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Because of a Blogger error, the LVTKD blog has been moved to Wordpress.
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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!

My goodbye to Las Vegas Taekwon-Do Club

Wednesday was my last class at the Las Vegas Taekwon-Do Club. I am sad to leave my beloved Taekwon-Do classes in Nevada, and our great instructor and his kind wife, but I will continue to practice Taekwon-Do- at home and at a new do-jang near the location I moved to.

This Wednesday, LVTKD Mt. Charleston Taekwon-Do was moved to the outside of the Lundy Elementary School, at Mt. Charleston. It isn't inside of the building yet, but there is still hope of achieving this goal! For the final time coming from me, please tell anyone you know about Taekwon-Do and spread the joy of being a part of this fantastic martial art, and keep Taekwon-Do at Mt. Charleston going.

This is my last post here concerning things about the LVTKD do-jangs. I will post every so often about tournaments coming to locations in Las Vegas, and I will continue to keep the polls going, but that will be all. So for my last post as an LVTKD student, I want to thank all of the people who I've trained with over the years.

Thank you to the Whitney Ranch Rec Center students whom I trained with for nearly three years. With you, I set off on my Taekwon-Do journey.

Thank you to the students at the Heinrich YMCA, whom I trained with for only a few months and saw at End of the Month Tournaments and Red and Black Belt classes. You helped me get my black belt and become a good competitor.

Thank you to the Mt. Charleston Taekwon-Doins, that I trained with for over a year and that helped me become a better teacher.

Thank you to all of the students that were my sparring partners, especially the very brave ones, that helped me to become better at sparring.

Thank you to every person who helped me with my patterns, and everyone who allowed me to help them with theirs.

Thank you to every student that ever did step-sparring and ho sin sul with me. Sorry for having to throw you around.

Thank you to my fellow End of The Month Tournament-goers, who assisted me in becoming a better competitor.

And most of all, thank you to Master Bosse, without him, my Taekwon-Do journey would have never began.

For the last time,
Taekwon,
Patricia

2nd dans and farewells

Above: Me testing for my 2nd dan

Today, I am proud to say that I tested and was awarded my 2nd dan (degree) black belt by Master Bosse! It was a fun test, though my patterns were not as good as they normally are.

But I am sad to say that today we had to say farewell to the Mt. Charleston Do-Jang garage. Today was the last class there- now LVTKD Mt. Charleston Classes (the ones at Mt. Charleston ONLY) will be taking place at the Mt. Charleston Elementary School. Temporarily they will be outside, but hopefully classes will soon be allowed inside the building. Being at the school is a good thing, but it was sad when Master Bosse, my dad, and I took up our padded floor, flags, pictures and kicking walls, and left our old do-jang as we had left it: a plain, concrete-floored garage.

Make sure that you now go to classes at the school- and if you don't know where it is, just call (702)-456-4505 to reach Master Bosse.

Just because it is at a school does not mean that Taekwon-Do is only for children- it is supposed to double as a sort of rec center, meaning that anyone of any age can take Taekwon-Do classes there. Like I have said before, tell you friends to join Taekwon-Do, especially the ones that can go to Mt. Charleston, as Master Bosse needs to have a good amount of people there to keep the class going!

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

The last Friday class at Mt. Charleston

Today was the last Friday class at Mt. Charleston. After that, the classes will cease to exist. Because we are moving, I can't teach Friday classes anymore. I'm sad that this was the last one, but the classes I have taught were pretty fun times!

Also, make sure that you tell people about Taekwon-Do and get more students at the Mt. Charleston class. We need to have at least 10 people in the class- so tell people you know! Also, we need to get Taekwon-Do at the school up here. There are people working on it now, but there is a chance Taekwon-Do at Mt. Charleston might not have a do-jang area, room, or backyard to practice in at all if we don't get the school! Taekwon-Do would be such a great addition at the school up here, so I really hope everything works out. The school was supposed to be a sort of rec center, too, so anyone who wants to can take Taekwon-Do up at the beautiful Mt. Charleston.

Today is exactly one week until the US Nationals in San Jose! I'm really excited and a little worried, but I will just go, have fun, do my best, and see what happens!

Moving students

Old pictures from my LVTKD journey.


Hello, LVTKD readers.
I am posting to let everyone know that my family and I are moving out of Nevada. This means that me and the rest of my family that take Taekwon-Do will have to stop being students of Master Bosse at the Las Vegas Taekwon-Do Club. This doesn't mean that we will stop taking Taekwon-Do- we have found a place to practice where we are moving. But the years here that we have had with Master Bosse- for me, almost four and a half years, are unforgettable. They were fun, educational, and amazing, and Taekwon-Do has been the best thing we have done since moving to Nevada. It has improved us as individuals so much, and has become my favorite thing to do. I would give up being able to speak if I had to choose between talking and no TKD or TKD and no talking. It will be sad to leave LVTKD behind, but as General Choi Hong-Hi said, anywhere under heaven is do-jang, and this can include anywhere in the world, including where my family and I are moving to. I could go on forever about Taekwon-Do and the affect it has had on our lives, but I need to ask the other posters to post things here since I will no longer be able to.

Please, students of LVTKD, post on this blog when I am gone. Post anything TKD-related- even pictures or videos, you don't have to write anything if you don't have time. But please- keep this blog updated and promote the Las Vegas Taekwon-Do Club, in my opinion the best Taekwon-Do school in all of Las Vegas.

