Merry Christmas from the Las Vegas Taekwon-Do Club!

Merry Christmas from LVTKD! Christmas was great- I loved watching people open their gifts, opening my own gifts, doing Christmas-y things and doing Taekwon-Do! Since it's Friday, I had Taekwon-Do- even though it is a holiday- by myself, because no one else wanted to come. Later, though, after doing all the patterns and Free Sparring Patterns except #10 and my black belt patterns, my dad and fellow Taekwon-Doin came over and I taught him his new techniques and the pattern Won-Hyo- he and my brother Roman both got their green belts! Then after that, I finished up the patterns and did some kicks on pads, and then ran, crab walked, and duck walked back and forth a few times, then stretched and ended my class at 5:30 as usual. Not to brag or anything, but I am proud to say that I love Taekwon-Do so much that I wanted to do it on Christmas! Also, for Christmas I got a few Taekwon-Do presents- a movie called Tae Kwon Do: Presented by Bob Wall that shows an interview with General Choi Hong-Hi and some exercises that he does, as well as some other TKD guys doing patterns and breaking and more (it's worth owning, but it has really bad editing), a book called 'A Killing Art: The Untold History of Tae Kwon Do' (that talks about the creation of ITF and WTF Taekwon-Do, and some other TKD stuff) and a shelf that I can move all my Taekwon-Do books on and my some of my trophies (they might double as good book ends!), and there is room for other stuff as well. And for the rest of my family, my little sister Jessi (the Taekwon-Do baby) got a doll with a martial arts uniform and some belts. It comes with all the Taekwon-Do belts, as well as an additional purple belt, brown belt, and orange belt. (she can use those non-TKD belts to tie up the girl's hair!) and she likes the extra outfit that comes with it -just normal clothes. And I got my dad a book called Mind Manipulation, and another book about the same thing, that tells of how to use your opponents' minds against them in martial arts and in life. He says it is good so far! I made Master Bosse a LVTKD logo, painted on wood, and we all got him 'A Killing Art' as well- I hope that it is a good book! But with Master Bosse reading it, we will find out if it tells the truth or not! And, of course, I got and gave some other cool stuff, too, but I'm not going to post that- this is a Taekwon-Do blog, not a Christmas website!

Well, Merry Christmas to All and to All a Taekwon!
Patricia

How to Do the Splits- Easy

Picture One: Me doing the Russian Splits
Picture Two: Me doing the Chinese Splits


First of all, if you are/get injured when trying to do the splits, then this does not apply to you. And no, if the stretching hurts, then then still DOES apply to you-you are just not flexible enough.

1. Practice them at a set time every day- just do a little beyond what you are comfortable with, hold it there for a few seconds, and you're done. A minute every day is worth it!
2. For the Chinese Splits keep your feet flat on the ground- it stops your legs from bending at the knees, thus helping you do a true split. If you don't do this, your legs will naturally bend slightly, no matter if you can do the splits all the way down or not.
3. Ever notice how you can do splits better after you have practiced Taekwon-Do? Loosening up helps you be able to stretch more.
4. Doing all the exercising in Taekwon-Do helps you become more flexible- before I took Taekwon-Do, I could not even touch my toes! Now I can put my hands flat on the floor- that's even further than just touching my toes!
5. For the Russian Splits, be sure to practice with both the left foot in the front and the right foot in the front- it is harder for some people to do it one way when the other way is easier.
6. The real Secret of the Splits: practice! Just do them every day, and presto! Easy splits! That is how I am able to do the splits now. Once you can do the splits, try doing them between two chairs- a foot on each, and hang down in the middle. Just make sure you have something to grab on to!

Christmas Demo Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the Christmas Demo! Later I'll probably put a group of video clips from the Christmas Demo, too! You can put videos on this blog two ways: a code from YouTube for YouTube videos (paste on the 'New Post' screen), or the little video icon on the 'New Post' screen. If anyone else has videos they want to post here- feel free!

Does Anyone Have This?

Does anyone have a picture or video of Gino and Austin doing the flying side kicks at the Christmas Demo, 2009? We don't have the movie of Gino breaking the board, and would be really happy if someone else shared this. Could you post it here, maybe?
Thanks!

I CANNOT WAIT!

I can't wait for the Christmas Demo! It's today! HOORAYYY!!!!
I hope that lots and lots of people come, and that we'll all have a great time!
Well, I now go back to waiting and making Christmas Demo Potluck food.
See all you Taekwon-Do guys and girls soon!

Ohhhh...................

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!
Okay, I have to go distract myself... (as if that will work)
Patricia, who is trying not to go insane and be patient.

Stories from General Choi

Here is a series of vidoes of General Choi Hong-Hi talking about Taekwon-Do and telling stories of his life. Of course, since he prefers to talk in Korean, we have to have the same silly translator that translated the ITF documentary, the guy that always says 'Tie'kwon-Do. However, it is as if part of the book Taekwon-Do and I is told live!


