Youth Center Policies 

Effective February 1st, the Youth Center is changing their membership fees.  The new Membership Fee will be $25 per year.  If you are a member of the Youth Center the monthly cost for Taekwon-Do will remain at $35 per month for one student or $60 per month for 2 or more family members (no change).  However if you are not a member of the Youth Center the monthly cost for TKD will increase to $38 per month for one student or $63 per month for 2 or more family members.  If you become a member of the Youth Center your membership is good for 12 months starting with the month you join.  If you do not become a member of the Youth Center the $38 or $63 should be paid by the first class of each month. 

 I hope this is clear enough for everyone, but if you have any questions please ask the front desk at the Youth Center for more information.

 Weather

This time of year in Nebraska the weather can shut down everything on a moments notice.  If the weather causes the base and Youth Center to close, then there will not be a class.  If the base closes there will be announcements on the local TV channels.  If the base closes on short notice, we will attempt to notify everyone by phone and email.  So, unless we let you know in advance, if the base and Youth Center are open on a normal class day we will have a class.  If the weather is bad and the base and Youth Center are not closed, use your best judgment when driving to class.  Safety should be the most important decision you make, if driving is not safe, then don’t come to class.  However, if the class is not canceled and you are not coming to class, then let Mr. Todd or Mr. Bushor know that you will not be there. 

Testing

 We will have a promotion testing on February 19th in the small gym at the Youth Center.  This is where we normally have class.  Testing will start promptly at 12:30 pm (afternoon), but the Youth Center will be open by 10:00 am (morning).  All students should plan on attending the testing if you are testing or not.  This shows support for the class and your fellow students.  We will have a number of students testing to Black Belt this time and it should be an excellent display of Taekwon-Do at its best.  We are also planning a dinner after the testing to honor the new Black Belts, and we will let you know the detail on that later.  We encourage all students and family members to attend. 

 All test forms will be completed and returned to Mr. Todd or Mr. Bushor including your test fee by Tuesday, February 15th.  The test fees cover belts, certificates and breaking material if applicable.  The following students will be testing.  The prices for testing are listed next to your testing group.    

Testing for 9th Gup, White Belt/Yellow Stripe ($25.00)

Mr. Barringer C.               .Mr. Leggett, A.               Mr. Leggett, D.

 Testing for 8th Gup, Yellow Belt ($25.00)

Mr. Carter, S.                  Ms. Olson, A.                  Ms. Pedicone, A.         Mr. Barringer, A    Mr. Cochran, R

 Testing for 7th Gup, Yellow Belt/Green Stripe ($25.00)

Mr. Araujo, T.                  Mr. Flint, S.                      Mr. McKiernam, R.      Mr. Schulze, C.        Ms. Brumbaugh, N.                              Mr. Mausteller, E.            Mr. Jewell, J.                  Mr. Carter, L.                Mr. McKiernam, S.  Mr. Rife, N.

 Testing for 6th Gup, Green Belt ($30.00)

Ms. Brumbaugh, J.           Ms. Lefebvre, A.              Mr. Butler, D.               Ms. Lefebvre, K.     Mr. Carlson, D.                                 Mrs. Schulze, S.               Mr. Qualls, T.                    Mr. Qualls, J.                Mr. Parks, D.          Mr. Erickson, S.

 Testing for 5th Gup, Green Belt/Blue Stripe ($30.00)

Mr. Randolph, E.              Mr. Franklin, B.

 Testing for 4th Gup, Blue Belt ($35.00)

Mr. Purington, G.             Ms. Pickett, A.                 Ms. Qualls, A.

 Testing for 3rd Gup, Blue Belt/Red Stripe ($35.00)

Ms. Hiatt, S.                     Mrs. Komyathy, S.

 Testing for 2nd Gup, Red Belt ($40.00)

Mr. Chong, J.                   Ms. Fuller, J.                    Ms. Reep, J.                 Mr. Komyathy, J.        Mr. Komyathy, J.

 Testing for 1st Gup, Red Belt/Black Stripe ($45.00)

Mr. Reep

 Testing for 1st Dan

Mr. Huckabay                  Mrs. McKiernam, D.

