Promotion Testing-

A Black Belt and Color Belt promotion testing was held on Saturday, August 18th.  Mr. James Bushor was promoted to III Dan and Miss Sarah Navratil is our newest I Dan.  Congratulations to everyone who tested.  As always, we have some things to correct and lots of new techniques to learn.  Remember you are responsible for all the new information, techniques, and patterns as well as all the previous ranks.  Practice everything old and new.

Travel Plans-

We will participate in three tournaments 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 these trips, we carpool and can supervise children going without their parents.

Senior Master Martin, President of the USTF, is hosting the 13th Annual Wyoming Invitational in Casper, WY on Sept. 15.  We sent home a letter and flyer with specific details on this tournament.  Please review this information and contact Master Todd, Mr. Bushor or Ms. Bowing if you have any questions. The following weekend, we will travel to Kirksville, MO for the Annual Battle of the Belts. The Wyoming trip will leave on Friday and return Sunday night.  The Missouri trip will leave Friday night and return Saturday night.  Please let us know as soon as possible if you are interested in attending.  Costs for these trips will be determined once we have a head count of who plans on going.  Monthly installments can be made to Axe TKD in order to help out the budget. 

Sparring Gear-

You will need sparring gear to spar in class or at any of the tournaments we will be attending. Everyone is required to wear head gear, hand gear, foot gear, and a mouth piece; additionally all male competitors must wear a protective cup.  Shin pads and arm pads are allowed and are encouraged but are not mandatory.  If you would like to order a set of sparring gear (head gear, gloves, and boots) for your very own, please let Mr. Bushor know as soon as possible.  The cost is $69 for the entire set of sparring gear.  There is an assortment of colors and sizes.  You can to purchase a mouth guard and protective cup at any major sporting goods store or at Walmart.

Price Change-

We have been notified by the Youth Center that beginning October 1st the family rate will increase by $5.00.  The single student rate for class will remain the same.  We still feel this is a bargain compared with other schools located in this area.  Remember that Axe TKD does not set the price for monthly rates.  The Youth Center is the single point of contact for paying your monthly tuition.  Their requirement if for it to be paid not later than the first class in any given month.  Axe TKD also requires you to be a student in good standing (meaning all your tuition is paid) before you will be considered for promotion testing.  If you are unsure if you are a student in good standing, please check with the front desk at the Youth Center.  If you will miss an entire month of class for any reason, let your instructors know and notify the front desk at the Youth Center so they can put you in a “Leave of Absence” (LOA) status.  You will not be required to pay the monthly tuition during the month(s) you are in an LOA status. If you have any questions regarding this please contact Master Todd. 

Newsletters-

We encourage any student or parent to submit articles for inclusion in the newsletter.  We will review all and if appropriate publish them.  Over the years we have read articles from white belts that were as informative as the black belt articles.  It's your class, speak up!  We hope you all took the opportunity to review the USTF Flash that Mr. Bushor forwarded.  We had an article and several pictures in there.  The USTF Flash is the official newsletter of the USTF and is sent to all schools within the USTF.  It's good for you to see what is going on in other schools and states.  Master Todd will also post all our newsletters and the Flash on the website for easy reference. 

New Students- 

As with the start of every new school year, our class gets a lot of new students and this year is no different.  We have many new faces in the class, and just like you when you first started they probably don’t know many people (if any) in the class.  If you remember how nervous and scared you were when you started, the new students all feel just as nervous and scared as you did.  We are all Master Todd’s students and as such we all have that one thing in common.  We all need to welcome each of the new students, to include those former students who have returned, into our class and our Taekwon-Do family.  Aside from our weekly training classes, we travel to other schools in other states for tournaments and training classes, and we meet outside of class in social environments.  Treat your fellow new students and their families the way you would want and expect to be treated, make them feel welcome into the Axe Taekwon-Do family.

The right tool for the right job, continued-

In previous newsletters we presented some of the tools you will use in Taekwon-Do.  The parts or surfaces through which the shock or power of a technique is transmitted to the opponent’s body are considered the tool, either attacking or blocking.  The tools are divided into hand parts, foot parts, and miscellaneous parts.  This month we will introduce you to more parts of the hand you will use as tools.

The Knife-Hand is a very powerful attacking tool, and is used for attacking the skull, neck artery, bridge of the nose, temple, philtrum, clavicle, shoulder, and the floating ribs.  The knife-hand can also be used for blocking.  To make a correct knife-hand you press your four fingers together, bending the middle finger and ring fingers slightly inward.  Leave a little space between the forefinger and thumb so that most of the strength is concentrated on the striking surface.  The knife-hand tool is the surface from the wrist to the main knuckle of the little finger.

The Reverse Knife-Hand is opposite the knife-hand and is made exactly the same way except you must bend the thumb in sharply towards the palm (like showing the number four with your fingers).  The reverse knife-hand is used to attack the neck, point of the chin, temple, philtrum, ribs and angle of the mandible.  Like the knife-hand, the reverse knife-hand is also used for blocking.

The Fingertips are used in a variety of ways depending on the target area.  The flat, straight, and upset fingertips are formed the same way as a knife-hand, with the fingertips of the forefinger, middle, and ring fingers all even.  If the palm is facing downward at the moment of impact it is considered a Flat Fingertip and is chiefly used for attacking the ribs, eyes, and occasionally the abdomen.  If the palm faces inward at the moment of impact it is considered a Straight Fingertip.  This is used for thrusting to either the solar plexus or the abdomen.  If the palm faces upward at the moment of impact it is considered an Upset Fingertip.  This is mainly used for attacking the pubic region, floating ribs, lower abdomen, and occasionally the armpit.  If you bend your main knuckles sharply about 90 degrees, and press your thumb to the middle knuckle of your forefinger you create an Angle Fingertip.  This is especially useful in attacking the eyes or solar plexus from a right angle.

The Thumb, when extended out to the side of the fore fist can be used to thrust the solar plexus, ribs, eyes, windpipe, and armpit.  The single Forefinger is used when it is extended, bending slightly while the other fingers are clenched in a fist, with the thumb is pressing against the middle finger.  The forefinger is used to attack the eyes, windpipe, and the mastrid (which is directly behind the ear).  The Double Fingertip is made up of the forefinger and middle finger, extended out and slightly bent.  Press the thumb onto the ring finger.  This tool is only used against the eyes.

An Arc-Hand is created by bending three fingers slightly deeper than the forefinger while the thumb is bent toward the little finger.  It is used to attack the Adam’s apple, point of the chin, and the upper neck, and is occasionally used for blocking.  The tool is the surface between the secondary knuckle of the forefinger and the thumb.

The Back Hand is formed with an ordinary open hand but pressing the thumb against the side of the forefinger.  It can be used to attack the face, jaw, lips, and epigastrium.  It can also be used as a blocking tool.

The Finger Pincers are used to attack the Adam’s apple and throat.  It is made by clenching the middle, ring, and little fingers while the thumb and forefinger are made into the shape of a pincer.  The middle knuckle of the middle finger forced into the throat using the tips of the thumb and forefingers to guide the tool.

The Base of the Knife-Hand is created when the wrist is bent sharply toward the thumb and is used to attack the clavicle only.  The Press Finger is used to apply pressure on arteries and minute vital spots (pressure points).

I will cover other tools in future articles.  Forming and using the tools correctly will allow you to attack opponents or defend against attacks without injuring yourself.  You will be able to complete your required breaks during testing and at tournaments using the proper tools and techniques.  Learn to use your tools correctly the first time and avoid the possibility of injury or defeat.

The Condensed Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do, Gen. Choi Hong Hi, 1999