Number One- His Childhood and Perseverance


Number Two- How He Started Caligraphy



Number Three- Singing



Number Four- Being the the Jail for the Student Rising against the Japanese


Number Five- Teaching Karate In the Jail



Taekwon-Do In the Olympics


ITF Open to Anybody and Everyone


Taekwon-Do and Moral Education


Philosophy, Taekwon-Do and Eternal Life


These are all the ones that I could find. You'd think that all the parts of this film would be on YouTube, but the person who put it there skipped quite a bit out.
Hope you all enjoy this!

'Twas the Night Before the Christmas Demo

(Click on picture to see it in full-size)

'Twas the night before the Christmas Demo, with snow on the trees,
Not a person was stirring, well, all except me.
My belt was in the closet, set there with care,
All ready for tommorow, which soon would be there.
Not sleeping, I tossed, not snug in my bed,
While visions of Taekwon-Do danced in my head.
Being too excited, I just could not sleep,
I wanted to shout and give a happy leap!
I had to wait a long night and a day,
Before we'd be in the car and up and away,
Headed to the Christmas Demo in cheer,
Well, at least I didn't have to wait a whole year!
I picked up a book, but still stayed awake,
Because reading the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do was a mistake.
Who could doze off when, instead of a yawn,
You just want to do Gae-Baek and Po-Eum?
Who would be the winners of trophies this year?
Could you jump a chair and break a board wihout fear?
Would your ho sin sul be the hit of the night?
If only I could spar right now, I want to fight!
And when I lay on my pillow, instead of sinking deep,
I visioned myself breaking boards with my feet.
But what if it snowed, too much to leave?
Well, I'd shovel it all, I'd roll up my sleeves,
And get it all done before 5:00 PM sharp,
I'd figure a way, I'd find something smart.
It was late, I discovered, when I looked at a clock,
But the time was nothing compared with my desire to block,
Or kick or jump or break or punch,
But at this rate, I'd stay up 'till tommorow's lunch!
I shut off the lights and covered my head,
And tried to get cozy in my tall metal bed.
I don't know when it happened, my sleep had to be a trick!
But that didn't stop me from dreaming
of jumping front kicks.

This is my poem called 'Twas the Night Before the Christmas Demo.'
The 15th- that's in only like four days!!!

Also, the Red and Black Belt class is tommorow- our last practice before the Christmas Demo. Be sure to come, everyone!
See you soon!

Me in TKD Times!

Hi, all!
This picture of me doing a double jumping front kick at my black belt test is going to be put in the TaeKwonDo Times (yes, they spell Taekwon-Do strangly) Magazine! I submitted the picture for the Killer Kicks section of the magazine a few months back, and I just got an email saying that TKD Times would like to use it! So my mom sent in parental permission, and now I get to be in the magazine!
This is so cool! When it's in the maganize, I'll put up a picture of it in the magazine and post it here.

Taekwon,
Patricia

The Christmas Demo

I love the Christmas Demo! It comes every year. It's awesome! This year it is on the 15th of December. I love how other people and me do cool stuff in it. I also love how there is alot of food. And if you're a green belt or higher and you're good at the tenets you can win trophies. But if you are a black belt you can only win Best Attendence, Best Free Sparring, Best Patterns and the Best Black Belt award. And people do cool stuff, like jumping over people, and jumping over chairs, and breaking boards, and sometimes they break bricks and they have to break alot of boards while in the air. I love how everyone spars! And if you want to see your friends again from another class, you can! It's awesome! I am going to do my pattern and jumping over something to break a board with a flying side kick. Well, I hope that maybe I could break a wooden board. I think I will. And I hope some people are really good actors in knife attacks, patterns, and other stuff.

Controlling Aggression

I'm having a hard time controlling my aggression during free sparring. I'm naturally a competitive person and sometimes the moment will get the best of me. I've tried to spar defensively but my counter attacks are just as aggressive. I really like my sparring partners and I don't want to hurt anyone. In the spirit of the tenets of Taekwon-Do, does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do?

Why Post

Dear Taekwon-Do Posters,
Some of you may be wondering 'why should I post on this blog?'
This blog is for future Taekwon-Doins and the current martial artists to enjoy, learn about what is going on with other students, learn more about Taekwon-Do, and ask questions. Feel free to post videos, pictures, stories, information, and other enjoyable things related to Taekwon-Do. Write papers on why you like Taekwon-Do, what you do to practice at home, cool TKD facts, and anything else you can think of! Have a question? Create a post with your question, and other students can comment and answer it for you. Everything you post here doesn't have to be your own. If you find a cool ITF Taekwon-Do video on YouTube, or an awesome picture of General Choi Hong-Hi, those are fine to post too. Also, check out other posters' profiles- they can write about themselves, where they take Taekwon-Do, and some favorite things of theirs. You might found out something about someone you take Taekwon-Do with you never knew before! If you don't feel like posting, check out the other cool things on this blog: there is a list of Taekwon-Do related links, posts by other people, and of course the profiles and blog followers. Also, you can write about your favorite Taekwon-Do events and when they'll happen: the Red & Black Belt Class, the Christmas Demo, the End of the Month Tournament, the Mid-Month Tournament, or even testing coming up soon!
Just think: anyone who finds this blog will get to read about the TKD stuff you posted!
Taekwon,
Patricia