Happy Birthday!

Aug 2 – Kent Heidenreich
Aug 3 – Nick Perez

Next promotion test

Our next test is scheduled for Thursday August 26th at 6pm.  Both adults and children will test and we will enjoy some pizza and beverages afterward.  Please be sure to complete your test form and give a check or cash for your test fee to a black belt prior to the day of testing.

Openings for 2 adults and 2 children

If you have friends or family who are ready to start taking classes, please encourage them to call us as soon as possible.  We will only have openings for 2 adults and 2 children.  We always try to give preference to friends and family.  Remember that when you refer a new student who pays for a 3 month tuition, you get your choice of a free uniform or a free test.  Be sure to email your friends and refer them to our website for videos and information.

More T-Shirts have arrived

Due to the quick sellout of the large t-shirts, we ordered a few more and have them in stock.  The price is $15 each.  Get one for yourself or as a gift to a family member.

New York Karate Kids

Recently, NBC news did a segment featuring Grandmaster Kim’s school. The video is cute, funny, and still shows a nice side of Grandmaster Kim and his students.  I highly recommend you take a moment and watch it on the home page of Grandmaster Kim’s Taekwon-Do website.

Mirrors have been ordered

We have ordered three 4′ x 6′ mirrors for the dojang and hope to have them installed before the test.

Happy Birthday!

July 2 – Ben
July 4 – Guaire
July 8 – Kara
July 17 – Kristian
July 24 – Jaden
July 27 – Tyler

No class Monday, July 5

In observance of July 4th holidays, there are no scheduled classes for Monday.  If you would still like to practice, please go ahead and use the lockbox or talk to a senior student who knows the lockbox code.

Next promotion test

Our next test is scheduled for Thursday July 22 at 6pm.  Please come and support Priscilla McCabe, John Buck, and Kristian Frye as they test for their 1st Dan black belt. In addition, we will have a few of the juniors testing for their green stripes including Alex, Jaden, Guaire, Jake and Addison. We are very pleased to have 4th dan Master James Kelley coming up to certify the test on behalf of Taekwon-Do International.  Master Kelley and I have known each other for 12 years.  To learn a little about Master Kelley, I encourage you to read his 4th dan essay and watch his demonstration video.

From the looks of things, we will probably need to have a promotion test in August as many students are on the borderline in terms of having enough classes.  I would expect this to be in the last week of August.

Welcome new students

Congratulations to Ben, Kara, Lori, Erika, Devin, Aidan, Dylan, Jack, and Nick. Our 9 new students have shown tremendous commitment and made significant progress. Those first few classes are very awkward and challenging and a large percentage of people quit before their 5th class. We are very proud of you for your commitment and hard work and hope Taekwon-Do remains a valuable part of your life for many years to come.

No new students until September

Oneonta Taekwon-Do will not be actively soliciting new students until September in order to give maximum attention to all of our existing students. In particular, our new blackbelts will require continued classes to help them transition into the role of teacher.
Given our space restrictions and an inability to offer more classes at this time, I want to focus on supporting and developing all of our existing students for a couple of months before seeking out new students. Obviously, if someone walks in, we won’t turn them away. However, we will most likely begin a waiting list for September.

T-Shirts have arrived

Please bring a check or cash for $15 for a T-Shirt next time you come to school.  We ordered white t-shirts in adult sizes S-XL and they look terrific!

Summer camp

Grandmaster Kim is hosting his annual summer camp the weekend of August 27th in southern New Jersey. The camps are a very unique opportunity to learn new techniques and master old ones from Masters and Grandmasters. Among the expected instructors will be Master Marr (6th dan), Master Yang (4th Dan), Master Meany (6th Dan), Grandmaster Donnelly (8th Dan), Master Nathanson (6th Dan) and of course Grandmaster Kim (9th Dan). Perhaps the best part of the camp is having the opportunity to get away from the daily grind, the housework, the job, the computers, and simply be a camper, with a book, and having all (fairly healthy) meals prepared for you. The camp features swimming pools, courts, and rec rooms for you to enjoy in between the training sessions. I think you’ll find that you learn a tremendous amount during the weekend; lessons that will stay with you a lifetime.
I will be renting a van to drive everyone down and back (it’s a 4 hour drive). We will leave early Friday morning and return at approximately 4pm on Sunday. A signup sheet will be available next week. Please indicate if you are a yes, no, or maybe so that I can schedule an appropriate vehicle. All students age 9 and older are urged to attend. You can download a copy of the SJKim Summer Camp flyer here.

