December Taekwondo Testing

The next taekwondo test is Friday, December 6th at 6:00pm

GM Brian Jang's Poomse Seminar

On Saturday, September 14th John McCrackin, Dan Andersen, and Mike McCrackin attended GrandMaster Brian Jang's Poomse Seminar in Waupaca, WI.  The event was well attended by taekwondoists from all over Wisconsin and Illinois.

GM Jang provided a refreshing look at all the Taegeuk poomse and also the black belt poomse from Koryo - Jitae. The group spent 6 hours breaking down the individual steps in the forms while GM Jang gave critical adjustments to our techniques in accordance to the rules and regulations of sport poomse.

American Taekwondo & Fitness is very grateful for this unique opportunity and would like to thank GM Jang for sharing his expertise and spending his time with us.  We would also like to thank Master Stephen Decker and the Wisconsin Taekwondo Association for organizing the event.  And also Becky & Dar Peterson of Waupaca Taekwondo for providing the venue.


More info on Grand Master Brian Jang:

• 7th Dan Kukkiwon
• Owner & Master Instructor of Jang's Taekwondo in Elgin, IL
• US Official Referee
• PATU International Official Referee
• WTF International Referee
• 2011 - Illinois State Taekwondo Championship- Gold Medal
• 2011--US Open Taekwondo Championships--Silver Medal
• 2010--US Open Hanmadang-- Gold Medal
• 2006--US Open Taekwondo Championships-- Gold Medal
• 2002 - Present--Officiating Referee at many national and international championships
• 2000 - Present--Master Instructor/Owner of Jang's Taekwondo, Inc.
• 1998 - 2000--Master Instructor at Y. H. Park Tae Kwon Do, Inc.
• 1996 - 1998--Tae Kwon Do Instructor at Korea University International Summer School
• 1992 and 1995 - 1998--Tae Kwon Do Instructor at Korea University Taekwondo Club
• 1997--Korea National Collegiate Tae Kwon Do Competition Winner
• 1993-1994--Military service in the Korean Army; Tae Kwon Do Instructor in Battalion, Company and Platoon
• 1993--Korean Army Tae Kwon Do Competition Winner at Battalion, Regiment, Division and Corps levels
• 1992--Korea National Collegiate Tae Kwon Do Friendship Championships-- Bronze Medal

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jangs-Taekwondo/149851071691680
http://jangstkdinc.tripod.com/masterjang.html

ATF Class Changes

Class Changes

Saturday Hapkido Class Returns
September 7th –  December 14^th, 9am-10:10am
All Belts/Ages

Tournament Prep Class – Free sparring
Mondays 6:40pm-7:40pm
(Starts immediately after the all belts/ages class)

Tournament Prep Class – Poomse

Saturdays 10:15am-10:45am

(Starts immediately after the Hapkido class)

*Everyone is welcome to attend the tournament prep classes.  If you are not competing this fall, it is a good opportunity to help your fellow students and develop your free-sparring and poomse skills.

August 2013 Testing

On Friday, August 2nd American Taekwondo & Fitness held promotion testing for several advanced ranked belts.  Morgan Andersen successfully attained the rank of deputy black belt, and Toby Kinstler achieved the rank of senior red belt.  

Both martial artists were tested on the required material of poomse, free-sparring, self-defense, slow-motion kicking, and board breaking.  Morgan Andersen performed several board breaks consisting of a flying-spin-heel kick, back fist, and also the routine used at the TKD Nationals in Chicago.  Toby Kinstler broke his boards using a flying-turn-backside kick, and an elbow strike.  

Testing was presided over by Masters Henk Boese and John McCrackin.  Assisting with the test was Master Deverick Ohms, Master Davin Ohms, Drew Ohms, and Dan Andersen.  

After the test, the group met at Mr. Dan Andersen's house for a bonfire, pizza and drinks.  

Thank to Ohms Bros. photography for taking the pictures!

Master Instructor Seminar

On August 10, 2013, John McCrackin attended the Master Instructor Seminar in Stevens Point, WI.

I would like to extend a big 'thank you' to GrandMaster Robert Stevens for conducting this excellent seminar, and also to Master Stephen Decker and the Wisconsin Taekwondo Association for hosting this event.

The topics covered at this seminar included how to properly create respect, show rank, nurture students, training tips, and techniques to use at demonstrations.  Many of the things we learned we were already expected to know as higher ranking black belts, but were never officially taught.

This was a great opportunity to further my development as a master instructor, and I am very grateful to have attended this event.

