CTI Black Belt Team - South Korea, Part 3

Day seven of the CTI Black Belt Team World Tour '14, started off with an incredible three or so mile morning run and workout.  Running through the streets of Jeju City in the early morning, the team jogged through the side streets lined with shops, food stores and countless businesses waking up and preparing for the day.  Along the way, the team stopped at a few small hidden spots and did poomse, broke a some boards and finished back at the hotel ready to begin another day of adventures!

It was off to the Jeju International Airport because it was time to fly to Gimhae International Airport in Busan, the largest port in the southeast tip of South Korea.  After arriving on the Korean mainland, the team headed off to a big seafood lunch and the famous Jagalchi Fish Market.  Seemingly every sea creature in the world was on display and ready to eat in a moment's notice!  Shopping was next at the Jagalchi Market with street after street of shop after shop - there was even shopping below ground level!

Another thing the team did in Busan was to visit the APEC House.  This special place was constructed specifically for a special summit for world leaders in November, 2005.  It's name is the Nurimaru Apec House (nuri - "world" and maru - "summit") and it looks out over the ocean and the city of Busan.

The next moring started out with some exercise on the beautiful grounds of the Kolon Hotel in Gyeongju.  There was a artifically turfed soccer field that worked perfectly for the team's sunrise workout.  After a wonderful breakfast, the team visited Bulguksa Temple and the Seokguram.  Then it was on to the Gyeongju National Museum.  There was so much to see about Korean history and culture at these sights filled with historical treasures.  Among the many fantastic items, the precepts of the Hwarang-do, carved on an ancient rock, was on display for everyone to see at the museum.  During the visit to the National Museum, several of our black belts had a lot of fun befriending many a group of Korean school teen.  They played frisbee, exchanged samples of US and Korean money, laughed and took selfies with each other.

Close by was beautiful Anajpi Royal Pavilon.  This was a hand built pond and play area for the ancient kings of the Silla Kingdom.  Also visted by the team was an area know as the King's Grave - tombs of the Silla Kingdom monarchs.

During the next day, the team headed northwest.  After a nice bus ride, including a stop at a Korean truck stop where a Native American trio was performing music for the South Koreans, the team made it to Muju, home of the brand new Taekwondowon.  We had a tour of this wonderful place of Taekwondo, which included a state of the art museum and the largest Taekwondo competition arena in the world.

After the visit to the Taekwondowon, the team returned to Seoul and immediately headed to the famous Seoul Tower.  This 777 foot tall tower looks out over the city of Seoul, and it was quite a sight!  After the tour to the top of the Seoul Tower, the team headed for dinner at a special place in downtown Seoul for their last evening in South Korea.

Following breakfast on the team's last day, they travelled to Yongin City and the Minsok Folk Village.  Everyone saw many interesting things dealing with how people lived in Korea in the past.  Highlighted at the folk village was the "Farmer's Dance", involving a troupe of athletic dancers, and a Korean National Treasure.  This treasure was not a thing, but an elderly man who performed incredible balance maneuvers on a rope that was high in the air!

Then it was on to Incheon International Airport, everyone eventually making it home with many stories to share.

This seventh stop on the CTI Black Belt Team World Tour was a resounding success and each member experienced and learned many things that will strengthen and enrich their training, teaching and their lives.

There are DVDs on the trip to South Korea.  Ask your instructor to put one on your television in your CTI Campus Lobby!

MSK Summer Expo XXX Recap!

This year's Moo Sul Kwan Summer Expo XXX was fantastic!   This year's Expo theme was, "Keeping it to the Grindstone."  The many different classes, seminars and events kept this important theme in mind.

From the moment students, instructors,family members and friends arrived at Beaver Run Resort in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado, the excitement, learning and fun began!  President of Moo Sul Kwan and the American Martial Arts Sports and Education Association, Charles F. Hildebrand was this year's special Expo XXX guest instructor.

The action began on Friday evening with a demonstration by members of the CTI Black Belt Team that is journeying to South Korea, later this month.  The demo was followed by the first round of Expo XXX classes.