 Testing for 3rd Dan

Mr. Ranger

 USTF Membership and Maintenance Fees

 Our school is organized under the United States Taekwon-Do Federation (USTF), which is our National Governing Organization.  They provide us with training materials, books, and professional instructor and training courses; they organize and sanction regional and national tournaments, and provide us with guidance and leadership.  One of the USTF's requirements is for all students to join the federation before they test to 6th Gup (Green Belt), but you can join at any rank.  This fee helps the USTF run a professional national organization, and gives you access to USTF schools, tournaments and training events world-wide.  If you are a Green Belt or above, you must be a member of the USTF (or submitted a membership application) before you can participate in any USTF sanctioned events, including promotion testing.  The initial fee to join the USTF is $25, and the annual maintenance fee is $25.  But, if you are not currently a member and join now you only need to pay the initial $25 fee to join and not the $25 annual maintenance fee for 2005. 

 Current USTF members - please pay your annual maintenance fee to either Mr. Todd or Mr. Bushor.  If you are a Green Stripe or above and are not a member yet, or if you are a Yellow Belt or below and you want to become a member now, you can get a membership application from Mr. Bushor.  I need the new applications and all fees (new membership and annual maintenance fees) by the 31st of Jan 2005 (which is a Monday).  I will mail everything to the USTF Headquarters on the 1st of February.  If I haven't received your maintenance fee by then the USTF will charge us $30 after 1 Feb; however, the fee for new members will remain $25 for the entire year.

 Hand Techniques

 The following is extracted from Gen. Choi Hong Hi’s  1993 Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do, Vol. 3, Pages 10, 11, and 177.  Although hand techniques are certainly very important in offensive motions, they play the most important part in defense, especially blocking.  Common Principles: 1. Turn the hip and abdomen in the same direction as the attacking or blocking tool does throughout the action.  2. The heel of the rear foot should be raised slightly off the ground at the beginning of the motion and placed firmly on the ground at the moment of impact in most cases.  This principle, however, is only applicable to those movements which are performed from the same position.  3. Raise the body slightly at the beginning of the motion, and lower it at the moment of impact in all cases.  4. All movements must begin with a backward motion in order to utilize the maximum velocity.  5. Keep both arms slightly bent while the movement is in motion.  6. The heel of the rear foot must be placed firmly on the ground at the moment of impact for both attack and defense. 

 Attack Technique:  The attack is executed in the form of punching, striking, thrusting, cross cutting, pressing and breaking.  Since three of these techniques – punch, strike and thrust- are so closely interrelated in principle, it may be difficult to make clear distinction among them.  The purpose behind each technique, as well as the method, differs slightly.  A punch is used primarily to cause an internal hemorrhage rather than surface damage by twisting the attacking tool.  A thrusting motion, however, is delivered with an intention to cut through the vital spot with less twisting of the attacking tool.  A striking motion is used to destroy or break the bone or muscles of the vital spots with the least twist of the attacking tool.  The attack is named in accordance to the relative position of the attacking tool; the angle facing the target, the method of attack and the stance taken.  For example purposes, each target position (e.g. high, middle or low) corresponds to that of the attacker’s position.  The basic principles are:  1. Jerk the hip and abdomen throughout the action, slowly at the beginning and sharply at the moment of impact.  The hip is jerked slightly before the action in order to concentrate the larger muscles of the hip and abdomen together with the smaller muscles of the four extremities against the target simultaneously.  2. Completely twist the attacking tool, with few exceptions, in order to use full acceleration especially in punching techniques.  3. Tense the abdomen at the moment of impact to by exhaling sharply.  4. The moment the attacking tool reaches the target, pull it back to tallow it to be ready for the next action while preventing a grab by the opponent.  5. The attacking tool usually will form a triangle with the shoulders at the moment of impact when attacking the opponent in front.  6. Hold the breath while attacking or blocking.

 Defense Techniques:  Defense is broken down into blocking and dodging.  The former can be compared with a deliberate defense while the latter to a delaying action in military tactics.  These are a few basic principles for defense:  1. Always maintain a half facing posture during maneuvers toward and away from an opponent with a few exceptions.  2. Maintain a flexible ready posture at all times.  3. Remain constantly aware so you are able to execute a counter-attack the instant an opportunity avails itself.

 Blocking:  The types of blocks vary according to the relative position of the blocking tool, facing posture, method of blocking, type of blocking tool and purpose of the block.  There are also some basic principles that should be observed:  1. Keep the arm bent 15-45 degrees so you are able to intercept the attacking tool obliquely.  2. Never extend the blocking tool beyond the point of focus.  3. At the moment of blocking, lower the shoulder of the blocking arm slightly.  4. With few exceptions, the blocking tool must be withdrawn immediately after contact.  5. The blocking tool should form a triangle, with few exceptions, from the contact point upwards to the shoulders.