An Upper Belt Weekend Workout: the 27th MSK Black Belt Symposium

All brown belts and above mark your calendars for the 27th MSK Black Belt Symposium, to be held October 13-15, 2023 at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, Colorado. The theme of this exciting weekend is going to be “Shaping the Future!” as we are celebrating our 40th year of teaching in Colorado. 

The Moo Sul Kwan Black Belt Symposium began in 1995 and was designed to be an Expo-like weekend  devoted solely to the training of our upper belts and instructors. Over the years, the MSK Black Belt    Symposium has taken place at different places, and this year we will train in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado at Beave Run Resort! 

Symposium participants will strengthen their Moo Sul Kwan techniques and strategies with hard work and top focus throughout the weekend. Development of CTI teaching and leadership concepts also takes place.  

All registration can be done online and found here: coloradotaekwondo.com/register-for-an-event

All Black, Red and Brown belts are encouraged to attend the Symposium! If you have any questions, please talk to your instructor!

Leading the Way at the 26th MSK Symposium

By Abbey Salamera, 2nd dan

The 26th Moo Sul Kwan Black Belt Symposium took place on October 7-8, 2022, at Alameda International High School in Lakewood, Colorado. Nearly a hundred Moo Sul Kwan black, red, and brown belts gathered during this two-day event to train in classes and seminars to strengthen their understanding of Moo Sul Kwan martial arts. According to Great Grandmaster Park (who brought Moo Sul Kwan Martial Arts tothe United States) and his Model Concept, these upper belts and instructors should concentrate on strategies of movements and techniques of teaching for program instruction, respectively; the MSK Symposium gave these students an opportunity to focus on these elements of their training through the theme of the event: “Leading the Way.”

“Leading the Way” serves to be important for all MSK Taekwondo students, especially as the participants of the Symposium grow into the leaders of the school. The upper belts and instructors take the knowledge they’ve learned at the Symposium and pass it down through classes, assistant teaching, mentoring, and other opportunities to collaborate at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute. Participants trained extremely hard on Friday evening and during the day on Saturday as they improved their skills in poomse, sparring, one-steps, self-defense, and more. The Symposium culminated in a banquet at Alameda International High School for a night of entertainment, food, and fun!

The first class that Symposium participants embarked on was poomse. Each class was given the opportunity to practice each poomse that they know, and do each one of them to the best of their ability. Each participant was given a sheet of paper with these poomse names and marked down every time they made a mistake on the poomse. Given the fact that perfect practice makes perfect, a mistake on a poomse resulted in practicing that same poomse five times to ensure that it would be done correctly with the best technique. All participants collectively did so much poomse in just the first couple hours of the evening.

Both days of the Symposium ended in sparring seminars between all the participants. Students and instructors from all CTI campuses were able to spar one another, no matter the difference in age, rank, and ability. This gave participants the opportunity to practice their skills on new opponents as they improved their speed, blocking, spin moves, fakes, footwork, and all techniques that create a good sparrer. At the end of the day, respect and sportsmanship amongst the participants filled the gym of Alameda International High School to reflect the qualities of a Moo Sul Kwan black belt.

After the two-day event, MSK students were able to develop their CTI teaching and leadership and concepts for their physical and mental training. The many hours of training made an impact to progress students towards their next belt and become better Taekwondo students that embody the values of Moo Sul Kwan. With an emphasis on increasing both athletic and academic knowledge, the 26th Moo Sul Kwan Black Belt Symposium was able to fulfill both of these aspects for MSK students to continue leading the way.

24th MSK Black Belt Symposium

This year's MSK Black Belt Symposium, was a three day event that took place at the Inn at SilverCreek in Granby, Colorado.  It was excellent!

Symposium participants trained extremely hard in poomse, sparring, one-step sparring, breaking, staff, self-defense and other areas of Moo Sul Kwan martial arts.  The weekend began with poomse training for everyone on Friday evening.  Saturday began at 6:00 AM with black belt advanced exercise.  The day's seminars and classes continued until 4:00 PM.

On Saturday evening, everyone, including many family members and friends, took part in the Symposium Banquet and Party which showcased the gameshow "Are You Smarter than a Junior 1st dan?", music by our own black belt band Moo Sul Rock, a movie on our recent parade participation in Littleton, photos from the recent MSK Summer Expo and more.

