The Value of Integrity: A Pillar of Everyday Life

By Eric Evans, 3rd Dan

Integrity, often considered the cornerstone of moral character, is a timeless virtue that holds immense significance in our everyday lives. It is the alignment of our actions, thoughts, and words with our deeply held principles and values. While integrity may seem intangible, its impact is far-reaching and touches every aspect of our personal and professional lives. In this article, we explore why integrity is vital and how it influences our interactions, relationships, and overall well-being.

Integrity breeds trust, forming the bedrock of meaningful connections. When individuals consistently demonstrate honesty and reliability, others develop confidence in their character. By living with integrity, Moo Sul Kwan students convey authenticity and create an environment of openness, where people feel safe to express themselves. Whether it's in personal relationships, workplaces, or even casual encounters, trust is fundamental for effective communication and fostering healthy connections.

Integrity is closely tied to personal growth and resilience. When we commit to living in alignment with our values, we cultivate self-awareness and a sense of purpose. Upholding our principles requires courage and self-discipline, leading to personal development and the ability to make informed decisions. Colorado Taekwondo classes help students develop these principles and self-discipline. Moreover, the integrity developed in class enables us to weather challenges with resilience, as it provides a moral compass to guide us through difficult times, instilling a sense of conviction and strength.

In today's interconnected world, reputation holds significant importance. Integrity plays a crucial role in shaping how others perceive us and ultimately impacts our professional and social success. Consistently acting with integrity establishes a positive reputation built on reliability, credibility, and ethical conduct. This reputation, in turn, opens doors to opportunities, fosters cooperation, and attracts like-minded individuals who value integrity. Moreover, integrity cultivates loyalty, as people are more inclined to support those who consistently display honesty and transparency.

Living a life of integrity is essential for nurturing inner harmony and well-being. When our actions align with our values, we experience a sense of congruence and inner peace. Integrity helps us avoid the internal conflict that arises from compromise and deceit, fostering emotional well-being and mental clarity. By practicing integrity, we nurture a positive self-image, boosting our self-esteem and overall satisfaction with life.

Integrity serves as an essential compass in our journey through life. Its significance extends beyond individual actions, influencing our relationships, reputation, personal growth, and overall well-being. By cultivating integrity in our daily lives, we build trust, authenticity, and resilience while enhancing our chances of success and fostering inner harmony. As we strive for a more ethical and just world, let us recognize the enduring value of integrity and embrace its transformative power in shaping a brighter future for all.

34th DMAC Results!

 

The 34th Denver Martial Arts Champs was held on September 6-7 at Alameda International School. Over 300 students of all belts and ages competed, learned, and had a memorial day. Photos will be available soon on our website's Photo page.

Special thanks to all family members and friends for their support to make this special day possible!

Congratulations to our Grand Champions, Meredith Botnick and Katie Minden!

DMAC Results

POOMSE

1st place

Collin Kreutz, Caleb Feagans, Katie Minden, Lily Strickland, Averie Chavez, Diego Quezada, Evan Mcewan, Zoe Economou, Emma Burden, Tristyn Cvanciger, Brandon Kirt, Gavin Vahle, Katie Harding, Ellie Pechon, Henry Lewis, Eddie Garner, Daniel Gray, Franco Ramirez, Kendrick Toney, Tara Cady, Mary Groff, Joshua Dollar, Everett Ungar, Duncan Zook, Henry Chiabotti, Kira Rhyden, Jack Wicken, Anthony Garcia, Makenzie O'Connell, Elias Amann, Carter Camp, Isabel Cole, Haley Holley, Wyatt Knorr, Siri Molnar, Gwen Spilling, Lyra Bratz, Leo Duffey, Cyrus Khatri, Dylan Kiser, Asher Yushka, Noah Buteyn, Jay Karkula, Sophia Palfreyman, Kolbe Pries, Yuvan Rauniyar, Keira Teska, Avery Liu, Rahi Rauniyar, Ron Deiotte, Laz Logan, Andra Deiotte, Anitej Narumanchi, Natalie Teska, Adeline Alayash, Ashton Hogue, Natalie Huntley, Veronika Lesyk, Leuyen Nguyen, Arwyn Robinson, Mckenzie Farmer, Arnav Narumanchi, Luna Rivera

