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 painful. Then, one begins to feel disappointed in oneself, especially if the board holders were injured in the process.

Having had more than my fair share of failures in Taekwon-Do, board breaking and otherwise, I decided to share some words of encouragement and also explain how to use your mistakes and failures to become a better practitioner.

At our last test, I decided to give a demonstration and failed to break the boards on the first (and second) attempt. The poor gentlemen holding boards for me claimed dislocated thumbs and other serious injuries as a result. I’m very grateful for their trust and support and it is in honor of their spirit and sacrifice that I decided I must “go to the video tape” to make sure it doesn’t happen again. (This idea was inspired by Master Paul Hoppe’s book, “Way of the Poker Warrior”)  As the images below indicate, I made several physical mistakes. My technique was off. But I made a big mistake before I even took my first step. I failed to commit my mind to my success.

The last time I did a board break, it was 5 boards and I had never broken 5 boards before. But when I stepped up to do the break that day, I heard myself say out loud and in my head “I’m gonna smash these boards right now”. I felt it in my heart. I felt in my stomach. I didn’t just THINK it, I KNEW it. The result was success and I can’t lose the look of Ken’s face after I broke through. It was utter bewilderment as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Contrast that with the things that went through my mind this time: “I SHOULD be able to break 4 boards. I’ve done it before. It would be really embarrassing to fail in front of all these people. I’ll be fine. I’m sure I can do it.

Now, having a good attitude and confidence is a very significant part of successful board breaking, but no amount of confidence will overcome bad technique. After my second attempt, I knew that I was missing the proper extension. I hadn’t “stretched the rubber band” far enough to create the elastic snap needed to generate the speed and subsequent power. At this time, I also heard the enthusiastic and electric words of my teacher, Grandmaster Kim: “Just pick your knee up and KICK IT!”

At that point, I got a little mad and I decided there was no way I was going to miss a third time. I decided I would intentionally make my first motion stronger and faster and pick my knee up toward the target.

So, what can you take away from all of this? What does this teach us about mistakes? First and foremost, mistakes can and should be corrected whenever possible.

In order to correct the mistakes, you have to go backwards in time.
What was the mistake? I didn’t break the board.
Why didn’t I break the board? I didn’t hit the center.
Why didn’t I hit center? My knee wasn’t high enough.
Why wasn’t my knee high enough? I didn’t have enough speed.
Why didn’t I have enough speed? I didn’t elongate my leg and torsoe enough at the proper angle in order to cause the proper snap.
Why didn’t I elongate properly? I didn’t think to do it.
Why didn’t I think to do it? Because I didn’t commit to my success and I lacked confidence.
Why did I lack confidence? Because I hadn’t warmed up sufficiently or practiced diligently enough.

I think this method of thinking can be applied to all kinds of mistakes in our lives. Usually, we see only the last consequence, the unbroken boards and feel the pain. Sometimes, we see the prior event that led to the failure directly. Only by continuing to ask “and why did that happen?” can we trace back to the initial mistake and the subsequent mistakes made further on the journey.

Why did I lose my temper at work? I was upset.
Why was I upset? My boss took credit for my hard work.
Why did my boss take credit for my hard work? Because I didn’t sign my name to it…….

I urge you to take a look at something that happened to you recently which felt like a failure and ask yourself the “why” question 10 times. See if it provides any answers. I humbly offer my gratitude to Tom and Brian for agreeing to hold the boards for me and promise to be better prepared next time!

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 that evening, the three demonstrated four different three kick combinations followed by four different forms that the three had learned in their training. The four patterns that John, Priscilla and Kristian showed were Choong-Moo, Hwa-Rang, Joong-Gun, and Won-Hyo.

The three showed the outcome of their hard work, with strong and percise forms. After multiple rounds of free fighting amongst the participants, They each had to perform three different breaks, as can be seen in the embedded video(s).

The three performed excellently and we are very proud to welcome Mr. Buck, Mrs. McCabe and Mr. Frye as black belts.

John Buck, Priscilla McCabe, Ray Mannion, Kristian Frye

Oneonta Taekwon-Do School picture July 2010

John Buck, Priscilla McCabe, and Kristian Frye earned their black belts on July 22, 2010

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 turning kicks while our higher belts enjoyed the freedom of space to do sparring.

Thanks also to Karl (Kent’s dad) for keeping everyone safe by blocking traffic as we crossed the streets.

Special thanks to Mr. Davis and his wife Betty for the photos. Click on the photos to see a larger version.

Congratulations to Tyler and Terri on earning their stripes. This was Tyler’s second stripe and Terri’s first. Joong Gun is one of the most important patterns to learn and also one of the most confusing to learn.

Unfortunately, the camera shot of Terri breaking her boards with a back kick was obscured. Below is Tyler breaking 2 boards with a back kick and a video of Terri doing Joong Gun and Tyler doing Toi-Gye.

Congratulations to Tom and Chris on earning their 2nd red stripe. At this point, they are approximately one year from earning their black belts. They have both trained very diligently and very sincerely and we are proud of their accomplishments.

Below are videos of their board breaks and Toi-Gye

Mr. Davis demonstrates Eui-Am and Choong-Jang. Unfortunately, I neglected to set the camera to record his excellent 4 board back kick break.