Our Lakewood Taekwondo school will make you more confident!

I don’t know if you remember Tae Bo. Tae Bo was an aerobic exercise program that was created several years ago and it took some of the movements from Taekwondo and turned it into and exercise routine. Tae Bo was completely useless as a martial art but what you should notice about that is that there is no coincidence that there are multiple trainers from all over the world who are taking pieces of Taekwondo and putting it in their fitness routines!

Taekwondo is great for your health and if you are looking for a  martial arts school in the Green Mountain / Lakewood area that will help you get into shape then you have come to the right place! Our Green Mountain Taekwondo campus has many different benefits for your health. For example, taking Taekwondo will help you get lean, increase your cardiovascular abilities, and tone your muscles.

Our Green Mountain Taekwondo school will also help you learn to defend yourself like nowhere else in Colorado. Now hopefully you will never be in a position where you will need to use the Taekwondo skills you learn here but you never know when it could come in handy to either defend yourself or someone else.

You will also start to notice that you will become very aware of your surroundings. People who attack and mug other people are usually looking for people who are distracted or not really paying attention. They want the element of surprise. If you find yourself walking through a bad area but you are paying attention attackers and thugs will often leave you alone for someone who is less aware. Nothing is worse for a thug than drawing attention to what they are doing so they’ll leave you alone in most cases if they think they are going to have attention drawn to them or if they think they will get caught.

Once you join our Green Mountain Taekwondo school you will start to notice some other things happen that will surprise you. You reflexes will get faster and there will be times when the world seems to move slower.

For example when I first started martial arts I was standing in my kitchen. I was about 12 years old at the time and my mother reached above me to get something out of the cabinet that was in front of me. In the process she accidentally knocked the spaghetti out of the cupboard. Before the spaghetti had hit the counter I had caught it in my right hand! I was just as surprised as my mother was and I put it back into the cupboard feeling proud to know that my new martial arts practice was working! Understand that before martial arts I was not the kid who was a great athlete.

I loved my time training at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute.  I became coordinated, I got confident and my reflexes only got better. I even started to get better at sports. I used to flinch as a ball would fly toward me but once I started to do martial arts I got more confident. A ball is a lot easier to catch and not be afraid of when you are used to people throwing punches at your face.

9 Ways Taekwondo Classes can Improve Your Health

As people sit around their houses after work watching television their bodies are deteriorating. They gain weight, their arteries are clogging and their joints are getting stiffer. They begin to lose flexibility and over time their body loses strength.

It’s even worse if they are eating junk foods or smoking cigarettes. We all know that junk food is making us fat as a society and we also know that smoking is causing lung cancer. The impact on our bodies is tremendously bad and can shorten or even end our lives if these practices are done over years.

So what is a fun effective way to improve our life styles and our health?

Taekwondo classes!

Taekwondo classes, also known as Korean Karate, are an effective way to increase flexibility, improve cardiovascular health, and build muscle!

Let’s talk about a couple of different ways that Taekwondo can help improve your health.

1) Taekwondo classes can help control weight

At Colorado Taekwondo Institute you will learn a number of different ways to get your body moving. You will be practicing board breaks, forms and sparring. The various fighting patterns and sparing will increase help you maintain your weight by helping you burn calories. The nice thing is you can do a form or two whenever you want throughout the day.

The more intensely that you perform your forms the more calories you are going to burn and the more weight you can lose.

Even if you aren’t someone who needs to lose a few extra pounds Taekwondo will help you maintain your weight as you get older.

2) Taekwondo classes helps prevent diseases and health conditions

In Colorado Taekwondo Institute we workout hard. When you do a workout your body produces more “good Cholesterol” and it will help lower your bad triglycerides. This keeps your blood flowing smoothly and will decrease your chances of having cardiovascular problems later in life.

According to mayoclinic.com working out will help your body prevent several different problems such as stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and even some types of cancer. Make sure to get off of the couch!

3) Taekwondo classes can help improve your mood

After a bad day at work a Taekwondo class could be just the thing to get you feeling better. When you exercise you get several benefits to your mood through the release of various chemicals in your brain. These chemicals make you feel good. They are a sort of natural high.