2013 Taekwondo Nationals

In early July Morgan Andersen and Ian Griffin competed at the 2013 Taekwondo National Championships in Chicago at the McCormick Place.  They both previously competed at the Wisconsin Taekwondo Championships in May to qualify for Nationals - earning top medals in their divisions.  Morgan and Ian participated in the Forms, Board Breaking, and Free Sparring events.  Although neither athlete medaled in their events, they both fought very competitively against the top competitors in the nation.  Some of the highlights from the tournament include Ian's sudden death free-sparring match, and Morgan's spectacular board breaking routine that included gymnastic style breaks, and high-flying kicks.

 

American Taekwondo & Fitness is very proud of our athletes.  Months leading up the tournament Ian and Morgan were attending classes at the ATF up to 4 times a week in addition to private workouts on the weekend, while also following a rigorous workout schedule outside the dojang.  By July they were in top condition, and represented Wisconsin very well at the tournament.  

Both athletes were coached by 2nd dan black belt Dan Andersen.  

Class Schedule Change

There will be no Saturday classes between Memorial Day and Labor Day.  May 25th will be last Saturday class before summer and will start up again on September 7th.

Wisconsin State Taekwondo Championships

On Saturday May 4th, Morgan Andersen and Ian Griffin competed in the first annual Wisconsin State Taekwondo Championships in Middleton, WI. Both athletes did exceptionally well and American Taekwondo & Fitness - Eau Claire is very proud of their performance. 

Morgan competed in the red belt bracket and was awarded 2 gold medals and one silver in Poomse (Taegeuk Chil Jang), Boardbreaking (spinning backfist & tornado roundkick), and freesparring.

Ian competed in the green/blue belt bracket and was awarded 3 gold medals in poomse (Taegeuk Som Jang), boardbreaking (dashing sidekick & tornado roundkick), and freesparring.

A special 'thank you' to Master Stephen Decker and the Wisconsin Taekwondo Association for organizing and hosting the tournament. The event was well organized, and all the competitors seemed to be really enjoying the day. We look forward to next year's tournament, and appreciate the efforts towards a unified Wisconsin taekwondo community.

April TKD Testing

The next Taekwondo test will be Friday, April 5th at 6:00pm.

Upcoming Tournaments & Preparation

We are entering tournament season, and right now is the time to start preparing.  American Taekwondo & Fitness will be adding a tournament prep class on Tuesday nights from 6:40pm-7:40pm, starting March 12.  This class will be taught by GM Boese with a primary focus on WTF Olympic Style Freesparring.  Time will also be spent on forms (poomse), and board breaking techniques.

Information on the upcoming tournaments below:

USAT Wisconsin State Taekwondo Championship
When: Saturday, May 4th (Friday night weigh-in, 4pm-9pm)
Where: Middleton Area High School
Cost: $60 for one event.  Each additional event is $20

This is the state qualifying tournament.  Anyone with a desire to compete at Nationals in Chicago on July 3-8 must compete to qualify at this tournament.  Check the links below for more info:
Wisconsin TKD Association Events Page
Information Packet
USAT WI TKD Championship
USAT National Championships



Paik's Traditional Martial Arts - Capital City Classic
When: Sunday, May 5th
Where: Verona, WI
Cost: $50 for one event.  Each additional event is $15
Information Packet

TKD Demonstration on Sunday

A team from American Taekwondo & Fitness will be participating in 'Day of Dance' on Sunday, March 3rd.   This wellness event is hosted by Sacred Heart Hospital and St. Joseph's hospital, and includes groups and organizations around the Chippewa Valley.  More information can be found at the links below:
http://www.dayofdance.org/event-Sacred-Heart-Hospital-StJosephs-Hospital.html
http://www.facebook.com/events/476351189093468/

We will give a brief demonstration of the 4 primary activities in taekwondo:  Free-Sparring, Kicking/Board-Breaking, Poomse (forms), and Self-Defense.  Following our demo will be a short group workout with the attendees.

Banbury Art Crawl - February 8th & 9th

The Banbury Art Crawl  is back again.  Last year 5,000 people roamed the halls of our building between Friday and Saturday, and many of them stopped to watch our class.  It would be nice to have a large group from the ATF attending, so please plan on attending as many of the classes between Friday and Saturday.  

Click the links for more info:
http://www.banburyartcrawl.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Banbury-Art-Crawl/172368509465823

ATF Schedule:

• Friday, 6:30pm-8:00pm, Taekwondo
• Saturday, 9:00am-10:15am, Hapkido
• Saturday, 10:30am-11:45am, Taekwondo
• Noon - Pizza Party

February TKD Testing

The next Taekwondo test will be held 2/1/2013 at 6:00pm