10th Annual CTI Food and Clothing Drive

THE BEST ONE YET!

Our 10th annual CTI Food and Clothing Drive was the best  yet!

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who helped with this yearly CTI event.

Each of our Denver area martial arts schools in, Littleton, Westminster, Golden, Conifer and Green Mountain collected food and clothing for two local food and clothing shelters.

Students, instructors, family members and friends brought food and clothing donations to their CTI Campus during October and helped us help those in our community!

Martial Arts Lessons at Conifer Taekwondo Institute

By Eileen Lindner, 2nd dan

When your 3 year old, middle schooler, or teenager express an interest in martial arts, whether they want to be a ninja turtle, a TV warrior, or  actually learn self-defense and awareness, where do you turn?  There is quite a variety of martial arts schools in Conifer, CO area that are available to you. But the quality of each school will vary greatly and you want to find the school with the best quality of instruction and teachers.

The Colorado Taekwondo Institute Campus in Conifer, CO offers the best and most convenient martial arts classes in the area.  The CTI in Conifer is located in the Conifer Marketplace - right off Highway 285 and Route 73 - with easy access from Bailey, Evergreen, and Conifer.  The school is on the main level, adjacent to Liks Ice Cream, and beneath 3 Margaritas.  We have students from Morrison to Bailey, and Evergreen to Pine.

We recommend classes at the Conifer Taekwondo Institute for a variety of reasons when looking for classes in Conifer, Bailey and Evergreen, CO.

First of all, our classes for kids are amazing. According to healthychildren.org, each year more than 6 million children in the United States participate in some type of martial arts. There are so many benefits from children practicing martial arts, including mental benefits (such as focus, discipline, perseverance, and developing respect for self and others) and physical benefits (such as muscular strength and endurance, energy release and motor development) that it's easy to see why many parents are eager to get their children involved with karate in Conifer, CO.

Adults too will benefit from our martial arts and self-defense classes. The physical and mental benefits are the same for adults, but in addition there are some that apply more towards adults. These include stress release, goal-oriented physical activity and learning self-defense to protect yourself and loved ones. The website examiner.com has an article explaining many of the great reasons why adults should get involved with martial arts.

But if all martial art schools give these benefits, why chose the Conifer location of the Colorado Taekwondo Institute? As with anything else, the quality makes a huge difference. You want to find the best school possible for you or your children to attend in order to maximize your results and to get the most from the program. Here are four reasons why the CTI is the best school in the Conifer area for children's and adult martial arts:

• Educated Instructors -  We don't hire any outside instructors; each instructor is "home-grown" from white belt and developed into one of our educated instructors. This allows us to provide the very-best in quality instruction. Each black belt instructor has years of martial arts instruction and also instructor development.
• Structured, Dynamic Classes - each class taught is set in a structured environment. Students are led by the instructor through a routine of exercise, basic and advanced Taekwondo techniques. With this structure, students are learning discipline and focus. They aren't running around being wild, they are developing themselves mentally.
• Safe Learning Environment - Each of our campuses is designed with the best quality of instruction in mind. We build our own custom suspension workout floors and have quiet workout areas so students can focus on their learning and not become distracted with outside influences.
• Staff that Cares - All of our teachers put students first, teaching to help our students foster their passion for martial arts in the same way that they learned. Our school isn't a "belt factory" designed to get as many students in the door as possible and promote them in a money-making scheme. Every instructor here cares about their students and wants to encourage and help them develop all of the wonderful things that martial arts have to offer.  Our students come first.  The instructors work to encourage and lead them into being the best student they can be.

The best way to see if our Conifer martial arts classes are the best for your family is to give us a call and set up a time for our no-obligation introductory special. It'll give you a chance to come in and see in person how the benefits you're looking for will be developed and just how wonderful classes are. You can give us a call at 303-838-2783 or you can register right here on our website. We look forward to serving you!



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Sources:

1- https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sports/Pages/Martial-Arts.aspx
2- http://www.examiner.com/article/it-is-never-too-late-to-start-martial-arts-training

More Than Just a Martial Arts School

When you're driving down the street, you'll probably notice quite a few martial arts schools in various shopping centers near your home. Taekwondo, Karate, Krav Maga, and Kung Fu schools will appear here and there. There are currently around 16,600 different martial arts schools in the United States.1

Why are they so popular? Well first are the number of benefits that come from a good martial arts school. For children martial arts teaches focus, self-control, respect and confidence while providing exercise and energy release. And for adults martial arts provide stress relief, increased self-esteem while helping them get back into shape and lose weight. There are numerous benefits for people of all ages. You can see why over 18 million people practiced some type of martial arts last year.2

The next question, then, is how do I choose a martial arts school for myself or family member. And this is where you find that martial arts schools vary quite a bit. And by vary, I mean they can really vary. Sure the style of martial arts taught will vary, but so will the structure, cost, curriculum, age & experience of the instructors, length of the classes, size of the classes, diversity of the classes (ages and experience), the size and upkeep of the facility, and on and on. It's not like going into any McDonalds anywhere in the US and expecting to have the same lunch.

