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...

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:

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."

It's February...how are your New Year's goals / resolutions going? Recent research shows that while 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals, only 12% actually achieved their goals. A separate study in 2007 by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol showed that 78% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, and those who succeed have 5 traits in common. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying “lose weight”), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

“The stalk that carries the most grain, bows the lowest.”

As we look back on the wonderful achievements of our fellow students who've achieved Cho Dan we have an opportunity to see a reflection of ourselves in their accomplishment. This reflection provides insight into our own training and goals.

How do they carry themselves? What characteristics do they demonstrate that we desire for ourselves? Beyond the physical ability and mental toughness they displayed at their test they also demonstrated a clear care and concern for one another.

There's more new COLOR in the school! We are pleased to announce the promotion of 24 Tang Soo Do students in Gup Shim Sa #22!

Please join us in congratulating the following students:

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).