2nd place

Tyler Murphy, Kathleen Sautel, Katie Dahle, Konner Evans, Jasmine Salamera, Meredith Botnick, Nathaniel Keckler, Allan Stanton, Ace Ashworth, Keira Sherman, Zachary Cotner, Mason Zerbib, Cooper Curry, Rebekkah Copel, Joel Hall, Logan Martin, Armando Gomez, Landon Adams, Anna Copel, Tk Nguyen, Christopher Cochenour, Ariana Lamb, Eli Anceravicius, River Manuelito, Alice Burgin, Millie Hessler, Ada Lekan, Keegan Christenson, Violet Wondel, Jack Arland, Luna Bratz, Ellie Combs, Timofii Lesyk, Ron Meyer, Truc Nguyen, Mila Olivares Castro, Colin Williamson, Torin Dimascio, Zane Farrier, Austin Gross, Shreeyan Khatri, Stryder Martin, Eoin Daly, Quinn Hester, John Hicks, Kara Koster, Betsy Nanguse, Tyler Tillman, Asher Whalen, Jackson Bloor, Caroline Fogg, Mia Garcia, Aaron Botnick, Cory Balk, Ben Buteyn, Tyrion Bieker, Hendrix Lacey, Jack Macdonald, Loxley Mcelhaney, Rowan Meyer, Jace Bauer, Sage Melone, Erin Wolf, Sage Petty

3rd place

Peyton Brauch, Abbey Salamera, Ed Stanton, Colston Yoder, Kirun Agarwal, Marley Powers, Jordan Rutz, Thomas Burden, Bob Padget, Ivy Jensen, Kaylyn Mcewan, Rue Weerapura, Zuri Cady, Oliver Garner, Vincent Andonov, Dan Copel, Jase Hessler, Aliyah Huckaby Rafaelson, Alex Kirt, Rose Basnet, Hilde Groff, Bill Graves, Presley Hobler, Gabriel Kahan, Christina Sanders, Amallia Chapman, Alec Rhyden, Landon Sidley-Mercado, Alexander Aguilar-Glaub, Laura Martinson, Anastasia Contreras, Hayden Jeffries, Leanh Nguyen, Sheen Pandita, Isaiah Sanchez, Bryce Yushka, Lorenzo Gomez, Ailani Lopez Martinez, Thomas Mcnair, Elijah Yushka, Jameson Bloor, Taylor Crane, Laurel Cummings, Naomi Kaup, Hassid Mendoza Cruz, Quintyn Upshaw, Dominic Ditallo, David Enriquez, Aleina Evarts, Peter Morehead, Amy Milligan, Jaydn Bauer, Elena Behm, Crystalie Wolfe, Evan Anceravicius, Annelise Carey, Jordan Lawyer, Saoirse Meyer, Robert Poe, Olivia Roberts, Marie Spears, Lennon Petty

4th place

Kyle Feagans, Sarah Dahle, Ethan Price, Quynn Cotner, Elsie Mcdonald, Dale Sanders, Lillian Eichelberger, Josie Landis, Nethika Suraweera, Warren Mcdonald, Sam Powers, Shiven Venkat, Zachary Kahan, Jennifer Kautz, Ryan Marine, Stella Reyniers, Jackson Foster, Sean Marrufo, Aspen Swift, Zach Trujillo, Theron Bearce, Finn Deiotte, Olivia Ivie, Rylan Lamkin, Issay Mendoza Cruz, Neev Pandita, Milo Conner, Weston Evarts, Emery Hetzel, Lily Rosetta-Mcbryde, Andrew Kahan, Dawson Portera, Sebastian Schuster, JJ Defelice, James Klausner, Ruth Berry, Luca Chrzan, James Daly, Hugh Dionne, Rowan Lamkin, Avery Madison, Calvin Spears