In addition to the chemicals it always feels good after a bad day to punch a bag or break a board.

4) Lakewood Taekwondo practice boosts energy

Sometimes people get so out of shape that they get winded by everyday things. Things like carrying in the groceries or even just getting the mail can become chores that leave you out of breath. Taekwondo will help you to build muscles and you’ll see your endurance improving as well. 

The exercise will help more oxygen and nutrients get into your tissues and your cardiovascular system will begin to work better. When your cardiovascular system works better your energy levels will increase naturally and you won’t need the energy drinks or the coffee as often!

5) Taekwondo classes will help you get more sleep

When you are exercising regularly in your Taekwondo class your body will get to sleep more easily and you will find that your sleep is much better than it was before. Don’t practice your Taekwondo to close to your bedtime or you will find that you are unable to get to sleep because you have too much energy!

6) Taekwondo classes are fun

When you are in Taekwondo it isn’t like being at the gym. When you go to the gym you lift weights and get on tread mills. If you are like me you find those things tedious and boring. When you go to Taekwondo you are learning skills to keep yourself safe, you’re learning martial arts forms and sparring. I personally love to spar and I love to learn the forms.

For me Taekwondo is a lot more fun that moving my arm up and down over and over to inflict pain in my bicep to build muscle. Of course I am referring to lifting weights.

7) Taekwondo makes you look good too!

When you come to every class you will notice that your body really starts to get into shape. You will start to feel confident about the way you look and about the new things you’ll be able to do.

Taekwondo classes improve flexibility. If you are someone who has no chance of touching your toes then you might think that it is going to be impossible to throw a kick above your head. This is not true at all!

Through proper stretching exercises daily and through throwing kicks in your forms you too can be throwing kicks above your head in no time flat!

So the bottom line is that Taekwondo can really improve your life and the way you feel.

The Importance of Breathing, Consistency, and Mentors at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute

Often times martial arts, such as Taekwondo, Karate and Kung Fu, are thought about only for its martial arts benefits. Some people think the martial arts are only about fighting and they don’t fully understand there is much more to them than simply throwing punches and kicks, breaking boards, sparring and tournaments.

That aside there are a number of things you will learn when you join Colorado Taekwondo that will help keep you healthy and kicking high over your head for years and years to come!

One very important thing in any martial arts school is breathing techniques. Breathing properly will add power to your punches and kicks. When you initially start to do deep breathing techniques you might feel a little light headed, if that happens take a break. You will be fine your brain just isn't used to getting the amount of oxygen that it is getting from the deep breathing.

Deep breathing techniques will help you to detoxify your body as well. The deep breathing techniques will help you to get more oxygen into your blood. The high altitude of Colorado makes this even more important than at lower altitudes.

Your lymphatic system is also powered by your lungs and by body movement. Your lymphatic system can roughly be equated to your body’s sewer system. This is one of the reasons that a sedentary life style is so bad for people. If you aren't moving and you aren't breathing properly you are not pumping the toxins out of your body.

Another important practice at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute is practicing the techniques that you've learned. If you aren't improving your skills everyday then your skills are going backwards every day. Strive to improve every day.

When I joined my martial arts school I was clumsy and uncoordinated. I practiced every day and there were times when I was just getting beat up. I remember right after I got my first belt promotion, I was about to spar with an older gentleman in class. I thought, “I’m going to show this old man how good I am…” I proceeded to get beaten badly in the match but that is what happens when a huge ego is sparring with a high ranking black belt.

Over time I worked on my ego and my body and as a result, my body got stronger and my ego got weaker. None of this would have happened however if I hadn't been consistent in my training and if I wasn't willing to leave my arrogance at the door.

Colorado Taekwondo will teach you to be humble in your life but also confident in your abilities. It will take consistent effort to be able to develop your body to be able to do some of the amazing kicks in Colorado Taekwondo. Practice every day whether on your own or in the martial arts school is essential for becoming the best martial artist that you can be.

Team work is a good thing too. Get a work out buddy. Someone who will push you to be your very best and someone to practice with as well.

Another thing that I have found useful is having a number of different mentors. As I was going through the various belt ranks I of course had my instructor but I also had secret mentors. I watched people do there forms and I would take pieces of their forms and make them my own. For example, if someone had an amazing kick I would pay attention to what they did better than the next guy and I would try to copy it. In school copying isn’t ok but it is all fair game in a martial arts school.