The 4th school rule

Thank you very much to the students who remember to vacuum the dojang every day and mop it on Thursday night. Emptying the garbages, replacing the toilet paper and paper towel rolls are greatly appreciated. Vacuuming the hallways, changing rooms, offices, and entryway all contribute to giving the school a nicer appearance. If you haven’t taken a turn, please ask a black belt or senior student how you can help.

On Thursday 6/17 we will be hosting a special class in Neawha Park from 5:30-6:30. The class is open to all belts and all ages.

Warmup will be at the Dojang and starts at 5:30 sharp! Be suited and ready to go.We will then run/jog to the spot in the park where we will be holding class. Sparring gear will be driven over so we don’t have to carry anything on our run.

Depending on the weather you might want to bring along a bottle of water or Gatorade. For class, TKD shoes/slippers are recommended but barefoot or sneakers work just as well.

I’m excited about the prospect of having all of our students together and uniting our whole Taekwon-Do family for what is sure to be a unique class.

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

Finn demonstrates Won-Hyo:

Finn demonstrating basics:

We’re very proud of our children.  All 10 of them have worked very hard and are progressing well.

We look forward to the promotion test on May 10th! The test BEGINS at 4pm so please allow the kids to arrive early enough to change and stretch.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

At the age of 21, I was handed keys to a Junior High School classroom in a part of South Central Los Angeles named Watts. I became a teacher because I felt I had an innate ability to communicate well with children. I also felt I was skilled at teaching mathematics in a way that made it easy to understand.
During college, I tutored high school kids privately for extra money. I also coached a high school diving team. For 5 summers in high school and college, I taught swimming and diving lessons to children aged 5-15 at the town pool. From these experiences, I had built hundreds of memories of laughter and the pride of blossoming self-confidence on the part of my divers or tutoring clients. The look on a child’s face popping out of the water after successfully completing his first back flip is indescribable and priceless.

During my 6 week preparation for teaching, one of my mentors at Teach For America handed me the following two sheets of paper. I have kept them in a folder since I received them in 1992.

In the near future, our school will be offering Taekwondo classes to children and I decided to pass this on to our senior students in the hopes it will help them be the best teachers they can be.

The significance of these two pages is they teach us to approach children from the perspective of THEIR NEEDS rather than our own. These pages offer strategies for dealing with needy or dependent children, shy withdrawn children, as well as other useful tidbits.  Sometimes the suggestions are counter-intuitive or not what you would instinctively do.

When you think back to the best teacher you ever had, the teacher probably found fun ways to make you learn and made sure that the challenges you were given were within your grasp to accomplish. Nothing is more frustrating for a child than to be given an assignment without the requisite skills to accomplish it. When children are repeatedly presented with challenges they can complete, their confidence soars and their behavior and cooperation increases.

Click here for the .pdf of the 2 pages. They are posted below as pictures. If you click on a picture, you can see it in a larger size.  This was credited to Reynold Bean.  Search the internet, I believe he has written a number of books.

How to Raise Self-Esteem in the Classroom Page 1

How to Raise Self-Esteem in the Classroom - Page 2

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 applications which I’ll explain below.

So, what is a Keeyup if it is not a special language? It is an important fighting technique.

Yelling strikes fear in the opponent.

Cats hiss, dogs bark, and lions roar. If attacked or threatened, a fighting stance with a committed yell might offer the something extra to make your attacker think twice.

Yelling forces your stomach to tighten.

Relax your stomach. Now hit yourself quickly just above the belly button! You can actually knock the wind out of yourself if you do this. Now tighten your stomach and try again. Did you notice the difference? A tight stomach will protect you from injury and prevent you from getting your wind knocked out.

Yelling makes the technique more powerful.

We learned early on that breathing during punching or kicking affects the power of the strike. If you don’t believe it, try holding your breath and punching. It doesn’t feel right, does it? Since we want to make the most powerful strike possible, we force a powerful exhale by yelling during the moment of impact. Or maybe you thought professional tennis players let out grunts on the court to amuse the spectators?

I’m sure there are more reasons why yelling is an effective fighting technique. If for no other reason, do it because a 9th degree black belt does it when he’s breaking 5 boards with the ball of his foot! Set your volume and give a listen to Grandmaster SJ Kim give us a demonstration….