Thank you to all of the men & women who have served in our armed forces to protect us and our ability to enjoy the greatest personal freedoms and the opportunities in the world. A Veteran is someone, who at one point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to, and including, their life. That is beyond honor, and there are far too many people in this country who either don't understand or have forgotten that fact. Thank you Larry Gilliland (Sr) and Anthony Torchia for taking up a charge for so many of us that did not.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy

"The Nation will remain land of the free only so long as it is the home of the BRAVE" - Elmer Davis

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." - Arthur Ashe

Saturday November 6 not only marked the end of an 8-week test cycle, but it was also the culmination of years of hard work, determination and perserverance for our Cho Dan candidates. The candidates final exam began with a 2-hour session Friday night in which they demonstrated blocking, striking, focus kicking, forms and one-step sparring. They returned at 7:30am for a 1-hr session on ground fighting & escapes, 1-hr of Tang Soo Do training with fellow students, and a teaching evaluation.  It was then time to line-up for 4 hrs of detailed evalutaion capped off by continuous sparring, endurance & board breaking.

On Saturday, November 6th we held our Fall Red Belt Test. We are extremely proud of the efforts of the 9 candidates who demonstrated the fire of a red belt.  Our theme for the test cycle was "Moo Do Jaseh", the Korean expression for martial arts stance.  Our red belts showed commitment to black belt excellence and the persevering character we hope to instill in all of our students. Congratulations to you all! 

During his visit this past weekend Kwan Jang Nim Sgro once again discussed how the movements we practice regularly in class have a variety of applications. Bunkai (分解), literally meaning "analysis" or "dis-assembly", is a term used in Japanese martial arts referring to the application of fighting techniques extracted from the moves of a "form" (kata or hyung).

Okinawa has a long tradition of empty handed combat, primarily because they have been controlled for much of their history by Japan, and mainland Japan has outlawed weapons on the island.  The indigenous form of karate practiced in Okinawa was generally known as te (Japanese for hand)– and was further specialized based on the region of Okinawa it was practiced.  In Shuri, it was known as Shuri-te, in Tomari – Tomari-te, etc.