Category: Tae Kwon Do
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Arrogance… or Excellence?
I had some papers to sign regarding a new job last week, so rather than dressing for the beautiful sunny southern California heat, I put on a dress shirt and tie; in recognition of the Casual Fridays concept, I wore a sport jacket instead of a suit. I drove to Culver City to sign the […]
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Keep it Clean… it will last longer!
Last night at Taekwondo two women (a student and a parent) asked me the same question: ‘Is that a new dobok?’ The dobok is of course the uniform we wear, and until you are a Senior Instructor in our system it is white with our logo on the back. Additionally I have two flag patches […]
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Respect the Belt… Respect the Art.
I mentioned in conversation a couple of days ago that I was going to be starting to learn Kyokushin Karate in Japan and that I was very excited. One of the people involved in the discussion mentioned that the first few months of any martial art is going to be less interesting, but if I […]
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Conquering Challenges
Happy Friday folks. It is May 31st… the last day of the month, for many people it’s a day to submit expenses. In southern Ontario it is a beautiful sunny day (some people complain about the heat… I never do) and it is not surprising that around the office there is a lot of chatter […]
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The One Inch Punch
As many of you know I have been forced to take a break from Taekwondo since my auto accident in December. That does not mean that when asked I cannot suit up to help the judging at the Colour Belt Grading Tests. I did that this Wednesday, and afterwards some of us were hanging out […]
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Visiting With The Dragon
Most of you know by now that I am a martial artist. I have written enough about Tae Kwon Do over the years that even if you only visit my blog occasionally you are likely to have come across something about TKD. For all of these years that I have been going to Seattle I […]
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Taekwondo: Care to comment?
I want to preface this post by saying that I don’t get it. I have been in Taekwondo for four and a half years, and have in that time achieved my 2nd Dan Black Belt… but even before I started I am reasonably sure that I would not have gotten it. A commentator on Australian […]
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Calgary Taekwondo Academy
I found myself in Calgary this week with a free evening, so in the afternoon I typed a few keywords into my favorite search engine to see what I could find. Dojang Calgary Taekwondo I got several hits, but the most promising of these (apart from the proximity to my hotel, I liked what I […]
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Second Dan Black Belt!
I made it! More to come later, but for the time being please enjoy this series of pictures (that Sean Kearney will eventually put to music…)
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It’s tomorrow…
It all comes down to tomorrow. Five patterns, nine knife-defense techniques, some sparring… and 2.5” of concrete. For those of you who read my blog for the IT-related material, you will be relieved to know that after my test I will likely post some pictures, possibly a video or two, and a quick write-up… and […]
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19 Days Out: Where my Black Belt prep stands!
It is difficult to imagine, but I am now inside the three week mark. In nineteen days – June 2nd, 2012 – I will be testing for my Second Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo. I have not been blogging as much as I should, so I am going to take this opportunity to review the […]
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Oh il Sam Sa
Recently Grand Master Kim’s Oriental Martial Arts College held its annual Big Bow Ceremony, where we all greet each other with respect. The Grand Master stands alone at the front; next the Masters are grouped, then the remaining Black Belts. We all stand before the rest of the school, who are loosely arranged by belt […]
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Master Lee’s Joonbi Taekwondo: Humble and Insightful Lessons
I have been teaching a class in Virginia Beach for the past two weeks, and not surprisingly one of my students has a son in Tae Kwon Do. He had a class last Friday, and although with my injured foot I would not be able to participate, I asked if I could visit to watch. […]
The World According to Mitch 