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 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!)

Cael McCabe earns his red belt. In this post are videos of Cael demonstrating Toi-Gye, board breaking, and sparring with Tom Hill.

Cael performs the pattern Toi-Gye.

Cael breaks two boards with a back kick, and two boards with a cross-behind side kick. Keep in mind the force that must be generated to break 1 and 1/2 inches of pine wood.

Finn Brown earns his green stripe, while Dylan Winsor earns a green belt

Dylan Windsor performs the Do-San pattern, while Finn Brown performs Dan-Gun.

Finn breaks a board with a lead-leg side kick, Dylan breaks a board with a rear-leg side kick.
With stationary side kicks, there is always the challenge of producing momentum. These boards are 3/4 inch pine.

Both Finn and Dylan show their courtesy by bowing to the board holders, who risked their fingers to assist the test.

Demonstrating well-balanced training, John Buck breaks 2 boards with each leg using a back kick at his promotion test in July 2009.

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