MSK Expo XXX

Saturday began early with some 6:00 AM black belt training, followed by red belts at 7:00 AM.  Classes resumed at 8:00 and went through the day.  Classes included topics like; poomse, sparring, breaking, one-step sparring, self-defense, advanced training, a special Expo craft, art and so much more.

At each MSK Summer Expo, there are always special classes dedicated to parent education.  The Expo Parent Classes, taught by some of our highest instructors, were very well attended with classes involving; Parent's Self-Defense, Parent Cardio Workout, Parent to Parent Discussion and a lecture on What it Takes to Achieve a MSK Black Belt.

The annual Saturday evening Expo Banquet and Party took place with loads of fun and entertainment.  After a very tasty dinner, CTI Campus Expo Skits took place.  Always upping the ante, this year the Expo entertainment involved skits having
to do with the Black Belt Team trip to South Korea, using a famous play as a guide.  The first skit was based on Grease, by the CTI Golden Campus.  The next skits presented were based on West Side Story (Golden), Willy Wonka (Green Mountain), The Wizard of Oz (Westminster) and Annie (Conifer).

In between and after all the skits were performed, Bruce, Thomas and Black Belts in Plaid (our MSK black belt band) played music for everyone.

Sunday morning brought the Amazing Moo Sul Race 10!  Competitors were placed on teams and through a series of clues, made their way to the town of Breckenridge and back while performing all sorts of challenges.  The winning time was just over two hours.

Some of the other dynamic Expo Instructors include:  Master Merinda Sautel, Master John Sautel, Master Erik Albrechtson and 4th dans Freddy Sautel, Clayton Garner and Alice Meyung.

My New Life as a CTI Taekwondo Student

"I feel stronger mentally, physically and emotionally."

By Jayne Bognar, yellow belt

As a testing white belt in the Colorado Taekwondo Institute, martial arts has impacted my life in several, positive ways.  The most pervasive being the profound impact on my over-all well-being.  In addition to being twelve pounds lighter, I feel as though my “life’s’ load” no longer weighs me down as much.  I feel stronger mentally, physically, and emotionally.  The intense exercise provides me with the much needed cathartic release of stress from my career and external events.

Prior to CTI Taekwondo, I was experiencing, on average, four Migraine headaches per month as well as frequent tension headaches accompanied by neck and shoulder pain.  All aspects of this training have dramatically diminished the latter.  Now that I am engaging in a positive outlet to lower my stress, I am more able to manage my eating rather than use food to combat stress.

It is quite validating to have others recognize the changes in me since the inception of Taekwondo in my life. The most common theme is my calmer disposition as well as an increase in my self-confidence.  When others begin to notice, you must be doing something right!   I just feel as though I walk “taller” and have a greater sense of peace and awareness in my life.  Of course, there have been classes where I have just wanted to crawl in a hole due to that “stinking thinking” which can range from, “I hate being the fattest person in class,” to “Will I ever be able to get all the way through these jumping jacks?”  These moments are fewer and farther between as I tell myself that positive thoughts breed positive results!

Finally, being a new student Colorado Taekwondo Institute has provided me with a greater sense of empathy than before, for my students. Feeling like they will “never get it” is often a common theme that my special education students communicate to me.  I now can relate to them on a deeper level, as we often have conversations about these feelings that their teacher can truly identify with.  I believe I am a more effective teacher because of it.

In conclusion, I have found something that I feel committed to and offers me more than just great exercise.  It offers another group of people to whom I can feel connected, has increased my focus, decreased my stress, and just has made me a better person all around.  A person, whom I hope, people will see an “indomitable spirit.”

Why I Started

By Mike Pierce, yellow belt

My sole purpose for starting at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute at 55 is still now a mystery to me but one of the benefits has been weight loss.  Before CTI Taekwondo, cardiovascular exercise only took place  when I marched up the stairs and now it comes in the form of jumping jacks; a lot of jumping jacks.  The first time the warm ups started I thought that doing over 50 jumping jacks was sadistic but the number reached over 300 and I did not see a defibrillator nearby.  After about a month and a half I started to get the hang of it and noticed the benefits of increased stamina and a slimmer waist line.  I have now lost a total of 10 lbs. after 3 months of CTI Taekwondo and I am surprised at all the extra weight I had been concealing.

