awarded for excellence in testing.  High red belt Shelby Finnessy won first place, red belt Laura Krings earned second place and new blue belt Emma Kempen took third place.

Grandmaster Dwight Stevens, director and founder of the Stevens Taekwondo Academy network of schools, judged the students, assisted by senior masters Mark Henkel, James Henkel and Bill Dragolovich and visiting master Matt Ford of Cincinnati.  


Contributing Rightly:

Masters Kim Buehler and Jill Reed led a team of dedicated martial artists in a demo at the very hot July  Krazy Days in Stevens Point .  The students demonstrated an abbreviated warm-up, combos, techniques on the heavy bag and focus paddle, poomsae, sparring and board breaking.  Kudos to the participants for sticking it out in the heat...heat all around and stage was nearly frying level!  Those participating were: Tom Oakland with Jacob and Elizabeth Oakland, Jen Wilkinson with Travis and Theo Wilkinson, Daniel Perez and Thomas Meronek.

In August, masters Kim Buehler and Karrie Lane, assisted by black belts Jeff Lane and Karen Poirier, presented a taekwondo demonstration for the Boys and Girls Club at Jefferson School.

Black Belt News

Senior master James Henkel completed his post-doctoral position in Maryland and has moved to Sussex, Wisconsin.  He will be teaching biology and microbiology at Wisconsin Lutheran College.  He and Kayme Henkel are expecting a second daughter in October.

At the end of June, third dan Stephen Decker assisted refereeing at the USAT National Championships in Dallas, where he met several Olympians.

June 2012 Testing

 Fifty dedicated taekwondo students earned new belt levels in testing Sunday at the Stevens Point YMCA.  Five students of Stevens Taekwondo Academy achieved black belt levels at the testing.

Mother-daughter duo Julie and Macey Shutter reached full first degree black belt level performing  koryo and four taegeuk forms together, demonstrating sparring and kick combinations and knowledge of taekwondo tenets and meanings in an oral exam.  Julie Shutter smashed her board on first attempt with a inside crescent back spinning hook kick.  Nine-year-old Macey broke a board with a jumping back spinning side kick.

Three martial artist entered black belt ranks at the deputy or bo-dan level.  Denise Drechsler, Max Malek and Cody Olski demonstrated five taegeuk forms, kick combinations and sparring skills and each broke a board.  Drechsler used a working step back spinning side kick for her board break, ten-year-old Olski snapped his board with a round, turnaround round back spinning hook kick and Malek conquered his board with a working step back spinning side kick.

Daniel Perez, Jonathan Carroll, Moon-woo Nam

Grandmaster Dwight Stevens awarded three trophies for testing excellence among the 45 color belts.  New green belt Daniel Perez won first place, green belt  Jonathan Carroll took second place and high green belt Moon-woo Nam earned third place.

Stevens was assisted in judging by senior masters Mark and Hilde Henkel.

April 2012 News

More than a hundred martial artists, supported by an equal number of family and friends, celebrated skills and earned belt level promotion recently. The students from four Stevens Taekwondo Academy schools and the UW-Stevens Point program coped with very warm conditions at the Stevens Point YMCA with indomitable spirit and good humor.

Testing of all black belt candidates included performance of 50 kick combinations of their choice and sparring. Kim Regnitz and Dylan Regnitz were both awarded third degree black belts. After demonstrating the taebek form, the mother-son duo each broke a board with a spinning hook speed break.

Three students achieved second degree black belt level, performing the keumgang form together. Benjamin Goodberlet smashed a two-inch board with a back spinning side kick; Bryant Hedrington broke two inch-boards with a back spinning side kick and twelve-year-old Reed Kolby Davis also used a back spinning side kick on his board.

Brian Gibbs earned a full first degree black belt with his performance of koryo and four taegeuk forms, answering an oral exam on the history of taekwondo, the creeds and terminology and then demonstrating an impressive 360-jumping sidekick for his board break. Gibbs was sponsored for his testing by black belt Thomas Lima.

Entering the black belt ranks as deputy black belts, father-son duo Thomas and Jacob Oakland performed five taegeuk forms and then both used back spinning side kicks to break their boards.

From the large field of color belts tested, grandmaster Dwight Stevens selected three students for recognition, awarding the first place trophy to red belts Ben Misiewicz, second place to Taylor Sankey, and third place to John Paul Bunn. Stevens was assisted judging the record numbers testing by senior masters Karen Johnson, and Mark and Hilde Henkel.

