LVTKD Pictures

Master Bosse and the other high-ranking officals at the nationals

Students lined up at the opening ceremonies (Patricia, LVTKD student, on the far right)

Students lined up at the opening ceremonies

LVTKD gold and silver medalist performing Ge-Baek

Master Bosse as a center referee

Gino DeArmas (red fighter) gold and silver medalist sparring

Patricia DeArmas sparring (on the right)

Gino DeArmas  (on the left) sparring

Gino DeArmas (on the right) sparring

At http://www.itf-usa.org/ on the front page, you can find pictures of the LVTKD students along with Master Bosse at the ITF-USA National Championships that were in San Jose, California in August! There is even a special thanks to Master Bosse written above the link that allows you to view the pictures. There are more than I added to this post!

Also, former LVTKD student Patricia DeArmas has an article published in Totally Tae Kwon Do magazine in the October issue. It is viewable in the October issue, titled "What The Mind Believes the Body Achieves."

As well, congratulations to the Taekwon-Do students testing this weekend for black belt! Have fun!

LVTKD National Champions

Hello, Las Vegas TKD Club Blog readers!
We've been to the Nationals- and we each got a gold medal for patterns and a silver for sparring! GO LVTKD CLUB! It was a great event- not only did I have fun comepeting, but I was very interested and entertained by watching others compete! One of the most amazing things I saw was a man named Mr. Tidus, smaller than I am, who jumped about nine feet in the air to kick a board! There were about a hundred people there- small for a National Championship but it was amazing to me- the most Taekwon-Doins I have seen in one place was about half that amount!

Thank you very much to Mr. Morris, 5th dan black belt, an ITF-USA vice president, and LVTKD blog reader, who did a big part in organising the entire event. Also many thanks to ALL OF the others who helped out- whether they were a referee, judge, or someone who cleaned up trash- everyone was very busy and was very helpful!

I am sad to say that Richard could not make it to the tournament, but the small amount of students that did go along with Master Bosse did fantastic- which were my dad, my brother, and I. I learned a lot!
Taekwon,
Patricia

18 days

There are only 18 days until the USA National Championships in San Jose California for Taekwon-Do! Only a few of the Las Vegas Taekwon-Do Club members are going, but the students that are will attend along with Master Bosse (though he is not a competitior) to compete in pattern competition and sparring competition as non-qualifiers. I am very excited and I am practicing both my patterns and my sparring, as I am competing there along with two of my family members that are fellow Taekwon-Doins. It would be great to come home a national champion, but although winning would be awesome, the knowledge gained from the tournament will be far more valuble than any gold medal can be, even if I don't get 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. But that doesn't mean I am not going to try! I would really like to win- but that isn't all I need to focus on. Master Bosse says: "It isn't who wants it the most; it's who refuses to lose." That will be one of the things on my mind at the tournament and before then. But in the meanwhile, I will continue to work on my smooth, flowing motion, concentration of power, accuracy of technique, speed, endurance, power, and mindset so that I will compete my best- and my best is all I can do! So in that case, what I am I doing writing this at 11:30 at night? I'd better get to sleep- that is important, too!

Taekwon-Do USA National Championships Reminder

As taken from http://www.itf-usa.org/2010 USA World Qualifiers and National Championship
This year, the World Qualifiers and National Championship will be held in San Jose, California, USA on August 13 to 14! Come on out to the west coast and compete for your place on the team to go to New Zealand in March 2011! More information found at: www.mightyfist.com
Official ITF rules

Additional Information:
-- Non-Qualifiers is now open to BLUE BELTS and above.
-- Sparring is broken down to Female and Male groups. Additionally, in individual sparring matches, competitors shall participate in the category according to their weight. It is not allowed to participate in any other weight class.

______________________

Remember to register! Your registration form must be recieved by mail by July 23rd, 2010! Download the registration form at http://www.itf-usa.org/events.html
"August, 2010- USA World Qualifiers & National Championships
Thomas More School
San Jose, California, USA"

Also, your equipment MUST be blue or red. If you are competing as a qualifier (must be member of the ITF) you have to wear Top-Ten Sparring Gear, also in blue or read.

A non-qualifier is someone just competing in the nationals but not attempting to compete in the World Championships in New Zealand.