Going to CTI Taekwondo has been educational, humbling and exhausting but the benefits of getting to know some outstanding young and middle aged adults working in a disciplined environment has made the journey rewarding on many different levels.

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.

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.

Board Breaking Hints

By William R. Jones, 5th dan

From a class presented at MSK Summer Expo XXV.

Board breaking is a way for the MSK martial artist to gauge their ability to focus and create power.  You can note your improvement by the successful breaks

Blindfolded Black Belt Breaking a Board

and the techniques you use.  We are covering two types of breaks;  power breaking - boards supported by holders, and speed breaking -  unsupported targets. The following information will help you improve your ability to break, which will coincide with the enjoyment of breaking.

1:  Practice your kicks and your focus against a target.  Make the focus point small and at a good height, for your kick to be at its best.  Work on improving your speed by involving good hip movement, fast chamber, correct chamber and re-chamber.

2:  Work in front of a mirror to see your foot position and body movement.  You should be using the whole body to create movement to the break.   Your punches and kicks should be finishing in a horizontal or vertical plane to be in alignment with the grains of your boards.

3:  Practice with light targets that bend.  This will help you note the contact point on the boards.  Cardboard or dense foam will leave markings to see if you are hitting the right point on the board for an easier break.

4:  Pick your wood.  Look at grain, density, bowing of wood, and knots.  Prep your boards so not to injury your holders.

5:  If breaking multiple boards, make sure they are tight together, grains in the correct direction. Make sure the grains are in the right direction for your selected break.

6:  Set up and check your holders.  They should hold the boards where you want them.  Make holders turn their heads for their protection and decrease the flinch factor.

7:  Pick experienced and strong holders for power breaks, less experienced can be use for speed breaks.   Make sure holders for shorter students are in deep front stances to keep the arms arm parallel with floor not pointing down.

8:  Plan your breaks in advance, have yourself prepared for what you are doing.  Be ready as soon as you get your holders set.  Do not give them time to get tired or move out of position.  Don’t do several practice kicks while your holders are ready.

9:  Condition your hands and feet.  The sin on the knuckle area is not very thick and must be conditioned for hand breaks.  Condition knife hands so you have the strongest and tightest hand for the break.  Same with the feet, your foot must be ready and tight for the contact.

CTI Taekwondo: A Journey to 30 - Something Again

By Jim Intriglia, orange belt

“Hey Dad, want to go with us on a day hike to the Square Top summit by Guanella Pass? It'll be fun! So were the thoughts of my seventeen year-old son, Dakotah. It was my son’s birthday; he was looking for something unique and fun for us to do on this special day

I thought back in the not too distant past, when the family drove up to Mt. Evans one bright sunny day. Upon arrival at the summit of Mt. Evans, I stepped out of the car and took a few steps. It then occurred to me that I could barely breathe. After walking a short distance, I suddenly began to feel dizzy, and though I would pass out at any moment. I sat down and tried to catch by breathe and shake the feeling of dizziness that was growing worse by the minute.

When I last visited Mt. Evans, I was 49 years old, weighed 235 pounds and sported a 38 inch waist. With a BMI index over 30, I was considered obese for my height (6’ 0”) and in poor physical shape. I suffered from asthma and was just diagnosed with sleep apnea a few years before, due mostly to being obese. Skipping forward to the present day, at 53 years of age, I weigh 213 pounds, have a 36-inch waist, and a BMI of 28. So what changed? In 2009, I decided to get back in shape, so I joined the Colorado Taekwondo Institute (Conifer campus) and began training.

Fast-forward to the present day, and back to my son’s question as to whether I wanted to hike to Square Top, at  an elevation about 13,800 feet above sea level. The last time I had completed such a day hike in the high country, I was thirty-something and in much better shape. I tipped  the scales at only 190 pounds. “I dunno, son. I am in much better shape since I began Taekwondo two years ago, but I don't know if I am in any kind of shape to do even a short high-altitude day hike. What's the elevation at the top of “Square Top”?

