logo
 

 
 

March

Students of the Month:  The students of the month for March are Mr. Graysen Ragone and Mr. Anthony Knight.  We believe these students are an excellent example of the finest qualities in TKD, and display the tenets of Taekwon-Do (Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control and Indomitable Spirit). Congratulations!   Please visit the webpage to view their information.

Master and Black Belt Testing:  Just in case you have been living under a rock for the last few months, Mr. Todd will be testing for his 7th Degree Black Belt, Master Instructor on Saturday, April 19th.  Along with Mr. Todd there will be other Black Belts for our school and from out of state testing from 4th Dan all the way down to 1st Dan.  Grand Master Sereff, the President of the United States Taekwon-Do Federation will be here as the President of the test board.  Master DeBaca, 8th Dan, Master Instructor; Master Meek, 7th Dan, Master Instructor (and former Head Instructor of our class), as well as 4 or 5 other 7th Dan, Master Instructors and numerous friends and family from around the country will be here to participate in and to watch the testing.  Not much pressure there!  This is a huge event for our small school and Mr. Todd and I want the senior members of our organization to be impressed with the outstanding students we have at Axe Taekwon-Do.  Everyone will need to be on their best behavior during the entire time that Grand Master Sereff and the other Masters are in town.  Remember, your behavior and attitudes will reflect directly on Mr. Todd and I, and we only expect your best.

Sequence of Events:  Our guests will be arriving starting Friday and most will be staying in town at the Day’s Inn in Old Town Bellevue (on Rt. 370).  Mr. Todd and I will be taking Grand Master Sereff and the Masters out to dinner that evening.  Because of the large number of Seniors planning on attending, we will need to keep the dinner party down to a minimum.  So, sorry to everyone who will not be able to attend this dinner. 

The testing will be Saturday in the Large Gym at the Youth Center.  ALL Axe TKD students are expected to attend and be in uniform.  If you cannot attend for some reason, please let Mr. Bushor know.  As with every testing, you will need to be at the Youth Center, in uniform, stretched and ready to start at least 30 minutes before the testing starts.  There is nothing more disrespectful for a student than to walk in late, so don’t do it! 

After the testing there will be some activities at the Youth Center and you will have an opportunity to meet Grand Master Sereff and the other Masters, but this must be done in a calm and orderly manner.  We will give you more information about this as the day grows closer. 

We will have a Testing Banquet at the Day’s Inn Saturday evening.  There will only be 120 seats available and our guests will have first priority.  Only after our guests will we have seats available for our students.  Hopefully we will have enough seats for all of our class and our Team Moms (and Dads), but if we have to make a choice it will be by rank first.  Dinner will be catered by Famous Dave’s BBQ and the price will be announced later.  Most of our senior guests will be departing Sunday morning.  Mr. Todd and I will have the responsibility of taking care of our guests and this will be time consuming, so we will be depending on everyone in our class to help make this event a success.

I have already asked many of the Senior Students in the class as well as the Team Moms to help out and they have all been very supportive.  If I don’t remember to thank you all later on, let me take the time now to thank you all for everything. 
 

Additional Information:  By Ricky J. Todd:  Mr. Bushor and others involved in the planning are doing a fantastic job with planning my Master test and the upcoming visit.  I want to share in this occasion with all our students as it is the pinnacle of my Taekwon-Do career, which consists of 25 years of training and teaching classes, at a minimum of 2 days a week.  There were years where I taught 5 days a week, so it has been a big part of my life.  I hope all that we have enough room for all that want to attend the banquet.  We will plan an Axe Taekwon-Do cook out or something similar after all this main event to celebrate with everyone.  Without the students and their parents there really would not be a reason for me to remain active or to teach Taekwon-Do, in advance I thank all of you for your support. 

Etiquette (예의, 예법, 에티켓): According to Dictionary.com, etiquette is a noun that means the “rules governing socially acceptable behavior.”  In Taekwon-Do we emphasize etiquette when dealing with our seniors.  With many, many, many seniors coming to town for Mr. Todd’s testing, it is time to review and re-emphasize some of the more important points when dealing with seniors.  ALWAYS use “Yes Sir (or Mama)”, “No Sir”, “Please”, and “Thank You” every time you speak to someone senior to you.  If you want to talk to a senior or if they want to talk to you, first come to attention and bow (saying “Taekwon”).  Hold your bow ‘till the senior returns your bow or acknowledges your bow.  Remain at attention during your conversation, thank them for their time and bow when you are finished.  If you don’t know if they are senior to you then assume that everyone is senior to you, you will never be criticized for being respectful to everyone.  When a Master Instructor or a Grand Master enters the room, the first person who sees them enter must call the room to attention by yelling “Charyut”.  The senior student in the room should then order everyone to bow to the person or persons entering the room.  This will only be done when someone of a higher rank than the highest ranking Black Belt in the room enters or if the highest ranking Black Belt leaves the room.  If it falls to you the correct wording for a Grand Master is “Sa-Sung Nim Gae, Charyut, Kyong-ye”; for a Master is “Sa-Hyun Nim Gae, Charyut, Kyong-ye”, for an Instructor is “Sa-Bum Nim Gae, Charyut, Kyong-ye”, and for an Assistant Instructor is “Boo-Sa-Bum, Charyut, Kyong-ye”.  The Grand Master and Masters should not need to fetch things for themselves, if you see that one needs more water or anything else, offer to get it for them.  Be ready to help them in any way you can think.  If they don’t want or need your help they will respectfully decline your offer.  Don’t be a pest, but we are here to help them if possible.

The Grand Master will be allowed to order his meal first and everyone will wait until the Grand Master is served before they will begin eating.  Yes, even if your food goes cold.  This will also hold true for the Masters, but they will be setting the example when Grand Master Sereff is present.  We will have one or two students ready to attend to the head table during the banquet, but we will rotate them out so everyone will get a chance to eat.  If the Grand Master or one of the Masters stands up to talk, everyone should quiet down so that we can hear them.

Upcoming Events:  (all dates are subject to change)

March 22nd, Black Belt pre-test – Small Gym
April 19th – Master & Black Belt Testing – Large Gym
April 26th – Black Belt Pre-Test – Small Gym
May 24th – Gup testing – Small Gym
July 25th-27th – Taekwon-Do Camp – Knob Noster MO
September 20th – Battle of the Belts – Harrisburg  MO
Oct or Nov – Ho Sin Sul Course – Missouri (dates and location TBD)
2008 – USTF Knife & Weapons Defense Course – Ft. Leavenworth KS (date TBD)

New Attendance Book:  The responsibility for taking attendance in class has shifted from the instructors to the students.  The new attendance book will be set out before the first class and will remain out until after the last class is completed.  It is up to the student to place their initials in the appropriate block on the attendance sheet.  The sheet is divided into class dates and by student names and class times.  Find your name, then the correct class time, and then follow that line over to the correct date.  Place your initials in this block.  If you attend more than one class, make sure you initial each block to get credit for the class.  Mr. Todd and I will be using this new attendance record as the first thing we check to see who is eligible for testing.  You must attend a minimum of 7 classes each month to be considered an active student.  That means you must attend at least 21 classes before we will consider you for testing.  Black Stripes must attend a minimum of 42 classes, and the required number of classes increases quite a bit as you become a Black Belt.  Axe Taekwon-Do offers 7 classes every week, which equates to approximately 91 classes every quarter.  Plenty of opportunities to attend 21 classes, but you only get credit for the classes you initial.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
     
     
       
Last modified: 10/20/2007 Send mail to ustfneb@cox.net with questions or comments about this web site.