Ground Fighting

Mr. M, the chief instructor, was finely feeling better tonight -- so I knew I was in for a good workout. The main premise behind our cardio fight class is learn self defense techniques that can be employed in a "street" setting. This isn't Taekwondo -- this is survival. Tonight's class focused on what to do if one was find oneself on the ground during an altercation. Our first drill had us paired off, with a partner kneeling beside us and wailing away with their punches. The victim's job was to block the punches (think protect your head) while getting back into a standing position. We followed this drill up with another that worked on getting back to our feet in a timely manner. Class ended with us working on our to handle knife attacks.

The 2nd class of the night was Adult Combat Systems (aka Weapons). This was a first for me. So I worked 1 on 1 with Mr. M, learning the form that accompanies our weapon this cycle. I learned the first 15 moves and then practiced on perfecting them.

It was another good day at the gym.

American Taekwondo Association

Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I realized that my posts about Taekwondo may be a bit confusing to my readers. Aside from telling you all that I am now enrolled in Taekwondo classes, I've given you no background. I just jumped right into things and expected you to keep. So this post, will hopefully give you a background and history of the American Taekwondo Association, and a better understanding of what I'm learning to do.

The American Taekwondo Association was founded in 1969 by Eternal Grand Master H. U. Lee. Eternal Grand Master Lee began his martial arts training in 1954 as a teenager. He taught martial arts to Republic of Korea military intelligence personnel from 1956 to 1959, opening his first commercial school in Osan, Korea after leaving the military. Eternal Grand Master then opened several "branches" to his commercial school, including one at a U.S. Air Force base. This is where Master Richard Reed began training with Eternal Grand Master, and the two forged a friendship that would ultimately result in the ATA.

When Reed returned to the United States in 1962, Eternal Grand Master joined him on a "visitor" visa, and began teaching in Omaha. Although he had to return to Korea in December, 1963 while awaiting a "resident" status visa, he returned to the U.S. in 1965 and began working toward a national Taekwondo organization that would be based on good martial arts and sound business practices. As it grew from a regional organization to one of national -- and ultimately international -- scope, the ATA began to establish standards that would ensure consistent instruction.

From the beginning, Eternal Grand Master Lee was determined to establish the most professional martial arts organization possible. In 1973, he introduced the first instructor manual, which provided information and procedures to standardize the operation of all ATA schools. In 1976, he hosted the first Grand National tournament, which was the predecessor for the Songahm Taekwondo World Championships now held annually. A year later, he re-located the ATA headquarters from Omaha, Nebraska to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he soon had 200 black belts earning instructor certification each year.

In 1980, the ATA became the first martial arts organization to introduce a centralized computer record keeping system. This innovation enabled the ATA to maintain rank histories and other important information about the thousands of ATA members. The same year, the ATA began publishing a tabloid entitled "ATA News" which has evolved into the international magazine The Way of Taekwondo, now published quarterly to keep Songahm Taekwondo students informed about upcoming events, appraised of new programs, and knowledgeable about the physical and mental aspects of Songahm Taekwondo.

The history of the ATA was set on a new and unique course in 1983 when, at a Certified Instructor Camp in Little Rock, Eternal Grand Master introduced the Songahm system of Taekwondo. The Songahm system represented the culmination of years of study by Eternal Grand Master Lee. The ATA had used the Chang Hun Taekwondo forms since 1969 -- and the "Pinan" forms prior to that -- but he had noticed something missing in the forms.

With the assistance of senior instructors including Robert Allemier, Bill Clark, In Ho Lee and Jee Ho Lee, Eternal Grand Master developed a unified teaching system in which, for the first time, White Belts learned kicks in their Taekwondo forms and one-step sparring was closely integrated with the forms to aid in student development by establishing a more logical system for beginners. But even more than that the entire system of Songahm forms worked together with balance and harmony, reflecting the essence of the art.

In 1984, the Songahm Taekwondo Federation (STF) was founded by Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee and Master Cezar Ozuna to help spread Songahm Taekwondo outside of the United States. In the fall of 1990, the World Traditional Taekwondo Union (WTTU) was formed. While the ATA encompasses member schools in the United States and Canada, the STF includes member schools in South America and the WTTU covers the remaining portion of the world.

With the passing of Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee in October 2000, our current leadership has taken up the torch of his inspirational guidance and leadership and ensured the values the ATA were founded upon remain our focus for today and into the future. Grand Master Soon Ho Lee, after many trials and tests for the Grand Master title, was elevated to be our leader in Taekwondo and guides and focuses the Songahm Taekwondo style. Mrs. Sun C. Lee, wife of the late Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee and the ATA's Chairman of the Board, continues the legacy of her husband by helping the youth of Songahm Taekwondo through her philanthropic efforts and devotion. Our leadership ensures that the ATA will continue to be one of the most innovative, effective, and widespread organizations in martial arts worldwide

From its humble beginnings, today the ATA and its affiliated organizations is beginning to register over 300,000 members worldwide, including 53,000 black belts and 3,000 certified instructors.