“13, 800 ft,” my son replied, “but you don't have to hike all the way up to the top if you don't feel up to it.”. So off we went, accompanied by a good friend, his seven-year old son, and their trusty mountain-hiking St. Bernard, Gracie.

Arriving at the top of Guanella Pass, we parked the Jeep and had a look at the peak we were going to attempt to top that day.

“That looks to be a good half-day hike to the top”, I shared with our group. “It's actually a couple of hours hike... not very far; a good preparatory hike for a fourteener”, said Deron, our good friend and hike guide for the day.

Looking at the summit and the long trail to it, I thought of the last time I had successfully completed a day hike like this: ten or fifteen years ago.

It wasn't long before I was caught-up in all of the beauty that surrounded us as we hiked to the summit. After hiking about an hour, we arrived at the steep part of the ascent to Square Top. “Now it will get a little tougher”, our friend Deron observed. As we hiked toward the top, I was looking mainly down at the ground, figuring out where I should place my foot next to get a good grip on the ever-increasing slope.

As we ascended, my breathing was quickening, though my muscles were not all that stressed. My day pack didn't seem all that heavy, even after walking a mile or so on varying terrain. We still had a hour or so to go, and I was still concerned that I would not be in any kind of shape to make it all the way to the top.

“That wasn't so bad, was it Dad?”

Huh? What? I glanced at my watch and realized that an hour had passed. Wow - how time flies when you are having fun!

I was having no trouble breathing, the muscles in my legs were barely tired, and I had barely broken a sweat during our trek. Glancing up at my son, I realized we had nearly reached the summit.

“What's our altitude?” I asked. “13,400 ft; I scouted a path to the summit; it about a hundred yards ahead,” said Dakotah.

Three hours later, we were all back at our vehicles looking at where we had all been-- the summit of Square Top, Guanella Pass. This hike was a piece of cake compared to one of our typical Taekwondo workouts, I thought to myself.

From my trek in the mountains, I learned that my Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo training had conditioned me in mind, body and spirit, much more than I had expected. I surely would have never been able to complete such a day hike several years ago, before I began training at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute. I am thankful for the results I have achieved thus far, and look forward to getting into even better shape as I progress in the CTI Taekwondo program.

Some Things You Must Have!

By Jim Sautel, 7th dan

There's no way around it for Moo Sul Kwan Success.

Every worthwhile thing or endeavor has items that have got to be on the checklist to succeed.  For example, human beings have to have oxygen.  Cars need gas or a gas-substitute to operate.  Basketballs need baskets.

In class the other night, it happened again.  Students in the junior black belt class were blasting their basics out.  They were sharp and crisp. . . they were strong and refined for where they were at - and that feeling hit me again.  That feeling of knowing that basics is something that we just have to have in our MSK martial arts for success.  Basics are - Essential things.  Primary things.   Indispensable things.  Elemental things.  Critical things.

In Moo Sul Kwan martial arts we have to have basics.  Just as a fish needs water, just as a bird needs feathers, and just as a bear needs hair, we need the constant presence of MSK basics in our training.

With constant thought and training given to basics, successes are guaranteed.  We reach different layers of understanding, complex and unattainable without good strong basics.

Being successful in any area in life requires some elemental blocks, or must have a primary foundation to be present for success.  In MSK Taekwondo, it feels good to be strong in the basics.  We need and want the drilling of  basic techniques and exercises because we know what it takes to reach the outer limits.

Notice how wonderful it feels when we get back to “regular” class after our competitions and events. Dynamic Moo Sul Kwan students instinctively look forward to the good, hard basic routine after such adventures.  Want success, keep doing your basics!

Masters Seminars a Kick!

By: Taryn Dwyer, orange belt

One of the foundations of Colorado Taekwondo Institute is continuous learning.  This is evident in the fact that once you become a black belt you are not considered a master of Taekwondo, but rather a master of the Basics.  Learning never ends and you can never know it all.  I think that this is one of the things that draw students of all ages to the martial arts, and to Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo in particular. 

The CTI does an amazing job of fostering this desire to always be learning by offering its students numerous opportunities to learn.  Not only are there classes held five days or more a week, there are tournaments four times a year, a 3-day Expo in the Summer, as six-day Camp MSK and even other camps and clinics.  In addition, the CTI occasionally holds seminars that allow students from all of the campuses to come together to learn more about a particular aspect of their study. 