End of the Month Tournament

Today at the end of the month tournament, I came in 1st in patterns, Gino came in 1st in patterns and Gabriel came in 2nd in patterns, and in sparring Gino got 1st, Gabriel got 3rd and I got 2nd. (us three were the only DeArmas Taekwon-Doins that came this time) In sparring I sparred Eric and won, and then Cassie and lost. She did really well- I got her to back up, but she then hit me in the face once and head twice with fast outside crescent kicks. I learned that I need to keep my hands up a lot better! I actually cried- but not because the kick hurt that bad, because I was so mad at myself! It was a very fun tournamnet, and I can't wait until next month's tournament! Today was also a Taekwon-Do class- my Friday class was switch to today because I am out of town tommorow.

There will probably be some videos from the tournament put up here soon!

Taekwon-Do Videos

A Taekwon-Do Sparring Music Video- Some of the special effects are kind of irritating, but many of those techniques in this video are really cool!


Check out that 180 Turning Kick! I wonder if he got in trouble, though... because I think the guy who got knocked down might have gotten a bloody nose.

Effective Taekwon-Do Sparring

Hello, everyone! I recently read a book called Effective Taekwon-Do Sparring by Master Jim Hogan and James Home, a book that talks about techniques, stances, set ups and more to use to improve your sparring, specifically in competition. Even though this book is meant for ITF, this book can be applied to other martial arts and to other Taekwon-Do styles, as long as the competition rules aren't too different from the ITF Taekwon-Do's sparring match rules. Although I don't always agree with the sparring stance offered in this book, as it doesn't seem to go with the way I spar, the combinations, set ups, and technique ideas are well worth the read, and I think that testing out the sparring stance in different situations is probably worth it, too, and it might fit different fighters quite well. I reccommend this book to any serious ITF student, or any serious martial arts students who spar simmilar to the International Taekwon-Do Federation practitioners. The set ups and combinations in this book are very smart, and trying them out in competition is a great idea, as well as certain foot positions and body positions are great to consider! We especially like The Blitz- a certain way that you step and punch that works really well if you use it at the correct time. Slide your front foot in while falling forward, stepping two times into a middle section reverse punch on the last step. This book is great because other ITF books don't talk much about what to do in sparring, including General Choi Hong-Hi's Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do. The book says that it is a good book for beginner to intermediate sparring levels, but I think that advanced fighters will value this book as well. In the book, there are a few of Master Bosse's sparring tricks, but it also includes some things that most people don't think of using.
Effective Taekwon-Do Sparring should be read by Taekwon-Do students everywhere!

United States ITF Nationals

The United States Taekwon-Do National Championships will take place in San Jose, California August 13-14, 2010! When you are a junior, if you win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place you qualify for the USA team to go to New Zealand for the World Championships, and when you are a senior you have to win 1st to qualify for the USA team! And San Jose isn't too far from Las Vegas! Ages 14 and up can compete for a place on Team USA, and if you are younger you can still compete, you just can't qualify for the World Championships! If you don't want to compete for a place on Team USA, that's okay, when you sign up just fill out a form saying that you do not want to.
Visit HERE and scroll to August, 2010 to download more information about the tournament!

Look what I found...

The 3rd dan black belt test of Cassie Bosse, an LVTKD student. The sparring is no-contact.


And you can't miss out on her Ho Sin Sul! Also, go to www.lvtkd.com and click on 'Pictures & Videos' to see two other Cassie vs. Andy Ho Sin Sul performances (Ho Sin Sul is a pre-arranged self-defence scene that is supposed to look like a real fight but in actuality, no one gets hurt)

End of the Month Tournament

I am very happy today. Yesterday, for the End of the Month Tournament, I did well in pattern competition- I went in a group with JP (2nd dan), Eric (1st dan), Patrick (2nd dan) and Cassie (3rd dan.)I won against JP (split decision) and for 1st and 2nd place I lost to Cassie- but that was also a split decision! Wow! I got a split decision against Cassie- Master Bosse's granddaughter who has really good patterns and is great at sparring. At least I am getting better- and I'll keep working on my patterns so maybe I will win next time! And also for sparring I went against Cassie, who's feet I am usually sacred of during sparring, and I wasn't scared- I went in on her and did good, though my technique could have been better. Cassie won that, too, but I did well against her and Cassie didn't think that she'd won.