The theme of the weekend, "Beyond the Expected", was  evident in each of the classes.   A special obstacle was thrown in the was of the students - they were blindfolded for part of each of their classes.  Performing without sight proved to be very challenging, with everyone learning a lot about balance, posture and much, much more!

Some Symposium blurbs:

Peyton Brauch, 3rd dan says, "I would recommend the Symposium because it helps instructors, future instructors, and assistants gain new perspectives about Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo and on how to lead others."

Averie Chavez, brown belt, says, "The  best part about the  Black Belt Symposium was being blind folded breaking boards I learned at the symposium a few moves poomse and sparing judging I would recommend the symposium because it is really nice to learn you get to have lots of fun and being with other brown belts red belts  and black belts. "

Eileen Lindner, 3rd dan, says, "My favorite part of the symposium was talking with the other tiger teachers, working on improving our instruction.  I also always enjoy staff work.  I would recommend the symposium because upper belt training is invaluable.  Spending time with upper belts in a totally different environment builds our community even more, and there is always a surprise!"

Deb Denny, 1st dan, says, "My favorite CTI event is the annual Black Belt Symposium.  I find that there is plenty of content and it is impossible not to improve your skills.   Classes focus on breaking down fundamentals, as well as learning advanced techniques.  Learning in an environment with so many upper level black belts in one place insures that there is always someone available to assist with anything you need help with, and in turn improves your skills with assisting other students.   The atmosphere is electric with high levels of enthusiasm."

The Symposium was led by Moo Sul Kwan / AMASEA masters including;  Grandmaster Jim Sautel, Grandmaster Mindy Sautel, Grandmaster John Sautel, Master Erik Albrechtson, Master Alice Meyung and Master Clayton Garner.   Other Symposium instructors were:  Andy McDaniel, 4th, Dustin Wheeler, 4th, Bridget Sautel, 4th, Abdu Kikhia, 4th, Michael Sandusky, 4th, Collin Kreutz, 3rd, Tyler Murphy, 3rd, Peyton Brauch, 3rd and Eileen Lindner, 3rd.

Black Belt Symposium a Smash!

The 22nd Moo Sul Kwan Black Belt Symposium took place October 13 - 15 at The Inn at SilverCreek in Granby, Colorado.  The largest symposium group ever assembled, spent the intensive three day weekend training in classes and seminars on Moo Sul Kwan Martial Arts.  The special weekend, devoted to the training of Moo Sul Kwan black, red and brown belts, was the 22nd straight year that black and brown belt students got together in the mountains for their own special weekend.

Training in sparring, poomse, one-step sparring, breaking, tournament judging, teaching concepts and much more were covered.  Classes began on Friday evening and concluded on Sunday at noon.  Each day started out with a 6:00 AM workout with Grandmaster Sautel, followed by classes until lunch time.  After lunch and some group photos, excellent afternoon classes took place. 

In the evening, the Symposium Banquet started promptly at 6:00 PM.
Great food and fun entertainment provided by the black belts made for an excellent evening.  There was music, games and even a stand-up comedian performing to the delight of the crowd!

On Sunday, everyone was up early working hard in the pre-dawn workout and the many classes that followed.  Everyone pushed hard till the very end - which was sparring - where they pushed even harder!

The theme of this year's MSK Black Belt Symposium was - "Back to the Future III".  Focus was on the foundation of Moo Sul Kwan martial arts and the principles of movement and strategy.  The Symposium teaching Staff led by Grandmaster James M. Sautel included excellent leaders; Mindy Sautel, 6th dan, John Sautel, 6th dan, Erik Albrechtson, 6th dan, Alice Meyung, 5th dan, Clayton Garner, 5th dan, Andy McDaniel, 4th dan, Dustin Wheeler, 4th dan, Abdu Kikhia, 4th dan, Bridget Sautel, 4th dan, Brian Steward, 4th dan and Brian Steward, 4th dan.

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!

20th MSK Black Belt Symposium

"Back to the Future II"

By Kelsey Smith, 1st dan

Symposium is one of my favorite events of the year- like Expo, it's a weekend dedicated to hard work, sweat and breaking down our advanced techniques.  But unlike Expo, where there's the race and more classes focusing on basics, our black belt martial arts convention is where the upper belts really start to feel the pressure being put upon them to become leaders and hardworking black belts.