TIGER POOMSE

1st place
Clesse Hilton, Theodore Peterson, Oliver Scears, Hudson Wiegand, Skylynn Benefield, Luke Hilton, Dashiel Landry, Leo Claveau, Leighton Evarts, Atticus Albrechtson, Jaxton Archuleta-Kordis, Silas Corbett, Enzo Santana, Carson Simmons, Sloan Chrzan, Violet Lopez, Tyler Poe, Zachary Wolf

SPARRING

1st place

Collin Kreutz, Katie Minden, Zoe Economou, Ellie Pechon, Henry Lewis, Daniel Gray, Kendrick Toney, Tara Cady, Duncan Zook, Kira Rhyden, Haley Holley, Wyatt Knorr, Siri Molnar, Gwen Spilling, Lyra Bratz, Luke Hilton, Sophia Palfreyman, Kolbe Pries, Yuvan Rauniyar, Avery Liu, Ron Deiotte, Natalie Teska, Natalie Huntley, Arnav Narumanchi, Nathaniel Keckler, Mason Zerbib, Tk Nguyen, Eli Anceravicius, Violet Wondel, Luna Bratz, Torin Dimascio, Zane Farrier, Austin Gross, Shreeyan Khatri, Eoin Daly, John Hicks, Betsy Nanguse, Cory Balk, Loxley Mcelhaney, Rowan Meyer, Ed Stanton, Marley Powers, Kaylyn Mcewan, Aliyah Huckaby Rafaelson, Alexander Aguilar-Glaub, Laura Martinson, Lorenzo Gomez, Crystalie Wolfe, Lennon Petty, Warren Mcdonald, Sam Powers, Theron Bearce, Emery Hetzel, Ruth Berry, James Daly, Hope Morgan, Vivi Brown, Alexis Chavez, Ace Garcia, Henry Andonov, Dalila Lopez, Evan Clough

2nd place

Kathleen Sautel, Kyle Feagans, Sarah Dahle, Diego Quezada, Meredith Botnick, Jordan Rutz, Quynn Cotner, Ahas Weerapura, Ace Ashworth, Zachary Cotner, Ivy Jensen, Rue Weerapura, Nethika Suraweera, Rebekkah Copel, Joel Hall, Zuri Cady, Oliver Garner, Shiven Venkat, Franco Ramirez, Mary Groff, Landon Adams, Ariana Lamb, Ryan Marine, Jackson Foster, Joshua Dollar, Henry Chiabotti, Jack Wicken, Makenzie O'Connell, Millie Hessler, Ada Lekan, Keegan Christenson, Gabriel Kahan, Issay Mendoza Cruz, Carter Camp, Isabel Cole, Leo Duffey, Cyrus Khatri, Jack Arland, Ron Meyer, Sheen Pandita, Ailani Lopez Martinez, Milo Conner, Jay Karkula, Keira Teska, Rahi Rauniyar, Tyler Tillman, Taylor Crane, Naomi Kaup, Hassid Mendoza Cruz, Amy Milligan, Andrew Kahan, Dawson Portera, James Klausner, Andra Deiotte, Ashton Hogue, Veronika Lesyk, Ben Buteyn, Elena Behm, Evan Anceravicius, Jordan Lawyer, Rowan Lamkin, Avery Madison, Calvin Spears, Sage Petty