Another type of mentor I took on was a sparring mentor. I got the most from doing this. There was one guy in my class who I thought was amazing when he sparred. I sparred him whenever possible and then after the match he would give me pointers on things I could do better.

This can translate into your life as well. All you need to do to get good at any skill in your life is get a practice partner and a mentor. Then practice every day doing the new skill that you are working on. Get honest feedback and improve. Over time through consistent effort whatever skill you are working on will improve.

MSK Pride in not Leaving a Job Unfinished!

By: Holly Madayag, 1st dan

We were at the Superbowl Tournament, our 40th one...

It was the end of class, we said, “Ho-Shin”
Then we bowed and stood up tall;
We all shook hands in unison
Then I stepped out of the workout hall.

I headed for the closet room
And reluctantly pushed open the door -
I pulled out the ‘ole Hoover vacuum
So I could quickly sweep the floor.

Push, pull, push -
Boy, my arms are sore!
Push, pull, push -
Vacuuming seems such a bore!

Dusty residue, whirring motor
Aching legs and back, it’s true!
Whenever will this be over?
I’ve got better things to do!

Just a small section of carpet left
Over that way toward the sign -
And, ugggh, the cord’s not long enough
It’s really no big deal – I’ll get it next time.

Who cares about that one small section?
The rest of the floor looks fine!
No one will even notice -
And I just don’t have the time!

Then, that night, as the stars came out
I fell quickly asleep and it did seem;
I had a momentous turn-about
All because of the strangest dream.

We were at the Superbowl tournament, our 40th one
Students gathering around;
We were all laughing, having fun
I could see us, but heard no sound.

My name was called, I stood up slow
Into the ring I stepped -
The tie-breaker poomse was Koryo
“I’ve got this,”  I thought.  “I’m confident and well-prepped.”

Sudo-makkis and sidekicks
Front kick foot position with pulled back toes
Re-chambering after every kick;
Steady as it goes.

Objective focus, loud kihaps
And a chamber hand so strong!
But, then, in just an instant -
Something had gone terribly wrong!

I froze on movement 39!
Only a small section of the poomse left to go
I can’t stop now, can’t NOT finish
Ohhhh noooo!

I went to the judges and I tried to plea
I begged so that sympathy they may feel -
But the center judge just looked at me
And said these words that seemed so real ….

“Strike, block, strike -
Your arms would have surely been too sore!
Strike, block, strike -
You’d certainly find the last six moves a bore!

It was just a small section of poomse
And you just couldn't finish, that’s true!
But, now it’s over -
And you probably have better things to do.

Who cares about the last six moves?
The rest of your poomse looked fine -
 It’s really no big deal –
You’ll get it next time.”

I awoke startled and dripping with sweat
My words had come back in a dream to haunt me;
I had left the unfinished portion of carpet
Which lead me to not finish Koryo completely. 

I thought back to my attitude about vacuuming -
And realized it had been so poor.
Cleaning the school should be done with honor
No matter how tired – no matter how sore!

Moo Sul Kwan teaches us that perfect practice is key
So the same applies to cleaning our school -
We must strive to do it
PERFECTLY!

And, now, because of that dream
I have learned and now I can say -
That vacuuming the school is equally as important
As practicing our tradition – our poomse.

“Wax on, wax off” as they say in the movies
And, you know, it’s really true -
Take initiative in cleaning the school!
It is the ultimate display of respect for what we do.

I’ll no longer look at vacuuming as just another chore
That’s really not the case;
When you break it down- it’s so much more.
It represents the highest regard for our cherished dojang space.

So, next time in that workout hall
When you notice clean lines and a carpet unblemished -
You’ll know it’s because a student who takes pride in Moo Sul Kwan
Didn't leave a job unfinished!

What Kind of Workout are Your Getting?

By: Rob Sarche, red belt, M.D.