"This weekend is about work," Grandmaster Sautel told us on Friday. And he was right.  We started off the classes with all of the upper belts and black belts warming up together, led by Mr. Kikhia.  Once we were loose and ready to go, we jumped right into breaking down poomse, move by move.  Like chipping away at a statue, the instructors chipped away at each detail of the poomse moves, getting everything from finger positioning to precise counts and timing on each move.

The theme of the weekend was "Back to the Future II". And as much fun as the allusions to the classic movie were, the message was clear- everything we were learning, every  move we were tweaking, fixing, adjusting, was to pave the way to create a more unified idea of what each poomse and one step was to look like, and in turn, create a more unified school.  If each instructor taught each poomse exactly the same way (same count,  same moves, etc) our group would become that much stronger.

 It was amazing breaking things down and getting to the bare bones of the poomse and one steps.  But what was even more amazing was the anticipation of seeing how the upper belts, instructors and Master instructors used what they gleaned from class in their daily training, and how they would apply it in their classes, whether they were teaching, assisting or working out.

The second day of classes began with a CTI Power Taekwondo session.  If you're an upper belt and you've not yet had the chance to experience a CTI Power Taekwondo workout, I highly recommend doing it the first chance you get.  Nowhere else will you get as amazing an experience as weaving and dodging past black belts, all the while kihaping with all the spirit and power you can muster.  Kicking and stretching up and down the ballroom with the Master instructors, all the while being urged on harder by your peers; as far as mornings go, I wish all of mine could start with as much energy and dynamic power as that one.

That evening after classes was the banquet, the first chance of the weekend to unwind, relax and have fun.  "Moo Sul Idol" was two parts hilarious and one part pure talent- it really goes to show you what a talented, outgoing group we have at CTI.  Kids and adults alike, of all colored belts went up and sang their hearts out for the judges and the audience.  It was so exciting to see some of the shyer kids come out of their shells and sing in front of everyone.

The final day rose and began with black belts practicing staff poomse and one-steps, followed by a final class before the big promotion test.  As the testers went in to give it their all, the rest of the group came into the ballroom a final time for a huge sparring class.  Everyone had a chance to spar anyone they wanted, and later rings were created to allow the younger kids to try out judging sparring rings.  By the time we had finished, we had all been sparring for nearly two hours!

The test finished up, and we all rejoined together in the ballroom for the closing ceremonies.  Grandmaster Sautel and Master Sautel commended us for our hard work, and reminded us once again why we were all there- to be the very best black belts, instructors and leaders we could possibly be.  To take all that we had learned, and push it towards the future, not just for ourselves, or our individual campuses, but for us as a whole, the CTI family!

MSK Black Belt Symposium Stays on the Crest

The 19th MSK Black Belt Symposium was a tremendous weekend of education for our Moo Sul Kwan upper belts!  A Symposium record number of  instructors and assistant instructors converged at the Inn at SilverCreek in Granby, Colorado, October 10 - 12, for three days of seminars and classes.

The theme of the 19th Symposium was "Tsunami Time," referring to the continued wave of success that has been enjoyed by the instructors and students so far this year.  The CTI Black Belt Team, recently back from South Korea, the fantastic MSK Summer Expo, the exciting Camp MSK '14, the record breaking 40th CTI Superbowl and the other fantastic events preceding this year's symposium has had everyone operating at a high level.  The symposium participants took the theme and pushed hard throughout the weekend, continuing to ride this huge have of success.

The 19th MSK Symposium began on Friday evening with a special CTI Power Taekwondo workout that got everyone well warmed up!  Symposium participants got a taste of how the black belts train for sparring and enjoyed the lengthy, focused session.  Friday evening finished with lots of good work on self-defense techniques.

Saturday began at 6:00 AM for black belts who worked on poomse and staff poomse.  After a red belt workout, everyone participated in Sparring, Taegeuk and Chang-Hon poomse, and breaking with a concentration in judging technique.  After lunch, special evaluations were given to the participants lasting several hours which included; exercise, basics, poomse, one-step sparring, self-defense and board breaking.  To finish off the afternoon, each Campus practiced their Saturday evening demonstrations with the black belt band.  Then, it was time for rest.

Black Belt Nine played music for the Saturday Symposium Party as the tasty dinner was winding down.  The band, made up of nine MSK black belts, entertained everyone, including playing for each of the Campus Demonstrations.  Each Campus did an excellent job with their demos!  Also during the night, Dustin Wheeler, 4th dan, was recognized for his dedication to the CTI mission of education and MSK martial arts.