As for Taekwon-Do at Mt. Charleston- start recommending Taekwon-Do to your friends and family! Without my family there, the class will only include a few students- the 15 we used to have has been lowering in numbers, and without us there will only be three students left! Feel free to reccomend Taekwon-Do to your friends at Mt. Charleston or nearby. Send the link www.lvtkd.com through email or texting. Give Taekwon-Do as a gift- pay for the first month of TKD for a friend or family member instead of buying them the newest fighting video game or Kung-Fu movie. Taekwon-Do is great for anyone who is willing to learn it.
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!

Not nervous anymore

Above: someone doing a Taekwon-Do pattern

Mysterious- I don't get nervous anymore. Since performing a play a few months ago, I haven't been nervous. I wasn't nervous when acting, didn't get nervous when going to the past end-of-the-month tournaments since May; I seem to have lost my ability to be nervous in competition! How did this happen? I guess I just get so into what I am doing, the nervousness doesn't come. It is kind of hard to explain. It is a bit easier with acting, and slightly harder with Taekwon-Do. But I can do what I want when in the pressure of the moment without being nervous. I wish I could tell other people how to do this. I guess that you just need to think of what you are doing- for example, your pattern,- and only think of that. It stops the nervousness from coming. If you stop thinking of being nervous, the nervous feeling dissapears. Has anyone else had this happen? Though I can't say that when thinking of doing certain things I don't get nervous, but when I actually get out there to do what I want, the nervousness goes away.

No red and black belt class!

There is no red and black belt class on the 10th this week!
Don't come to class- Master Bosse won't be there!

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.

Taekwon-Do Belt levels

In every sort of ITF Taekwon-Do, the belt levels are the same, though sometimes the 'stripes' are called 'tags' depending on the school. Above are all the belt levels up to 1st dan (or degree) black belt- after that there are degrees of black belt up until 9th dan/degree.

I won a Taekwon-Do book!

In a Totally TKD Magazine contest, I won a volume of Start Paul Anslow's Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do Patterns! My name even appears in the magazine as the winner. You had to answer which pattern three tecniques represented, I guessed Won-Hyo and was correct, my name entered a drawing for the book, and I won! I'll write about the book when I get it!

The snap at the end of your technique

Above: A Taekwon-Do uniform

A while ago, Master Bosse got a call on the phone. It was a man asking for a Taekwon-Do uniform. "But, can you give me one of those uniforms with all the snap in it?" he asked, and Master Bosse replied, "sorry, but you have to provide the snap yourself!"

Taekwon-Do uniforms, (or 'doboks') don't come with snap already in them- you have to get the snap at the end of your technique yourself. Of course, uniforms help you hear the snap when you are able to get your tecnnique to snap, but they don't make the snap happen; you can't just do a weak punch and it will have a nice snap at the end of your technique, you have to have a powerful punch with an explosion at the point of impact. To make this little explosion, you slightly pull your tecnique back in to simulate a rebound. Taekwon-Do is a unique martial art because it emphasizes rebound on your technique instead of just doing the technique and leaving the technique still. When you block, make it a strike. When you block a kick, strike the part of your opponents' foot that you blocked, and do the same thing for other kinds and blocks blocking other attacking parts of the body of your opponent. The block will hurt your opponent instead of his or her attack hurting you.

You can practice getting snap at the end of your technique just walking around; do various kinds techniques that are more difficult to have an explosion at the end of.

If you don't know how to get snap on your tecniques yet, begin by practicing with front kicks and punches; these are easier to get an explosion at the end of. You can also talk to your instructor about snap if you don't do Taekwon-Do here at the Las Vegas Taekwon-Do Club.

Taekwon-Do on Vacation

We're going on vacation, so my family has to miss a few classes. I'll still practice while I am gone, though, and when we get back I'll hopefully have a few awesome Taekwon-Do pictures!
Practicing patterns is a good way to make up for missed classes, so if anyone else is going on vacation, just a few patterns during your trip is a good idea, even if you don't want to do other exercises.

There is no Taekwon-Do class on Friday, June 25th, because of this trip, since I won't be there to teach the class, but all the other classes that week are still going on- Master Bosse will still teach, of course!

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!

More Black Belt Test...

This post includes more pictures from the test and a few of when some of the students joined Master Bosse for pizza after the test.

Lots of Black Belt Test Photos

This post includes a large amount of photos from the recent black belt test! I'll post more in the next post...

What is Model Sparring?

What is Model Sparring? Model Sparring is sort of like Reverse Attacks- there are two sides, an attacker and a defender, and the attacker will step back into a fighting stance (or possibly a walking stance) and kihap, and the defender will kihap in jumbi, in a parallel ready stance. Then the attacker will make an attacking movement or several attacking movements, and the defender will defend him or herself. The Model Sparring sets can include quick exchanges of however many movements desired, and one of the two wins. But within the Model Sparring, there must also be slow motion movements, and these movements should repeat a technique that just happen. The fighters in the Model Sparring fight are allowed to fall down. The whole set-up is pre-arranged.

You are required to make up Model Sparring for your 2nd dan black belt test at our Taekwon-Do school, and I am very excited to make up mine! Master Bosse suggests to create six very clean Model Sparring sets, and have one where the attacker makes one move, the defender makes one move, and so on with one-technique exchanges until one of them wins (which has to be me) and then one where it is an exchange of two techniques until one of them wins.

And yes, in that Korean Taekwon-Do Team demonstration, the step-sparring in the beginning seems to be Model Sparring, from what I read about it in the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do.

More Black Belt Test Photos

Here are more images from the recent black belt test!