2016 World Camp = NO CLASS:

Sr. Master Todd, several instructors and students will be traveling to the 2016 USTF World Camp at the YMCA of the Rockies during the week of July 10^th thru 15^th.  That means we will not have classes on Tuesday July 12^th and Thursday July 14^th.  Please enjoy the short break and be ready to start training hard again on Tuesday July 19^th to prepare for testing in August. 

Park Workout:

Instead of our annual bike ride we have decided to try a morning workout in a local park.  On Saturday, August 6th, starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 1030 a.m. There will be drinks, fruit, and some food at the event.  Everyone should wear their Taekwon-Do uniform and belt, you will not need your sparring gear.  We will talk about moving it to a different day if the weather is too bad (rain, temperature, etc.). 

Taekwon-Do Testing: 

USTF Flash Contest: 

The USTF Flash is the official newsletter that is published monthly.  The Flash Annual Taekwon-Do Kids’ Art Contest for 2016 is on!  In past years we’ve had great entries from all over the U.S., and we hope for even more in 2016.  Anybody under 14 is eligible this year.  How can YOU enter?   Entries may be scanned and e-mailed as attachments to fmvh1@mac.com. In addition, actual original artwork may be submitted to “Flash Art Contest” at P.O. Box 853, Grafton WI 53024. However, original artwork should be submitted with an understanding it may not be returned (unless a suitable container or envelope for return is included).  Along with your entry please submit your name, rank, age, and the name of your school. All entries must be submitted by August 15.

Taekwon-Do Tournaments: 

Sr. Master Todd will be making a list of students that want to attend the upcoming tournaments.  They offer excellent adventure and challenges for our students.  There will be tournaments in Casper, Wyoming and Kirksville, Missouri in September and Broomfield, Colorado in October.  When you notice that some students test on time every time and they look outstanding that is probably because they rarely miss class and attend multiple tournaments per year.  The simple truth is that the more you train the testing to take about 3 hours.     

Newsletters:

We encourage any student or parent to submit articles for inclusion in the newsletter. Especially with all of the upcoming events, it would be nice to see what all of you liked. We will review all and the better prepared you will be for testing. 

Sparring for Beginners (by Mr. Kevin Bushor):

One of the most scary parts of Taekwon-Do is sparring.  This is true for the brand-new White Belts, many Color Belts, and some Black Belts.  While it is a necessary part of the Cycle of Taekwon-Do, it takes some time and conditioning to allow someone else to punch and kick at your head and body.  According to the Rules and Regulations of USTF Tournaments:  "Continuous sparring demonstrates the beauty and control of Taekwon-Do, and allows fighters the training necessary for self-defense and personal development.  Sparring also promotes tenacity and courage in the student."  I believe that the most common fear of Sparring is getting hurt.  No one can guarantee that you will never get hurt in Taekwon-Do, but the more you practice something the better you will become.  This is true with Sparring. 

the arms (but they won't count as points), and you can hit the legs provided they are above the belt (and again they won't count as points).  You only score points if your technique is executed with proper control and balance to a legal target area with a legal technique.

This is not a contest to see who can hit the hardest, it is a contest to see who can hit their opponent with a legal technique to a legal target area with control (light touch) and balance.  You get more points if you attack the head or if you execute your techniques in a jumping or flying motion.  You will lose points and possibly be disqualified if you break the rules.  Safety of the competitors is the Center Referee's primary duty, so you don't need to worry about someone trying to hurt you.  The Bottom Line is: if you score more points than your opponent you will win.  There are 4 Corner Judges that actually watch the fight and award points that they see.  They can't see everything, and you may think that you won a fight, but if the Corner Judges don't see the technique or don't score the technique then you may still lose a fight you think you have dominated. 

Remember that sparring is a demonstration of the beauty and control of Taekwon-Do.  If you win, don't gloat or boast, congratulate your opponent; if you lose, congratulate your opponent on their victory, and don't whine or pout.  Learn from each match, watch every match to see if they are doing something that might work for you, or are they doing something that you want to avoid doing!  Sparring is easy, but you must train very hard to be good at sparring.  While each match will only last 2 minutes, those 2 minutes will seem like 2 hours if you are tired.  You should always be ready to defend yourself, whether on the street, in school, or in the ring.  If you don't take sparring serious, you could be injured; but if you train and try hard, you should be successful in the ring.

 Uniforms and Belts (by Senior Master Todd)

 Taekwon-Do is a paramilitary organization and the wear of the uniform and belt is especially important.  The Armed Forces dedicate entire your opponent's attacks.  While these block don't score points for you, they will prevent your opponent from scoring points against you.  You can also kick your opponent with your feet which are also covered with boots.  You can use your footsword, reverse footsword, ball of the foot, and heel.  You can also use your feet to block your opponent's attacks.  You cannot use your head, elbows, knees, shins, butt, or anything that is not listed above.

Now for the hard part, you can only hit your opponent in certain areas.  You can kick or strike to the front of the body, above the belt.  You can attack the front, sides, top, and back of the head and the face, but the neck is off limits.  You cannot strike below the belt or to the back.  You can hit

regulations to the proper wear and use of their uniforms, as do many other organizations.  Soldiers, Sailors, Marines nor Airman get to decide how to wear their uniform. 

In the USTF our guidelines are pretty simple; wear the white authorized uniforms with all required (earned) patches.  Somehow though I continue to see variations of it in pictures constantly, including incorrectly striped belts, colored uniforms, incorrect placement of patches and the wear of uniforms not purchased through the USTF authorized source.  General Choi created our system to include authorized belts and stripes.  Sr. Grand Master Sereff continues this tradition of discipline by ensuring the USTF follows the same guidance.  The USTF further extends this to the proper wear of the USTF “Blues” during a testing or event.

a high test score or some other achievement you can present a medal or something similar but not an extra stripe or non-authorized color stripe on the belt.  There are no deviations, we must be uniform. 

I always thought this was the beauty of Taekwon-Do in the USTF and in the past with the ITF.  As I travelled through the United States and overseas we were all the same in appearance and technique.  I would personally challenge instructors to accept the task that we have of continuing the legacy of General Choi and Sr. Grand Master Sereff by ensuring our students wear the correct uniforms and belts with properly colored stripes.  We all know what the proper colors are for belts and stripes. 

How your uniform looks shows your pride and discipline.  A uniform is a uniform, military, Taekwon-Do, Boy Scouts, etc.; they all have rules and regulations.  It is not our choice to choose what we want to follow on this matter.  It is who we are in Taekwon-Do, wear it proudly.