February News

A full house of spectators enjoyed taekwondo kicks, forms and board breaking during Stevens Taekwondo Academy belt promotion testing at the Stevens Point YMCA recently. More than fifty color belts and five black belts displayed their improved skills and earned new belt levels.

Justin Green achieved fourth dan black belt status with an impressive demonstration of seven forms including pyongwon, advanced kick combinations and an excellent sparring round. Green also broke 4 concrete blocks with his forearm.

Mark Regnitz,, Thomas Lima, Laura Borth and Riley Drechsler earned first degree black belts in a comprehensive oral exam, advanced sparring and kick combinations and performance of koryo and four taebek forms. Regnitz, sponsored by his son second degree black belt Dylan Regnitz, used a 360 side kick for his board break. Second degree black belt Bri Tarpey sponsored Lima, who executed an impressive back spinning hook kick speed break on his board. Borth cleanly snapped her board with a 360 back spinning sidekick after her sponsorship by third degree Kyle Mealy, her most recent instructor. Drechsler broke her board with a double switching high front kick. She was sponsored by her instructor, third degree black belt Steve Decker.

Three other students were recognized for excellence in testing. High green belt Andrew Cameron won the first place trophy, yellow belt Jill Miller earned second place and new red belt Charley Neufeld took home the third place trophy.

Master instructor Dwight Stevens judged the testing, assisted by senior masters Mark Henkel and Bill Dragolovich.

Masterful Self-Defense:
Grandmaster Dwight Stevens, senior master Bill Dragolovich and master Dan Zierke presented a free self-defense class at UW-Stevens Point.

YMCA STA Class Schedule:

February 21 First class Spring session
February 23: 8 p.m. make-up testing
March 20 & 22 No classes--UW/YMCA Spring Break
April 5 Last class of Spring session
April 10 & 12 No classes
April 15 Belt promotion testing, 1 p.m. YMCA gym
April 17 First class Summer I session
May 24 Last class Summer I session
June 5 First class Summer II session
June 10 Belt promotion testing, 1 p.m., APR
July 12 Last class Summer II session
July 17 & 19 No classes
July 24 First class Summer III session
August 12 (tentative) Belt promotional testing 1 p.m. APR
August 30 Last class of Summer III session

Neuroscience and martial Arts Training

Recent neuroscience research into the brain function of elite athletes, detailed in the January 14, 2012 issue of Science News, validates traditional martial arts teaching methods and gives hope to novices aiming to improve.

Taekwondo and other martial arts require constant and continued practice of the basic kicks and blocks which combine into forms and sparring techniques. Several researchers are clarifying why that practice makes things work.

Using functional MRI scans on athletes’ brains has allowed John Milton, a neuroscientist at the Claremont Colleges in California, to identify the areas of the brain utilized while performing or planning specific actions, like a golf swing. Professional golfers show far more localized activity, beginners show dispersed activity.

To reach this more subconscious control of a complex movement, Milton explains athletes must rehearse, train repeatedly and develop the nerve connections needed for precise motor control. Sounds a lot like Dr. Stevens saying “Practice, practice, practice” doesn’t it?

These studies also support the claim that practice of forms improves focus, since Milton sees the less dispersed brain activity as indicating that the experts don’t get bogged down by extraneous information, as ‘in the zone’ they ignore the rest and focus.

There’s an additional factor at work in the benefit of training repetition, according to Daniel Wolpert of the University of Cambridge, England. He describes the nervous system interaction with the musculoskeletal system as flawed with transmission errors along the way causing sensory ‘static’ varying in degree by genetic inheritance.

The good news? Wolpert says anyone can “train muscles and refine a way of moving that reduces the bad consequences of the noise that already there.” So with persistence and indomitable spirit, anyone can improve performance.

Another element of martial arts training has traditionally been watching others perform both basics, forms and sparring. Even when the body is still, the brains of observers show neural activity similar to actually effecting the motions. Salvatore Aglioti of Sapienza University (Rome) says this mirror neural activity is the brains’ way of simulating the motion, “a system for matching what you do with what you see others doing.”

So to the speed up that kick, perfect that form or improve sparring, those traditional training methods are just what all these doctors would order. Practice and continue to practice, watch and try to focus on both doing and seeing. Those taekwondo masters know how to teach!

Schedule Reminder:

Sunday, February 12-- 1 pm belt promotion testing at Stevens Point YMCA
--no classes February 14 & 16
February 21 -- first class of new session

S

More than ninety Stevens Taekwondo Academy students achieved new belt levels in testing held recently at the YMCA. The large December turnout included nine martial artists of all ages earning new or advanced black belts.

