Travel Plans-

We will participate in Senior Grand Master Sereff’s Tournament before we wrap up 2012.  All students are invited and encouraged to attend.  Tournaments allow students to test their skills and enrich their moral culture through travel. For this trip, we carpool and can supervise children going without their parents. We will leave on Saturday Oct 20th and return on Monday Oct 22nd.  Please contact Master Todd or Mr. Bushor for more details.

Weather-

Parents and students, winter is on its way! With winter comes cold weather, snow and ice. Be sure to dress appropriately for the weather so you don’t get sick and drive safely. If you do not feel comfortable driving to class in pour weather conditions, let one of the instructors know that you will be missing class. In the event of bad weather on a class day, you will be notified that class is canceled by 5:00 PM. Call the Youth Center or one of the instructors if you are concerned. An e-mail will be sent out as soon as possible to notify all students of any cancellations. Additionally, all class updates are posted on the AXE TKD Facebook page.   

Newsletters-

We encourage any student or parent to submit articles for inclusion in the newsletter.  We will review all and if appropriate publish them. There are many new students that may want to hear what they can look forward to in class and at tournaments! Students of any age/ rank can type up their story and submit it, or parents that would like to send one or more in. They will be reviewed by Master Todd for final approval.

Moral Culture (by Master Todd)

Do you know beyond the Tenets, Student Oath and the Student/Instructor Relationship that we as students of Taekwon-Do are charged with spreading Moral Culture?  The founder of Taekwon-Do, General Choi, writes about Moral Culture in great detail.  He discusses the following:  Humanity, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, Trust.  I am providing you only with the simple guidelines here and General Choi expands on each of these topics, but for your general guidance, he lists:

1. Man may occupy two positions in a life time; 2. Greed is insatiable; 3. Be humble; 4. Self-criticism; 5. Be soft; 6. Respect of elders; 7. Respect the rights of others; 8. Be just; 9. Be frugal; 10. Be discreet; 11. Know true happiness; 12. Let your actions speak for yourself; 13. Develop peace of mind; 14. Be of firm mind; 15. Be devoted.

According to General Choi, "This moral culture is uniquely tied in with Taekwon-Do, not only for the eventual attainment of the highest goals in Taekwon-Do and the promotion of power, technique, and self-confidence, but also for the cultivation of character.  Without this, the instructor would be guilty of imparting a devastating force to those who could eventually become so enamored of their newly found techniques they might very easily become bullies or use their knowledge as a means to achieve their personal ambitions."   He continues, "During training the student should constantly develop mental and physical discipline, and the following activities should be considered an integral part of this training."

A. Travel:  Patriotism can be gained by traveling to noted or historical areas.  An American student once remarked after visiting Gettysburg and the site of General Pickett's famous charge: "The fighting spirit and courage they possessed to attempt to conquer an unconquerable position must have come from a loyalty all officers would like to achieve."  Students should seek out these monuments, study and attempt to learn from them.

B. Mountain Climbing:  This form of exercise not only develops important leg muscles, but also nourishes the spirit and promotes a feeling of victory and triumph, as illustrated in the well- known Korean poem; "No matter how high the mountain is, it can be compared to a small tomb under the heaven.  There is no reason why man cannot succeed if he desires to climb it.  All too often, however, one claims it is too high to climb without even making the attempt."

C. Cold Showers and Baths:  By taking cold showers and baths or exercising on snow-covered ground in bare feet, students build tenacity and pride.

D. Public Service: By contributing labor to the community, especially to the poor or disabled, the student learns charity, humility, comradeship, tolerance and sense of pride.

E. Etiquette:  A high degree etiquette should be observed by students both inside and outside the dojang.  This should be applied by lower ranking students to senior students while training, by higher ranking students to elder students outside the dojang, and by all students when visiting another dojang.  In all cases, emphasis should be placed on correct and proper salutation.  It is a form of respect and courtesy in Western, as well as, Oriental societies. 

These are very high demands on students training in Taekwon-Do and as your instructor I am charged with assisting you on your journey.  Travel further expands to travelling with the class to events outside our area.  We provide many opportunities for this throughout the year.  It's not just about going to competitions, it's about showing your support for other events, showing support for our organization, the USTF.  Growing mentally and physically from the event.  Challenging yourself to overcome the fear of competition and making you a stronger person mentally.   We have been to Colorado many times and hopefully one of these times as a class we can try the mountain climbing.  I know there isn't much opportunity in Nebraska for this, but I challenge you to try this when you can.  I charge each of you with a cold shower this week!  I have been in the Taekwon-Do camps where we all march to the cold stream in the mountains and stand in the freezing water, and it is a challenge.  I did have an instructor one time make us go out in the snow bare foot and train.  I didn't at that time understand why, but later I did.  It was a serious challenge to just stand for a second without hoping around.  Try it sometime!  Public service for us is pretty easy.  You have to meet certain hour requirements at every black belt promotion level for community service.  Most of you attain this through scouts or some other organization and, we will try to put something together for all of you on a yearly basis.

Finally, etiquette is demanded of us inside and outside the school.  This is the exact reason you should not refer to any one by their first name outside the school.  For example when is Ms. Bowing, called April?  Never, if she is a higher rank than you.  You should allow her and any of your seniors the respect they have earned in Taekwon-Do.  If you senior says "okay outside TKD you can call me by my first name", simply say thank you, then continue with your etiquette.  I have known many of my seniors for almost 30 years and still I don't call any of them by their first name, ever.  I can only tell you after all my experience in Taekwon-Do this does afford you with more self-confidence to handle yourself in many difficult lifetime situations.  Enjoy the many demands of Taekwon-Do, it will pay you back.