Oneonta Taekwon-do

Congratulations to Matt Goodrich on successfully earning his 1st degree black belt. Matt is now certified by Taekwon-Do International to be a black belt in good standing.

For his promotion test, Matt traveled to NYC with his family and fellow Oneonta Taekwon-Do schoolmate John Buck. He completed a written exam, an endurance test, and then gave a demonstration including 3 patterns, basic combinations, sparring, and 3 different board breaks.

In addition to the physical requirements, Taekwon-Do International requires proven examples of living up to the Tenets of Taekwon-Do.

Congratulations…

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…

Mr. Mannion returns

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I’m very grateful to Matt, Kristian, John and Mr. Davis for dedicating  a day to coming to NYC for class and lunch with Grandmaster Kim.

After class, Grandmaster Kim mentioned two questions he asked his students recently.  He asked for the students to write “just a couple of sentences” and extended the question to the Oneonta Taekwondo students.

1)  Why do you like practicing Taekwondo?

2)  What is the purpose?

He explained that he knows we practice Taekwondo because it makes us happy.  He said “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t make you miserable.”   All in all, I think he enjoyed…

Thank you John Buck

John – thanks for noticing that Grandmaster Kim’s website now features videos of him performing Chon-Ji, Dan-Gun, and Do-San.  Please take a moment and watch the Grandmaster in action on the SJKim Taekwondo Website Patterns Page.

Next Test
Saturday, February 21st at 10am

We anticipate that Alex Lusins, David Howard, and Owen McCabe will be eligible to test. Please come out to support them and cheer them on. We will have class at 9am and begin the test when the students are ready.  If you are eligible to test and weren’t mentioned,…

There is a video clip which plays on the digital picture frame in our DoJang of Grandmaster SJ Kim performing a front turning kick to break 5 boards. After catching glimpses of the various frames in the video, I decided to do some clipping to highlight what I believe are the critical components. To see the video in full motion, please visit the page at SJKimTKD.com

The following is a brief summary of my visit to SJ Kim’s Taekwon-do school. Please pardon the cliche introduction.

Train fare from Trenton to NYC: $102
Parking in Trenton: $10
Gas from Mt.Laurel to Trenton: $12
Protein shake for dinner in Penn Station: $4.50
Total Trip time: 7 hours
Time in Do-Jang: 2 hours
Class at SJ Kim’s Taekwon-do: Priceless

If I wait for it to be convenient, it will never happen.

These words echoed in my head the past few weeks. I had many excuses – mostly related to a lack…