3rd place

Caleb Feagans, Katie Dahle, Konner Evans, Colston Yoder, Kirun Agarwal, Elsie Mcdonald, Lillian Eichelberger, Andra Vieru, Emma Burden, Gavin Vahle, Josie Landis, Logan Keckler, Cooper Curry, Armando Gomez, Christopher Cochenour, Dan Copel, Jase Hessler, Alex Kirt, Rose Basnet, Jennifer Kautz, Stella Reyniers, Zach Trujillo, River Manuelito, Bill Graves, Presley Hobler, Amallia Chapman, Alec Rhyden, Olivia Ivie, Mia Martinez, Landon Woodland, Neev Pandita, Ellie Combs, Timofii Lesyk, Mila Olivares Castro, Colin Williamson, Hayden Jeffries, Leanh Nguyen, Isaiah Sanchez, Elijah Yushka, Noah Buteyn, Quinn Hester, Jackson Bloor, Caroline Fogg, Mia Garcia, Dominic Ditallo, Aleina Evarts, Peter Morehead, Anitej Narumanchi, Arwyn Robinson, Tyrion Bieker, Jack Macdonald, Jace Bauer, Jaydn Bauer, Annelise Carey, Robert Poe, Luca Chrzan, Luna Rivera, Erin Wolf

4th place

Peyton Brauch, Shekina Detienne, Darcy Stanton, Lily Strickland, Evan Mcewan, Dale Sanders, Kayla Albrechtson, Lily Laird, Brandon Kirt, Keira Sherman, Thomas Burden, Bob Padget, Logan Martin, Keatyn Adams, Zachary Kahan, Sean Marrufo, Aspen Swift, Anthony Garcia, Alice Burgin, Christina Sanders, Landon Sidley-Mercado, Finn Deiotte, Rylan Lamkin, Elias Amann, Dylan Kiser, Stryder Martin, Anastasia Contreras, Thomas Mcnair, Weston Evarts, Lily Rosetta-Mcbryde, Kara Koster, Jameson Bloor, Laurel Cummings, Quintyn Upshaw, David Enriquez, Jacob Schuster, Adeline Alayash, Leuyen Nguyen, Hendrix Lacey, Saoirse Meyer, Hugh Dionne, Sage Melone, Marie Spears

FIRST POINT WINS!

1st place

Hope Morgan, Kyle Feagans, Katie Minden, Ed Stanton, Marley Powers, Alexis Chavez, Meredith Botnick, Ahas Weerapura, Zachary Cotner, Ivy Jensen, Rue Weerapura, Nethika Suraweera, Gavin Vahle, Sam Powers, Rebekkah Copel, Zuri Cady, Shiven Venkat, Cooper Curry, Keatyn Adams, Henry Andonov, Armando Gomez, Dan Copel, Jase Hessler, Rose Basnet, Stella Reyniers, Duncan Zook, Ada Lekan, Issay Mendoza Cruz, Amallia Chapman, Alec Rhyden, Rylan Lamkin, Neev Pandita, Haley Holley, Wyatt Knorr, Gwen Spilling, Lyra Bratz, Luna Bratz, Torin Dimascio, Zane Farrier, Emery Hetzel, Ellie Combs, Colin Williamson, Isaiah Sanchez, Stryder Martin, Kolbe Pries, Ron Deiotte, John Hicks, Andrew Kahan, Noah Buteyn, Mia Garcia, Natalie Teska, Natalie Huntley, Cory Balk, Loxley Mcelhaney, Rowan Meyer, Crystalie Wolfe, Ashton Hogue, Evan Anceravicius, Jordan Lawyer, Tyrion Bieker, Jaydn Bauer, Annelise Carey, Arnav Narumanchi

2nd place

Caleb Feagans, Katie Dahle, Darcy Stanton, Abbey Salamera, Ethan Price, Averie Chavez, Allan Stanton, Ivy Strickland, Zoe Economou, Mason Zerbib, Warren Mcdonald, Ace Ashworth, Joel Hall, Oliver Garner, Tara Cady, Tk Nguyen, Aliyah Huckaby Rafaelson, Mary Groff, Ryan Marine, Jackson Foster, Jennifer Kautz, Vincent Andonov, Eli Anceravicius, Alexander Aguilar-Glaub, Laura Martinson, Joshua Dollar, Henry Chiabotti, River Manuelito, Presley Hobler, Olivia Ivie, Alice Burgin, Shreeyan Khatri, Lorenzo Gomez, Isabel Cole, Jack Arland, Ailani Lopez Martinez, Dylan Kiser, Thomas Mcnair, Betsy Nanguse, Jay Karkula, Keira Teska, Tyler Tillman, Amy Milligan, Dawson Portera, James Klausner, Aleina Evarts, Kara Koster, Laurel Cummings, Aaron Botnick, Sebastian Schuster, James Daly, Ben Buteyn, Elena Behm, Rowan Lamkin, Avery Madison, Calvin Spears, Luca Chrzan, Hendrix Lacey, Sage Petty, Erin Wolf