Sunday morning began with some black belt training in poomse and basic MSK Hapkido.  Instructor, Assistant Instructor and Campus Coordinator training classes followed taught by Masters Mindy Sautel, John Sautel and Erik Albrechtson.

Symposium Leaders:  Jim Sautel, 7th, Mindy Sautel, 6th, John Sautel, 6th, Erik Albrechtson, 5th, Freddy Sautel, 4th, Alice Meyung, 4th, Clayton Garner, 4th, Dustin Wheeler, 4th, Andy McDaniel, 3rd, Bridget Sautel, 3rd, Abdu Kikhia, 3rd and Michael Sandusky, 3rd.

To find out what a wonderful time it was, speak to someone who attended!

Get Ready For Symposium!

The 19th MSK Black Belt Symposium starts this Friday evening! The event is being hosted at the Inn at SilverCreek, just outside of Granby, Colorado. Click here for a map to the hotel. 

Check-in will be between 5:00 and 6:00pm this Friday, with classes and advanced training to follow. 

Everyone is "riding the wave of success" that has been created from these incredible events in each and every class. attended  With the amazing amount of experiences gained so far this year, it's not just a wave but a Tsunami of success that we are negotiating!

Talk to your instructor if you have any questions. See you up there!

19th Moo Sul Kwan Black Belt Symposium

"Ride the Tsunami"

The 19th MSK Black Belt Symposium is slated for October 10 - 12, at the Inn at SilverCreek!

The three days of upper belt training will help our brown, red and black belts with their advanced techniques, strategies and teaching in the Moo Sul Kwan martial arts.

The theme of this year's 19th MSK Black Belt Symposium is, "Riding the Tsunami."  2014, has been incredible and record breaking!  This year's major events, the CTI Superbowl, the All-City Championships, Camp MSK '14, MSK Summer Expo XXX, the CTI Black Belt Team World Tour '14 and the recent 25th DMAC have taken the students in our CTI Campuses to new and exciting levels in their training.

Everyone is "riding the wave of success" that has been created from these incredible events in each and every class. attended  With the amazing amount of experiences gained so far this year, it's not just a wave but a Tsunami of success that we are negotiating!

 There will be loads of information for our upper belt participants and lots of training!  Heading the Symposium staff are Grandmaster James M. Sautel, Master Mindy Sautel, Master John Sautel and Master Erik Albrechtson.

Make your reservations now!

Click here for more information.

Click here to pre-register.  (Pre-registration is the only way to sign up for this special event.)

18th MSK Black Belt Symposium

This year's Symposium was fantastic!  Moo Sul Kwan upper belts got together at the Inn at SilverCreek in Granby, Colorado, for a three day weekend of training and fun.

The AMASEA and Moo Sul Kwan provide its instuctors and future instructors consistant education and training in their martial art.  The American Martial Arts Sports and Education Association was founded by Great Grandmaster Lee H. Park, founder of Moo Sul Kwan in the United States in 1981, to further the expertise of its instructors.

The past seventeen Symposiums have been held at different incredible places in Colorado, from Winter Park to the UCCS Campus, to Breckenridge and more.  This year's annual special upper belt event took place on October 11 - 13.

The theme of the 18th Moo Sul Kwan Black Belt Symposium was, "Again and Again."  There were seminars classes in advanced kicking, poomse, teaching, staff, self-defense, sparring and much more.  Events, such as the Symposium Adventures V and the Symposium Saturday Night Banquet kept everyone filled with many experiences!

This year's MSK Black Belt Symposium staff included; Grandmaster James M. Sautel, Master Merinda J. Sautel, Master John T. Sautel and Master Erik R. Albrechtson.

Our own black belt band, Hoshinmotion, played at the Saturday evening Symposium Banquet.  Between songs, special CTI World Tour Etiquette Commercials were shown featuring the theme, "Etiquette in South Korea" to the delight of the crowd.

The next CTI event is the annual Lee H. Park Team Championships in December.  It will be our 5th CTI Hanmadang and is at Alameda International High School.

