Congratulations to soccer star Cael “McLegs” McCabe on earning his first black stripe.

After demonstrating red belt level kicking techniques with legs made like rubber bamboo,

and Hwa-Rang,

he broke 2 boards with each leg using back kicks.

Finally, he sparred with his cousin Finn.

We hope Cael has a successful fall soccer season and look forward to his return to the black belt path in winter.

Kent made his first appearance at a promotion test in Oneonta. He demonstrated Dan-Gun and basic techniques along with step sparring before finally breaking a board with a rear leg side kick.

Congratulations to Phineas Brown Collins on earning his blue belt. Blue belt signifies “the plant reaching up to the sky”, indicative of Finn’s strength and power. His precise movements in Yul-Gok are indicative of his dedicated practice and we are proud of his growth and successes.

It was fortunate that Finn could spar with his cousin Cael who earned his first black stripe:

The smooth and graceful movements of Guaire are nicely complemented by the intense powerful force of Jake as they earn their green stripes.
Congratulations to both boys on their fine achievement.

Congratulations to Lori and Ben for earning their yellow belts.  They performed very well, especially in their ability to stay synchronized during Chon-Ji.

Neither has practiced martial arts before and have worked very hard to earn their rank.  We are very proud of their commitment and determination.

Board Breaking Tips

One of the things I love most about Taekwon-Do practitioners is their unique openness to trying new things despite potential failures. Not the least of which is our exposure when demonstrating a board break at a test.

Everyone wants to break on the first attempt (including the holders!) All eyes are upon you as you stand there staring at those boards knowing you just have to hit it hard in the center, but knowing there is the risk for failure. Missing on the first attempt can be embarrassing and even physically…

Congratulations to our new Black Belts!

After training long and hard Kristian Frye, John Buck and Priscilla McCabe have earned their first Dan.

Master Kelly, a friend of Mr. Mannion’s was supposed to attend and administer the test, but due to vehicular issues was sadly, unable to attend.

The black belt test was long and tested their strength. The test started at 3:30 pm yesterday with a 2 mile run that all three completed under 18 minutes. Afterwards, the three took a written exam to test their knowledge of Taekwon-Do. At the promotion test…

Thanks to everyone who came for practice in the park!

It was great to have everyone together. This was my first time bringing students to the park and I learned a great deal to make the next time even more fun.

We began with a simple stretch in the dojang with 25 students and then took a light run to Neawha park where we were promptly kicked off the soccer field. We lined up for some extended basics including “6 skipping side kicks”.

Our yellow belt and white belt students got to practice front…