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Students of Tang Soo Do typically begin learning the Pyung Ahn series of forms at Orange Belt (8th Gup). These forms are an important part of our Moo Do (martial discipline) development.

The modern Pyong Ahn forms were introduced as a series of five forms in 1901 by Itosu Yasutsune (1831 – 1915), a Shorin-ryu Karate master on Okinawa. The words Pyong Ahn translate to "Peaceful Confidence". The diagrams of the forms resemble a balanced scale. There is some differing opinions as to the exact history of the forms. Some claim that they originated in China and exemplify the southern regional style (Nam-Pa); that they were created by a Chinese military leader named Jeh Nam and were once known as the Jeh Nam Hyungs till late 1800.  Others would argue that they originated in Okinawa and were adapted by Itosu from older forms such as Kusanku and Gojushiho into forms suitable for teaching karate to young students and introducing martial arts practice into school systems.

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As we look back on the past year we want to thank you for your generous support of Boys Town during the holidays. Our two newly promoted Black Belts, Adam Gilliland and Abbie Douglas, completed their project to pick up Santa's reigns and run our annual Toy Drive for Boys and Girls Town of California. A number of our families joined Abbie and Adam as they delivered gifts to Boys Town on Dec 17.   
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This is a guest post written and reproduced with permission of the author Matthew Apsokardu. Mr Apsokardu has been a student of the martial arts for 16 years and has acquired the rank of 4th Dan in Okinawa Kenpo Karate and Kobudo.

We often hear that black belt isn't an end goal, but instead a point where true learning can begin. We all generally accept this as sage wisdom even though it can be difficult to understand such an esoteric concept at first. After all, how can learning BEGIN at black belt?

Sometimes we rationalize the idea intellectually by observing highly skilled individuals and comparing our meager skills against them. But still we have a hard time grasping that we haven't really learned anything after four or five years of diligent study. Only a few monk-like individuals are so devoid of ego that they truly believe they know nothing when going for shodan.
So how does one explain this mystery, especially to those students who are brimming with "self confidence" and don't want to hear that their studies are only beginning?

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Gup Shim Sa #27 08/06/2011
 
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Jr Kicks with New Belts
There's more new COLOR in the school! We are pleased to announce the promotion of 21 Tang Soo Do students in Gup Shim Sa #27! We extend special recognition to two groups of students. The first is our second crop of Team Turtle students that have reached the rank of 6th Gup Green Belt in Tang Soo Do. Way to go Alex, Lucas and Cole! The second high five goes to Lauren, Jessica and Emily who scored a double promotion at their first belt test! Each has been really dedicated and enthusiastic in class and it showed during their exam. Nice job ladies!

Please join us in congratulating the following students:
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Eating healthy food is dietary self-defense. SBN Torchia and I took on a challenge to create our own diet chronicle based on what we choose to eat for lunch during our break today from the Tom Callos seminar in Woodland Hills, CA. We ate at Follow Your Heart Restaurant and Market in Canoga Park, a vegan restaurant not far from the studio. It's been edited using iMovie and uploaded the video to our ockicks youtube page. Enjoy our first attempt to create new content for our students and their families.
You can learn more about the dietary self-defense project at http://www.dietaryselfdefense.com/.
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Gup Shim Sa #26 06/04/2011
 
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There's more new COLOR in the school! We are pleased to announce the promotion of 19 Tang Soo Do students in Gup Shim Sa #26!

Please join us in congratulating the following students:
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Gup Shim Sa #24 04/02/2011
 
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There's more new COLOR in the school! We are pleased to announce the promotion of 18 Tang Soo Do students in Gup Shim Sa #24!

Please join us in congratulating the following students:
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Team OCKicks, 11 strong, competed Sunday in the annual Southern California Friendship Tournament hosted by All American Karate of Corona, CA. This year's tournament was very well attended with divisions of 12-16 participates in some cases. It was the first ever tournament for Derrick B who captured 3rd place in both forms and sparring. Way to go Derrick! In all the team brought back 15 trophies including top honors by Kendra Conger in sparring. Whether you won or lost, remember you're not a failure if you keep trying. Ultimately your experience will help you improve. Tang Soo!

And now for the rest of the results...
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Gup Shim Sa #23 02/05/2011
 
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There's more new COLOR in the school! We are pleased to announce the promotion of 19 Tang Soo Do students in Gup Shim Sa #23!

Please join us in congratulating the following students:
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Discipline 02/01/2011
 
"The time is always right to do what is right." - Martin Luther King Jr.

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No doubt you've heard Sa Bom Nim say that the rules of the school are written clearly on the wall. Looking to the far end of the dojang floor you see three lithographs of chinese calligraphy. On the right is the word for Do (Tao in Chinese). Sa Bom Nim defines this word for our younger students as "doing the right thing even when no one is watching."
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