Sweet Time at the Symposium

The 17th Moo Sul Kwan Black Belt Symposium was a fine success!  A record number of black, red and brown belts converged on the Inn at SilverCreek in Colorado, for an upper belt training weekend that included classes:  poomse, sparring, judging, self-defense, advanced hand techniques, one-step sparring, CTI Power Taekwondo, the American National Anthem and advanced kicking.

The Symposium Teaching Staff included MSK/AMASEA instructors; Jim Sautel, 7th, Mindy Sautel, 6th, John Sautel, 6th, Erik Albrechtson, 5th, Karen McHugh, 4th, Freddy Sautel, 4th, Clayton Garner, 4th, Alice Meyung, 4th, and Dustin Wheeler, 4th, Abdu Kikhia, 3rd and Michael Sandusky, 2nd.

The weekend began on Friday evening with classes that went until 9:00 PM.  Saturday began at 6:00 AM with black belt exercise.  Red and brown belts started their day at 7:00 AM.  Symposium classes took place until lunchtime and the Symposium Adventures IV followed.  Fourteen teams competed on a race that took them all over.  From the Inn at SilverCreek to the town of Granby and in between, the teams battled each other on some challenging stations.

This year, each five member team chose an American National Monument or Memorial for its team name.  Frisbee golf, group poomse, air hockey, breaking, one-step sparring, counting points on antlers, team poomse, self-defense, push-ups, football toss and sit-ups were just some of the tasks they had to perform.

Dinner began at 6:00 PM and this year's Symposium entertainment came next.  To everyone's delight, several of our black belts played games of "CTI Family Feud."  Hosted by Abdu Harvey (Kikhia), everyone had a wonderful time watching and laughing with the action and cheering for their favorite family.

Sunday began at 6:00 AM for the black belts with sparring training.  Classes for everyone began at 7:00 AM and went until the final class, which was sparring for the entire group.  The Symposium ended with the group picture and the Amazing Race IV awards!

Other Black Belt participants who attended:  Andy McDaniel, Bridget Sautel, Brian Steward, Knisely Sautel, Patrick Vargo, Thomas Sautel, Annie Sautel, Erik Ondrejko, Eric Evans, Alicia Leone, Eilidh Spery, Delaney Zandin, Abbey Watkins, Sierra Field, Pam Sautel, Caleb Feagans, Michael Madayag, Kathleen Sautel, Maggie Wingate, Emily Brophy, Don Johnson, Jordan Garner, Sean Lawlor, Coghan Spery and McKenna Louth.

Under black belt participants who trained:  Holly Madayag, Eileen Lindner, Zach Greaves, Eric Bear, Kai Wong, Damian Rupp, Jack Eddy, Jocelyn Wallen, Nate Watkins, Alyssa Copper, Tanner Copper, Andrew Madayag, Casey Feagans, Tyler Murphy, Emma Hartmann, Justin Lautrup, Peyton Brauch, Lexi Johannes, Kyle Feagans, Allyse Nothstine, Jennifer McKernan, Karen Carreon, Marcy Feagans, Ethan Price, Anna Sparlin, Nathaniel McKernan, Thomas Ma, Trevor Koch, Theo Lincke, Julianne Todd, Natasha McKernan, Owen Hartmann, Kenneth Brancio, Carl Gibbons, Calvin Bishop and Effie Gibbons.

Symposium Time in October

The 17th Moo Sul Kwan Black Belt Symposium is taking place this year at the Inn at SilverCreek near Granby, Colorado.  The MSK Symposium is hosted by the Colorado Taekwondo Institute and is led by Grandmaster James M. Sautel, 7th dan.  Master Mindy Sautel, 6th dan, Master John Sautel, 6th dan and Master Erik Albrechtson, 5th dan.  Karen McHugh, 4th dan, Freddy Sautel, 4th dan, Clayton Garner, 4th dan and Alice Meyung 4th dan round out the Symposium Teaching Staff.

Advanced classes and events will begin on Friday evening and go until Sunday afternoon.  During the weekend, there will be events like the Symposium Adventures and the Saturday Evening Symposium Banquet.  Classes will range from advanced sparring and judging technique to teaching techniques and competition training and much more!

The theme of the weekend is, "Keep pushing," a favorite phrase of Great Grandmaster Lee H. Park, founder of Moo Sul Kwan and the AMASEA.  GGM Park thought it necessary for our upper belts to receive continuous training to stay sharp and improve - and during this weekend we will keep pushing for the future!

Any questions can be directed to your instructor about this special weekend.