So where am I going with this? Well, if you are interested in pursuing martial arts in any capactiy, I have to recommend classes at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute. The quality of the instruction is world-class, and the experience and lessons taught will last a lifetime.

But in addition to the great instruction, the whole experience of the program. Students attend two to three classes per week at their campus. Upper belt students attend our leadership program classes designed to empower our students with leadership qualities. Black belts attend extra workouts that mirror the workouts that Korean Olympic Taekwondo athletes practice in South Korea. We host four tournaments each year for students to compete against themselves and with each other, in a positive, educational environment. We host 3 day camps for students to practice and have a good environment to spend during breaks throughout the school year. We host two annual martial arts conventions for students across the country to attend and workout with world-renounced Grandmaster instructors. We host a summer camp at Snow Mountain Ranch for children to experience the wonderful outdoors of Colorado while sharpening their Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo. We have a summer picnic where students and their families can come have an enjoyable Sunday afternoon with positive people. And we host a Christmas party for students and their families to enjoy the holiday season and dance with friends. There's so much more to the program than just learning martial arts.

There is a real sense of community at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute. New students are welcomed into classes and are encouraged along the way. Experienced students help mentor new students, as they were new at one point too and they can help answer questions that may come up for new students.

It really is a great experience learning martial arts at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute. I highly recommend you picking up the phone and calling your local campus, or you can request more information on our website here. We look forward to meeting you soon!

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1- http://martialinfo.com/martial-art-statistics/
2- http://mainemartialarts.com/martial-arts/martial-arts-statistics-demographics-people-practice/

21st Moo Sul Kwan Black Belt Symposium

Our 21st MSK Black Belt Symposium took place October 7 - 9, at the Inn at SilverCreek in Granby, Colorado!  For twenty-one straight years, the Symposium has been held in different locations in Colorado, strengthening the skills, techniques, teaching strategies and more of our advanced belts, and this year was no different!

The Moo Sul Kwan upper belts had advanced classes in poomse, one-step sparring, self-defense, sparring, kicking, and much more.

The classes began on Friday evening and went to Sunday afternoon and were taught by a Moo Sul Kwan / AMASEA  staff:   Grandmaster James M. Sautel, Master Mindy Sautel, Master John Sautel, Master Erik Albrechtson, Mr. Andy McDaniel, Mr. Dustin Wheeler, Miss Bridget Sautel and Mr. Abdu Kikhia.

Saturday morning began at 6:00 AM with some good hard training and continued thru the day which ended at 4:00 PM in classroom work and a testing class.  That evening, fun entertainment followed the annual Symposium banquet.  Songs were performed by the Moo Sul Rock Band, and a very special MSK version of Deal or No Deal (Push-ups or No Push-ups) took place.  Hosted by Stephen "Howie Mandel" Sautel, the stakes were high and the action was hilarious!

Sunday morning began with some upper belt training followed by more classes and ending with everyone sparring together!

Don't forget, this year's Moo Sul Kwan Summer Expo XXXIII is going to take place at the Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado!

That Makes me so Angry!

By Caitlin Sosta, yellow belt

"THREE WAYS TO STAY CALM AND POSITIVE."

We’ve all gone through those moments, or even days, where something or everything makes us so mad, we can’t focus on anything else.  Anger is a natural emotion, and it would be unreasonable to say we never have a right to be angry in certain situations, but learning how to control and channel your anger in a positive way can change your entire perspective on life.  Here are three easy ways to begin rethinking and redirecting your anger when you feel it coming on:

1. Change your perspective. There are many times when another person may make you angry with their words or actions, but putting yourself in their shoes may make you pause to reflect on the reasons behind their behavior. An irate customer in your store may have just had a fight with their spouse before leaving home, or your coworker who ignores you when you wave and say hello may be dealing with immense financial stress that’s taking all of their concentration. Simply remaining calm and remembering that you don’t always know what’s going on in someone else’s life can change the way you feel in dealing with them and help you to be positive and kind in your daily interactions.

2. Consider whether or not anger is a productive response. Sometimes things make us angry that are completely out of our control —another driver on the street, a story on the news, a delayed flight.  The only thing we can control in these situations is ourselves, and our actions can affect the safety, environment, and emotions of others.  Anger alone is unproductive, so focusing on productive reactions helps motivate us to be a positive presence in the lives of those around us.  Always ask yourself: is there something I can do about my anger in this moment?  Can I use this emotional motivation to teach, help, speak out for, encourage or support someone else?  If so, do it!

3. Focus on the good! If nothing else succeeds, one of the best ways to overcome anger (or any other negative emotion, for that matter) is to focus on the good things in your life.  Write a list of the blessings you have, and you will be surprised how your entire mentality will change.  Can’t think of any?  Here’s a start: Taekwondo! (And most likely the physical and mental health to participate in martial arts in the first place).  Be creative—we all have things to be thankful for in life, and anger can easily become poisonous distraction from these things.

There are many more ways to deal with anger, but the real key is to reframe your mindset.  Like any other personal “makeover,” it won’t come easily or quickly.  You will fail sometimes, but your effort will certainly be rewarded with a noticeable change in your happiness, your stress level, your relationships, and more!