Oneonta Taekwon-do

Ken Graig and John Buck Blue Belt Test May 2009

jenniferbutler — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:25:44 +0000

Ken Graig and John Buck demonstrate the pattern, Toi-Gye. This is a 37 movement pattern and the pen name of scholar, Yi Hwang, who was an authority on Neo-Confucianism. The number 37 represents the 37 degrees latitude, which was the birthplace of Yi Hwang.

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The Hill Family – Unity of Members

jenniferbutler — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:06:23 +0000

During testing, the Hill Family demonstrates ‘punch in an L-Stance’ as well as one of Oneonta Taekwon-do’s mottos….. “the Unity of Members”. This exhibits a correlation between family and Taekwon-do members. As the Unity of Members motto states “….it is our desire to learn that brings us together as a family”.

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Alex Lusins and Cael McCabe 2 boards back kick

youtube — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:40:55 +0000

Breaking 2 boards with a back kick requires a great deal of balance, coordination, speed, power, accuracy and self-confidence.

A 200 pound man breaking boards is one thing. What 13 year old Alex Lusins lacks in size, he makes up for in technique and determination.

With his long, strong soccer legs, Cael McCabe makes easy work of his boards.

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Best advice for teaching children

Sah Bum Nim — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:54:23 +0000

At the age of 21, I was handed keys to a Junior High School classroom in a part of South Central Los Angeles named Watts. I became a teacher because I felt I had an innate ability to communicate well with children. I also felt I was skilled at teaching mathematics in a way that made it easy to understand.
During college, I tutored high school kids privately for extra money. I also coached a high school diving team. For 5 summers in high school and college, I taught swimming and diving lessons to children aged 5-15 at the town pool. From these experiences, I had built hundreds of memories of laughter and the pride of blossoming self-confidence on the part of my divers or tutoring clients. The look on a child’s face popping out of the water after successfully completing his first back flip is indescribable and priceless.

During my 6 week preparation for teaching, one of my mentors at Teach For America handed me the following two sheets of paper. I have kept them in a folder since I received them in 1992.

In the near future, our school will be offering Taekwondo classes to children and I decided to pass this on to our senior students in the hopes it will help them be the best teachers they can be.

The significance of these two pages is they teach us to approach children from the perspective of THEIR NEEDS rather than our own. These pages offer strategies for dealing with needy or dependent children, shy withdrawn children, as well as other useful tidbits. Sometimes the suggestions are counter-intuitive or not what you would instinctively do.

When you think back to the best teacher you ever had, the teacher probably found fun ways to make you learn and made sure that the challenges you were given were within your grasp to accomplish. Nothing is more frustrating for a child than to be given an assignment without the requisite skills to accomplish it. When children are repeatedly presented with challenges they can complete, their confidence soars and their behavior and cooperation increases.

Click here for the .pdf of the 2 pages. They are posted below as pictures. If you click on a picture, you can see it in a larger size. This was credited to Reynold Bean. Search the internet, I believe he has written a number of books.

How to Raise Self-Esteem in the Classroom Page 1

How to Raise Self-Esteem in the Classroom - Page 2

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Matt Goodrich “Red Belt” Test May 2009

jenniferbutler — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:09:47 +0000

Matt Goodrich demonstrates the ability to perform several continuous kicks with great poise and technique…. front turning kick followed by back kick, skipping side kick followed by back kick followed by front turning kick, skipping front kick followed by skipping front turning kick followed by skipping side kick followed by skipping hook kick

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Matt Goodrich Red belt test May 2009

jenniferbutler — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:07:26 +0000

Matt demonstrates board breaking and performs Hwa Rang at his interim Red belt test.

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Taijijuan, Qi Gong, Belly Dancing, Yoga Trance Dance

Sah Bum Nim — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:07:41 +0000

New Classes available at the Oneonta Taekwon-do Do-Jang

We are proud to announce the addition of 4 classes being taught here at 12 South Main Street. Daniel Blacklock, Caroline Chronowski, and Patti Virasi have offered to begin teaching new classes in our space.

This is great news for our students because all classes are FREE to Oneonta Taekwon-do students.

This is also helpful to us in terms of attracting new students. Most of our new students claim that “driving by and seeing the sign” is what made them come in. More foot traffic = more new students.

Please take a moment to think of someone you know who might be interested in these classes and email them the link to this web page!

Beginner Belly Dancing

Classes blend traditional bellydance movements from a variety of cultures and styles, including American Tribal, Egyptian, and Fusion. By practicing isolations, steps, stretches and technical drills, the dancer will develop strength, flexibility, coordination, balance and proper body alignment.

While the focus is on toning and strengthening the core muscles, all areas of the body are included and will benefit from the bellydance workout.