So, yay! I'm getting better!

The ITF World Cup in Las Vegas was cancelled

The World Cup was cancelled. After forever of deciding whether they would keep it or not, the ITF cancelled the tournament. All they wrote on their website was this:

"This is to inform the Members that the upcoming World Cup to be held in Las Vegas on October 2010 has been cancelled."

I am tired of bad news on this blog! Somebody post something happy- about how they tested or something!

I hope that to make up for it, the rest of you will enjoy the Utah Cup instead.

Utah Cup 1010

On the 15th of May, 2010, the Utah Cup takes place in Salt Lake city! On this website www.ustf-utah.com/calendar.htm it says the following:

Utah Cup
1st Saturday Following Mother's Day
Venue to Be Announced
Salt Lake City, UT 15 May 2010

It has a bunch of 'links' to PDF files with more information, but nobody added the actual links yet. The tournament is associated with the USTF, which we are no longer a part of, but the USTF is also affictated with the ITF, which we are still a part of, so it seems we are able to go!

It makes me want to jump for joy in a kick like that guy in the above picture!
________________

I have just been informed that the dates for my homeschool commonwealth play are the SAME as the tournament. So I can't go. Now I feel like crying...

I hope all of you that get to go enjoy it.
Taekwon.

ITF World Championships 2009

Pre-Arranged Sparring:
It is created Step-Sparring where you pause to show your technique.




Women's Team Pattern:
This is pretty good! I wonder why they walked up that way, though? Maybe to make even their entrance in unison, yet different.


Senior Sparring:
Here are some adults sparring.

Above are a few videos from the ITF World Championships 2009!

Grand Master Trân Triêu Quân is Dead

Grand Master Tran, president of the ITF, was found dead in Haiti under several tons of debris. His death is a sad thought for all Taekwon-Doins. He was there in Haiti in the first place to work with the government to create design guidelines that would make buildings safer from natural desastors, and it is sad to say that he was seen going into his hotel 10 minutes before the earthquake, which he didn't survive. Because of his death, the ITF World Cup in Las Vegas may be canceled, since he was the one in charge of the whole thing. We will discover the final decision this month (Febuary).

Speaking from Argentina, Senior Vice-President Grand Master Pablo Trajtenberg stated: “We are so sorry to hear about Grand Master Trân’s death. We are still in shock. ITF and Taekwon-Do have lost a very strong and devoted leader, a great defender of our art in the tradition of our Founder, General Choi Hong Hi. He will remain forever a model that will inspire us all. We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to Grand Master Trân’s dear wife, Mrs. Nguyen Thi My; his children, Joliette, Cécilia and Nicolas; his son-in-law, François Beaudin; his grandchildren, Jasmine and Sandrine; his brothers, Trân Triêu Cung and Trân Triêu Lân; and all the Trân and Nguyen extended families. The fact that Grand Master Trân lost his life in a country such as Haiti is meaningful because he strongly believed in the contribution of Taekwon-Do to the building of strong citizenship qualities in developing countries. He had set time aside to meet with a group of Taekwon-Do students during his stay in Port-au-Prince. We already miss him.”

End of the Month Tournament Sparring #4

Patrica (Blue Fighter) vs. Jose (Red Fighter)
Winner: Patricia (Blue Fighter)

End of the Month Tournament Sparring #3

Eric (Red Figher) vs. Richard (Blue Fighter)
Winner: Richard (Blue Fighter)

End of the Month Tournament Sparring #2

Gino(Blue Fighter) Vs. Brandon (Red Fighter)
Winner by Split Decision: Brandon (Red Fighter)

End of the Month Tournament Sparring #1

Gabriel (Blue Fighter) vs. Brandon (Red Fighter)
Winner: Brandon (Red Fighter)

Christmas Demo 2009 Clips

Above is a video I made with short clips from the Christmas Demo. It doesn't include everything, and I might make another movie with more things in it at another time. Also, I just created a new label: 'demonstrations and competition.' You posters can add this label to your posts that have to do with any tournaments