BREAKING

1st place

Hope Morgan, Averie Chavez, Diego Quezada, Lily Strickland, Evan Mcewan, Zachary Cotner, Zoe Economou, Zuri Cady, Logan Martin, Tara Cady, Daniel Gray, Sean Marrufo, Anna Copel, Makenzie O'Connell, Bill Graves, Christina Sanders, Ron Meyer, Naomi Kaup, Jackson Bloor

TARGET KICKING

1st place

Rue Weerapura, Shiven Venkat, Cooper Curry, Dalila Lopez, Franco Ramirez, Landon Adams, Clesse Hilton, Skylynn Benefield, Dashiel Landry, Evan Clough, Zachary Wolf

2nd place

Oliver Scears, Luke Hilton, Jj Defelice, Jaxton Archuleta-Kordis, Sloan Chrzan

STAFF POOMSE

1st place

Collin Kreutz, Mark Scott, Katie Dahle, Katie Minden, Meredith Botnick, Nathaniel Keckler, Matthew Roberts

2nd place

Peyton Brauch, Shekina Detienne, Ed Stanton, Ethan Price, Konner Evans, Quynn Cotner, Lillian Eichelberger

3rd place

Kyle Feagans, Kathleen Sautel, Caleb Feagans, Darcy Stanton, Abbey Salamera, Jordan Rutz, Colston Yoder

This Weekend: 34th Denver Martial Arts Champs!

We are looking forward to our tournament this Friday and Saturday, September 6th and 7th!  

Competition and Arrival Times: 

Black Belts will compete on Friday night at 6 pm.  Spectators are welcome.  

All other students (white through red) will compete on Saturday. You will find details on your competition time below.  You will need to arrive 30 minutes prior to the start time of your competition to check in, etc.  Some divisions may begin early, so please be at Alameda at your arrival time.  Thank you.  

Purple, Brown, & Red belts, all ages: 8 am start time, 7.30 am arrival time

Ages 8 and under; white, yellow, orange, green, blue belts and all tigers: 10.30 am start time, 10 am arrival time

Ages 9 and up; white, yellow, orange, green, blue belts: 1 pm start time, 12.30 pm arrival time

Location details, parking:

The tournament will be at Alameda International High School which is located at 1255 S Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood, CO 80232.  

Please park in the large parking lot on the southwest corner of Louisiana and Allison St. (There is another parking lot on the northwest corner of Arizona and Allison / north of the tennis courts that can be used for overflow parking).

Please do not double park and/or block someone in.  If both parking lots are full, there is a lot of neighborhood street parking available in the area or you can see if there is room in the main entrance parking lot.  

You will enter the school through the doors facing west. The title 'ALAMEDA INTERNATIONAL' is written in large block letters above the doors.  It is marked with a red star in the graphic below.  

Checking students in and getting them to their rings:

Once you enter, you will be directed to a check-in table.  The check-in will be divided up alphabetically by last name so please proceed to the table marked with the first letter of your last name.

While checking-in, someone will write ring numbers on your hands.  You will have a green number on your right hand and a red number on your left hand.  Once you have your ring numbers, you will head to the upper bleachers of the gym to settle in.  You will be called down to the floor for the group photo and will proceed to the green ring number after the group photo.

