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 Finn. Without all that hair, he seems to be moving faster.

Finn demonstrates Won-Hyo:

Finn demonstrating basics:

Congratulations to Theo on his promotion to Blue belt. Theo began his Taekwon-Do journey many years ago in Oneonta where he earned a blue belt but was forced to stop training when his instructor retired.

We are pleased that Theo could put on a white belt and train dilligently while working back to his previous level and we look forward to his future training with us.

(For some reason, these videos did not convert properly and are a bit jagged!)