Earning bo dan (deputy) black belts were Dennis Freund, Al Jankowski, Andrew Krause, Brian Gibbs, Alexander Prevost, ten-year-old Bryton Stewart and nine-year-old Macey Shutter. Their testing including performing advanced kick combinations, sparring and five taegeuk forms. Freund, Jankowski, Krause, Gibbs and Stewart all succeeded in breaking boards immediately with back spinning side kicks. Bryton Stewart is the grandson of black belt Guy Stewart. Shutter and Prevost showed perseverance with their kicks, breaking boards with a back spinning hook and back spinning side kick respectively.

Kimberly Nummelin, bride of third-degree black belt Ben Nummelin, and Benjamin Goodberlet earned first-degree black belts with impressive performances in advanced techniques, sparring and koryo and four taegeuk forms. Nummelin snapped her board easily with a flying side kick, jumping over three people, and Goodberlet used a back spinning hook kick in a speed break. The duo also answered numerous questions on the history of taekwondo and its tenets in public examination.

Three color belt students were recognized from the large number testing as performing with excellence. New blue belt Katie Heath won first place, new green belt Cally Baroni took second place and Julia Neufeld earned third place and high green belt.

Vern Lovejoy, fifth-degree black belt, was selected as black belt of the year. In his absence, his daughter Elizabeth, third-degree black belt, accepted the plaque honoring the memory of M. J. Attoe, from Attoe’s mother, Joyce Kavalaskas. Other nominees for the award were Steve Decker, instructor at both Port Edwards and Wausau schools, and new black belt Dennis Freund.

The martial artists at the testing included students from the UW-Stevens Point taekwondo program, YMCA Stevens Taekwondo Academy and STA branch schools in Stevens Point, Port Edwards and Wausau. The testing was judged by Grandmaster Dwight Stevens, assisted by senior masters Mark and Hilde Henkel.


Black Belt News

The annual Black Belt Christmas party was held the evening before testing at the Boston School forest. In addition to the friendship and great food, the fascinating displays of knot, tree types and stuffed wildlife (even a musk ox!) were very interesting, and the crackling fire set a very nice mood.

Despite a lack of snow, Santa visited the party, to the delight of the smaller guests, who asked Santa for an assortment of gifts, ranging from a bike to a candy cane! This year’s piñata resisted the efforts of the youngsters until Ben Strojny helped them out with a powerful kick.

Many black belts contributed to the gifts for Dr. Stevens, and Sr. Master Karen Johnson made all the arrangements for the location. Thanks and Merry Christmas to all.

December 2, 2011

Students at the YMCA classes are
privileged to receive instruction
directly from grandmaster Dwight Stevens.
Here he works with a large white belt group
on basic blocking techniques.



Tournament Results

Local taekwondo students fared well at a recent tournament earning nine first place trophies. Stevens Taekwondo Academy students from four local programs participated at the Mid-Wisconsin Taekwondo Championships, held in Wisconsin Rapids.

Blue belt Matthew Whitley swept the 14-17 year-old division, taking first place in sparring, forms and breaking.

Representation in the mini-peewee division was especially strong with red belt Isaac Williams taking first place in forms and in breaking, snapping boards with a back spinning hook kick and a back spinning side kick. High red belt Macey Shutter took second place in breaking and forms in the same division, with a third place in sparring. Red belt Cody Olski placed third in forms and sparring with a fourth place in breaking, and high yellow belt Michael Skerven grabbed the first place for sparring, second in forms and fourth in breaking.

In the micro- peewee division, Maddie Skerven, yellow belt, won first place in breaking, second in sparring and third in forms, with Isaac Witte, yellow belt, taking second in breaking, third in sparring and fourth in forms. Isabella Cornell, also a yellow belt, participating in her first tournament won second place in sparring, and fourth place in both forms and breaking.

In the adult men’s color belt division, blue belt Stephon Freeman won first place in sparring and board breaking and third place in forms.

Competing in the tough adult black belt division, fourth dan black belt Scott Smith earned a second place in forms, and third in both sparring and breaking.

Senior master Karen Johnson and third dan black belt Stephen Decker trained these students at programs including the UW-Stevens Point taekwondo and Stevens Taekwondo Academy schools in Stevens Point, the South Wood County YMCA and the Woodson YMCA.

The Mid-Wisconsin Taekwondo Championships were held at the Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin Rapids and presented by Park Institute with Master John Chrystal serving as tournament director.