"Abs" - solutely

After a grueling 2 hour workout last night, I awoke this morning with my muscles screaming in protest. Getting out of bed was difficult, attempting to walk was agony. But I managed to slowly shuffle thru my day. This isn't the first time a Songahm Taekwondo has left sore and stiff - and knowing the instructors at my school it won't be the last.

All day I argued with myself on whether or not to attend to class tonight. The devil on my shoulder whispered "You're tired, your body hurts, you can afford to skip one class". The arguments were persuasive. However, in the end my Taekwondo angel won out, and I put on my dobok and headed to the school.

I'm glad I did. Tonight's class was lead by Mr. P -- one of my favorite instructors. His classes tend to have a military aspect to them - think lots of drills focusing on a specific body part (arms, legs, core). The focus for this class was the core. Prior to this evening, I hadn't done a single sit-up in 3 and a half weeks. Mid-way thru October I cracked by tailbone, so doing crunches on a bottom that barely tolerates sitting was out of the question. The tone and definition I had gained is/was rapidly disappearing. So Mr. P's ab workout was a much needed one.

By the end of the 20 mins, my abs were on fire....which means they'll really be burning tomorrow. After abs, we broke down into belt classifications. The WOY (orange, white, yellow) on one side, the PC ( purple/camo) on the other. We went thru our 1-steps --- for those who don't know, we are not permitted to contact spar until we reach the rank of Camo. Instead, we do 1-steps, or shadow sparring. Basically, it is a set of pre-defined evades and attacks. Although the PC group is allowed to spar, Mr. P had them review 1-steps from their lower forms. The assistant instructor, Mr. D, was working with us WOY folks. He really loves to yell, so by classes end, we were yelling off our aggressions -- and probably scaring the PC group just a bit. Class ended with a review of our form.

Tonight's class was intense, but in different way than yesterday's. I was able to move around and loosen up my tight muscles. I'm glad I listened to the angel.

Riddle

What's orange, black and blue all over? .....(drum roll)..... Me! Mr. M, our Chief instructor and school owner, was out sick tonight. So I went into class expected a more relaxed workout from Mr. C. Historically speaking, Mr. C's classes have focused on drills that reinforced the basics of Taekwondo. While I understand, that I as a low rank, really need to grasp the basics. I found myself often not giving a 100%, which translated in less than stellar workout.

Not so this evening. Mr. C began the cardio fight class with about 10 minutes of conditioning....think speed jump rope, followed by chair taps (that's a drill in which you have to alternate toe taps on the top of a chair, then moved on to a drill that had us semi-crawling across the floor. After conditioning, we moved onto sparring. By the end of cardio fight class, my legs were sore and my arms were jelly. But apparently, I'm a glutton for punishment, because I stuck around for the Traditional Adult Class.

After a 6 minute warm up of bag work, we moved into kicking drills. Try doing double round kicks after 30 minutes of sparring......big challenge. After the drills, we were divided by belt to work on our material for the upcoming testing. I practiced my form several times, focusing on perfecting the techniques. Also worked on my 1-steps and self-defense.

Now I'm hot, sweaty and sore. Next on the agenda is a shower, a bite of dinner, and then bed. I have a feeling I'll sleep great tonight.

Perry Taekwondo Tournament

I competed in my first ATA Taekwondo tournament this weekend. Watching the various competitors throughout the day, left me with a serious case of nerves. But then Samantha and Nicholas, 2 of the young students from my school, saw me prior to my turn and gave me HUGE 'good luck hugs'. Their support, plus that of my parents and Jess, relaxed me. I took the floor and performed to the best of abilities. That translated into a 2nd place finish in Forms, and a 3rd place in Sparring. Not too bad for my first time out of the gate. :-)

Stress Reduction

My life is crazy - work, work, friends, family, a long-distance relationship, - lots of stressful situations. In the past, the stress has gotten to me, resulting in major headaches, breakdowns, and a bad disposition. For the past 2 weeks, I have been attending taekwondo 4 nights a week. And I've seen a major drop in my stress levels. I still have work, friends, family and the long-distance relationship - but I have changed the way I react to situation. I don't bottle up my emotions - I express them in a healthy manner, and burn them off by punching, kicking, sparring.

Taekwondo may not be the cure all stress reliever for everyone. But it sure is working for me.