As Colorado Taekwondo Institute participants we have all had the opportunity to enjoy vigorous and spirited workouts, but just how good of a workout are you getting?  How does Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo, that we practice at the CTI, compare to other forms of exercise?  With this kind of a workout, how can we keep well-hydrated?  These are some of the questions that the Littleton and Westminster CTI Campuses sought to answer this fall.  Willing participants were studied to determine fluid losses, hydration status and caloric expenditures during a typical MSK workout that included sparring.

Participants were weighed after voiding and prior to the workout.  Weights of the two types of MSK uniforms were pre-measured dry.  Those participants who bought their own water had their water weighed before and after the workout, and they did not drink from the water fountain. 

Those who hydrated using the water fountain were timed, and the water consumption was estimated from a formula that was determined by measuring the output of the water fountain, as compared to the average amount of water that users let spill into the basin of the fountain while drinking.  Participants were blinded to this arm of the study so as to decrease the chances that they hydrated differently because they knew the were being observed.  Heart rates were measured at rest and frequently during all phases of the workout.  Caloric expenditures were estimated using a formula that considers participants exertional heart rate, resting heart rate, age, and sex.  Patients were weighed after participation to determine fluid loss, and that value was off-set by the weight of the fluid that each participant consumed in the form of drinking water, and the weight of the post-workout uniforms for black belt uniforms and lower belt uniforms, as measured in select participants and then extrapolated to the average participant. There were 26 participants in the study, with 16 males and 10 females that ranged in age from 12 to 54 years old. 

In typical CTI fashion, we worked out hard.  We sweated...lots.  No fluid was lost in the form of blood or tears.  No participants went into the bathroom during the workout.  The average fluid loss per participant was almost 4 pounds of water.  The sixteen participants that drank water from the water fountain ended the workout with a fluid deficit of 55 ounces each, and drank, on average, a total of only three ounces of water per participant.  The ten participants that brought their own water ended the work out with an average fluid deficit of 11 ounces, and drank an average of 19 ounces of water. 

The formal work out lasted for 105 minutes.  We indirectly measured caloric expenditures and looked at those results as a function of the participant’s skill level and age.  The participant’s gender was considered in calculating the calories burned. 

The white, yellow, orange belts burned an average of 813 calories each.  

The green and blue belts burned an average of 909 calories each.  

The purple, brown and red belts burned an average of 916 calories each.

Adult black belts burned an average of 1,185 calories each.

Adolescent black belts burned an average of 671 calories, where as the adolescent lower belts burned an average of 611 calories per participant. 

The combined classes burned the energy equivalent of 7.1 pounds of fat.

The 26 participants lost a total of 102 pounds of water in the form of sweat and evaporative losses.

The black belts were 32% more effective at burning calories than lower belts, and as the skill level of the participant increased, so did the caloric expenditures.  

The fact that we burned so much fat and lost so much fluid was not as surprising as the finding that participants who brought their own water were 84% better hydrated at the end of the workout, than those of us that relied upon hydrating from the drinking fountain.  Efficiency in burning calories, performance and recovery is expected to be better in well-hydrated participants.

Many interesting observations were made during our study, such as that the participants skill increases, so does the efficiency of the work-out.  The more experienced students were not necessarily better at hydrating than the less experienced participants, even though they had higher fluid losses. CTI instructors are very good at reminding students to hydrate well, but we should all consider the serious need to keep well hydrated when we participate in all day events such as expositions, camp and symposiums. Most participants did not drink enough water. Mr. Murphy was an exception to this, as he was the only participant who replaced all of his considerable fluid losses. He also taught us that hydrating with room temperature water allows for quicker and more comfortable hydration, as compared to drinking ice water.  

The Colorado Taekwondo Institute provides a safe, sustainable and increasingly beneficial exercise regimen.  Though other forms of exercise can allow opportunities to burn as many calories as MSK Taekwondo, such as running and swimming, few of these forms of exercise offer the additional benefits of MSK Taekwondo.  Moo Sul Kwan practitioners have progressive increases in their fitness level while learning practical self-defense, increasing strength, flexibility, speed, and coordination.  Mental benefits include building confidence, cognitive skills, perseverance, discipline, respect, expanding ones horizons and building community. 

Burning calories helps us to maintain healthy body weights and increase our fitness levels, but this is only one of the many benefits of Moo Sul KwanTaekwondo, most of which can not be quantified.