Students will learn to dance to authentic middle eastern and fusion music while playing finger cymbals (zils). In addition, they will have an opportunity to study traditional bellydance drum rhythms and costuming along with more modern styles of dress and dance.

Begins: July 1, 2009

Time: Wednesdays 7:15-8:15pm

Cost: $10 per class.

Contact: Email Caroline for more information.

Personal Power Qi Gong:
The Return of the Dragon and Tiger

Learn to move with a greater sense of energy and awareness. This affects not only our health and vitality but also our personal power, our ability to move through life with greater confidence and effectiveness. Standing, sitting, and walking will all be re-trained. The class will practice orientation to the cardinal directions and explore the meanings of each direction energetically. The classical energy meridian system from China is an essential part of understanding our bioenergetics. Instructor, Daniel Blacklock, began his qi gong training in 1983 and has been training with Grandmaster Gu ZhongPing in NYC for the past 15 years. He also trained with other renowned teachers in China and NYC.

Begins: June 30, 2009

Time: Every Tuesday: 6:30PM to 7:15PM

Cost: $5 suggested donation

Contact: Email Daniel for more information.

Chen Style Taijiquan

Taijiquan is an ancient exercise system from China. It is proven to be safe and fun while providing improvements in all areas of the body. This exercise provides a low to moderate level of cardiovascular activity while minimizing the stress on the joints.

Scientific investigation has shown that the physiological, psychological and social benefits that develop through the regular practice of taijiquan are long lasting. Traditional Chen Style taijiquan is physically demanding but systematically re-trains to entire body to move effortlessly.

Instructor, Daniel Blacklock, began his taijiquan training in 1976 and has been teaching for over 20 years. He lived in China for 2 years studying the Chen Style from lineage holders Chen Zhenglei and Chen Peishan.

Time: Every Tuesday: 7:15PM to 8:00PM

Cost: $5 suggested donation

Contact: Email Daniel for more information.

Yoga Trance Dance

Yoga Trance Dance is an exploration of the eternal flow of natural movement through yoga.

Beginning with sahaja prana yoga or the experience of prana initiating yogasanas, Yoga Trance Dance flows into an exploration of free-form, breath driven movement to liberate one’s creative life-force and cultivate embodied freedom.

Class participants are guided through the exercise using the CD by Shiva Rea. Learn more at the Shiva Rea Website.

Walk-ins welcome.

Time: Every Wednesday: 10:00 am until 11:30am

Cost: $5 suggested donation

Contact: Call Patti for more information at 774-454-1641

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How to use OneontaTKD.com

Sah Bum Nim — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:33:09 +0000

If you run a martial arts school or manage a team, you might consider using Wordpress as your web hosting software. This short video will give you a quick tour around our website for some features you may not find obvious.

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Hiiiyaah! What’s with the yelling?

Sah Bum Nim — Thu, 14 May 2009 00:29:41 +0000

The other day, I had the distinct pleasure of practicing with two youngsters aged 12 and 13. As my master taught me, I am in the habit of yelling “Keeyup” when I hit the heavy bag or the focus pads. Tyler and Maya both thought it a little weird, but they humored me and gave it a try. Tyler and I both jumped the first time Maya let her lungs clear with a fierce “Hah!”

As evident in this cute video, sometimes people think the Keeyup is a special word or carries special meaning. In fact, it has very practical applications which I’ll explain below.

So, what is a Keeyup if it is not a special language? It is an important fighting technique.

Yelling strikes fear in the opponent.

Cats hiss, dogs bark, and lions roar. If attacked or threatened, a fighting stance with a committed yell might offer the something extra to make your attacker think twice.

Yelling forces your stomach to tighten.

Relax your stomach. Now hit yourself quickly just above the belly button! You can actually knock the wind out of yourself if you do this. Now tighten your stomach and try again. Did you notice the difference? A tight stomach will protect you from injury and prevent you from getting your wind knocked out.

Yelling makes the technique more powerful.

We learned early on that breathing during punching or kicking affects the power of the strike. If you don’t believe it, try holding your breath and punching. It doesn’t feel right, does it? Since we want to make the most powerful strike possible, we force a powerful exhale by yelling during the moment of impact. Or maybe you thought professional tennis players let out grunts on the court to amuse the spectators?

I’m sure there are more reasons why yelling is an effective fighting technique. If for no other reason, do it because a 9th degree black belt does it when he’s breaking 5 boards with the ball of his foot! Set your volume and give a listen to Grandmaster SJ Kim give us a demonstration….

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Yellow/Green belt step sparring

Sah Bum Nim — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:00:30 +0000

1 step, 2 step, and 3 step sparring allow Taekwondo practitioners to repeatedly practice defensive techniques.
Cael McCabe and David Howard provide a demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/?v=9-lorE4xYj8

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