Parents of younger students competing at 10.30 am, you will take your student down to the gym floor when called for the group photo.  After the group photo and announcements, black belts will take the students to their correct ring number which will be the GREEN number on their right hand. The ring number will be labeled with big signs.  These ring signs are not color coded, so please look to the ring number on your student's hand that is green and disregard the color of the ring sign.  

Once students are settled at their rings, we ask that spectators stay in the upper bleachers and off the gym floor for safety and to provide more room for the competitions.  Please show your students where you will be so they know where to find you.  If you have a very young child (tigers ages 2 - 4) who needs assistance, it is okay if you need to stay nearby on the gym floor. 

Tiger students (2-4 and some 5 year olds who attend 30 minutes classes) will compete in two divisions in the same ring and then will be dismissed for the day.  

All other students will compete in poomse first.  After that competition ends, students will then go to the RED ring number on their LEFT hand for sparring (school program students will not spar but will compete in Self-Defense in Walking Drills instead). 

Parents of students ages 7 and under, please come down to the podium to collect your student after their first competition and to help them get to their second.

After your student is done competing in all of their divisions, please come down to the edge of the gym floor to collect them.  Thank you.

Sparring will also be the final competition for white and yellow belts ages 9 - 11.

Orange belts and above, ages 12 and up, will also compete in breaking.  After their sparring division concludes, please stay in the gym and listen for their name to be called to their breaking ring.

Etiquette and Uniform

All students should arrive already dressed out in their uniforms with their belts tied.  Anyone with long hair will need to have it tied back securely.  No jewelry is permitted, and freshly pierced ears need to be covered from front to back with medical tape and/or bandaids.  Students should wear a white crewneck t-shirt beneath their uniform top.  Students should not wear jeans or secondary pants underneath their uniform pants as this will inhibit their ability to kick.

Boards

If your student is competing in breaking (students age 12 and up, orange and above), they will need to provide their own boards for this competition.  Please touch base with your instructor with any questions you may have here.

Lastly, please do not attend the tournament if you or your student is ill or has tested positive for Covid.  Thank you.  

If you have any questions at all, please reach out to your instructor.  We are so proud of all of our students' hard work and preparation, and we look forward to this weekend!  Thank you.

Integrity at its Finest

By Bridget Sautel, 5th dan

To embody the quality of integrity requires upholding a consistent state of honesty, and not letting anything compromise moral and ethical values one may have. From the very start of our CTI Taekwondo training, we strive to develop a ‘black belt attitude,’ which cannot be mastered without embracing integrity. Establishing this characteristic in taekwondo will allow for the student to transfer this into their everyday life’s outside of class, resulting in a successful well-rounded lifestyle. Integrity can then be passed on to future generations, including white belts just starting class, and can become an infinite process of sharing the essence of what integrity is all about. 

As a white belt moving up through the belt colors, it becomes clear quickly that practice at home is needed for memorization of poomse and to maintain physical fitness. Taking the initiative to practice outside of class involves integrity, because it is something that you have to take upon yourself by choice. Having this much needed practice outside of class will permit the student to continue using integrity when back in class, by executing their OWN moves within the group, without copying others. This will boost the class as a whole and convince others that integrity is crucial in martial arts training. 

There are many ways that integrity is developed within a CTI class, including always keeping your fellow students safe, learning how to make mistakes and learn from them, and being honest with ourselves when a certain technique or poomse could use some improvement. All of these pieces of integrity will undoubtedly carry over into our everyday lives outside of taekwondo, into school, work, and in other social situations. At school, integrity can be used when doing homework, taking tests, and developing relationships with teachers/peers. At work, integrity can mean standing up for what’s right and doing what you should be doing even if no one is looking. In public, the student is a representative of CTI, which can mean helping people out who are in need, being cordial and empathetic to the unknown, and being honest with family, friends, and spouses.

Integrity involves finding ways to better yourself and become a self-directed learner, and is a quality that will always get you farther in the long run- even if it’s not easy! Integrity allows you to feel confident that you put all effort into what you do and believe in, and most importantly can be passed on to future generations and white belts.