On January 22, the CTI held two such Masters Seminars at the Green Mountain Campus, Poomse & Target Kicking.  The event was advertised as an event for “all belt levels”.  As an adult lower belt myself, I am often nervous about such things because I have an unfounded fear that I will arrive the morning of the seminar and find myself in a room of upper belt students or a room of Tigers.  This was not the case at all.  The participants in the seminars ranged from brand new Tigers, to adult white belts who had just started their studies a couple of weeks prior, to master instructors.  

We started the first seminar much like we start every class and every promotion test, with warm-ups and stretching.  Then we began the Poomse part of our training for the day.  I honestly had no idea what to expect.  I did not know if the instructors were going to break down our highest Poomse with us or if they were going to teach us new moves.  What I was not expecting was for the instructors to start breaking down the ready stance, or Chunbi Chasi.  The second rule of Poomse Training is “In assuming the ready stance be calm, cautious, and courageous.”  I had memorized it months ago and I recited it in promotion tests and in class on numerous occasions, but I had never really given it much thought.  We listened to Grandmaster Sautel talk about it and then as a group we practiced our ready stance.  And then we practiced some more.  It really made me stop and think about what I was doing and realize that there really is a reason for everything we do in class.   

After a few more practice rounds we split into groups based on age and belt rank and were assigned a black belt instructor to work with.  I really enjoyed this part of the seminar because not only did we get to meet other students who were at the same point in their studies as we were, but we got to work with other instructors.  I know that I am partial to the instructors at my own campus, as I am sure we are all, but I always enjoy the opportunity to work with other instructors when the opportunity presents itself.  It is always interesting to get a new perspective on our moves and fresh eyes to help us know what we need to work on.  We again worked on our Ready Stance and then progressed to another rule of Poomse training, “In turning, look first, then turn.”  Sounds simple enough, but I was amazed how often I was not doing it.  Out instructor started with our most basic Poomse, Four-Directional Punch and we worked on looking and then turning.  The simplest thing, but it makes such a big difference.  We went on like this, working on one small part of out training and then putting all those small things together.  Then we did something that I have never done before, we had to do a poomse with out right hand (or left hand) behind our backs.  Just when I thought I really knew what I was doing they helped me realize just how much more I had to learn.  At the end of the Poomse seminar each group had to get up and perform a Poomse in a way that they had never done it before.  Some had to do it with their eyes closed, some with one hand behind their back, and others had to do it mirror image of their group.  It was a great end to a great experience.  We all took a short break, grabbed our targets, and got ready for the second half of our day.

The next part of the day focused on Target Kicking.  After a second warm up and some more stretching, we were again broken into groups based on age and belt rank.  This part of the day was slightly different.  We stayed in the same groups, but we rotated through different stations and got to work on different skills with different black belts.  We started working on some basic kicks that I had done in class before and learning how to hold the targets for our partners.  It was something I really enjoyed learning about because now my kids and I can practice at home together.  We also got feedback on our form and learned how to improve out accuracy and power.  We then progressed to some more advanced kicks that were new to me and challenged me a great deal.  It was great to be able to spend so much time dedicated to an area that we usually do not get to spend a whole lot of time on in class.  Other rotations included “sparring’ against a bag and working on timing of our kicks using a target and a swinging belt.  It was a challenging afternoon and I left feeling like I had learned a lot and pushed myself farther than I would have thought possible.  We ended this part of the seminar with a demonstration by some of the black belts of some advanced breaks.  It was motivating and entertaining at the same time.

Overall the seminars were an amazing experience and I am so glad that I pushed myself and attended them.  I returned to class the following week feeling energized and reinvigorated and anxious to incorporate what I had learned into my work in class.  If you were not able to attend the Poomse & Target Kicking Seminars, or did not know if they were really right for you, I highly recommend that you make a point of attending them the next time they are offered.  It is a great opportunity to learn more about Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo and improve your skills beyond what you would be able to learn just by attending class.  I would like to thank CTI for continuing to offer programs that push us to become stronger athletes and better people.