McMinnville Taekwondo

Master Instruction at Affordable Prices Focus, fitness, self-control  Set and reach goals with new friends: all shapes and sizes welcome!  The five tenets of Taekwondo— courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit—teach students to follow a path that will lead to developing those qualities that help us reach our best potential. If you stick with it, if you push through, face your fears, test your limits, you will find that Taekwondo has the power to change your life. It changed mine, and I see it change the lives of our students. If you have an injury or another obstacle that has set you back, try talking with your instructors. They can offer guidance. Whatever goals you have set for yourself, don’t give up! Martial Arts:  Trio of Life Skills According to the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness , martial arts offer the "trio of life skills": through the study of formal martial arts, students can be healthier...

Click HERE for an excellent video on how to tie your belt. The only thing I would add is that when you place the belt against your belly, your rank should be on the end of the belt to your left, so that when tied, your rank is on the right side of the belt.

People who have never studied martial arts often ask what a student does after s/he achieves a black belt? Getting a black belt is the ultimate martial arts achievement... isn't it? Since we recently had two students promote to black belt, which takes a minimum three years of hard work and dedication, this would be a good time to share General Choi Hong Hi's words in regard to what it means to have achieved first degree black belt: Significance of first degree   First degree—expert or novice? One of the greatest misconceptions within the martial arts is the notion that all black belt holders are experts. It is understandable that those unacquainted with the martial arts might make this equation. However, students should certainly recognize that this is not always the case. Too often, novice black belt holders advertise themselves as experts and eventually even convince themselves. The first degree black belt holder has usually learned enough technique to defend himsel...

Here is a fascinating article on "The Physics of Karate."

Saturday, April 17th. The walk started at Pioneer Courthouse Square, went down to the waterfront, along the river, across, and back. The weather was beautiful, the cause was to raise money for MS research, and the company was excellent. We used to do the MS walk each year in Forest Grove, in honor of our classmate Kathy, who has Multiple Sclerosis. This year, Ed and I decided to get back into the habit and joined the Masters Tesdal and various other Kim's Taekwondo schools and do the Portland walk. Next year, we'll work harder at inviting our students to join us, in honor of another close friend who has MS.

Exciting news! Master Carothers has been featured in the May, 2010 issue of Tae Kwon Do Times magazine. Current subscribers report already receiving it in their mailboxes, so look for it in stores!

More pictures on the slideshow (look in panel on right) and on facebook: Kim's Taekwondo Hong Sik Kim Dojang.

These videos are posted in order for students to observe their performances and to share with family and friends who couldn't make it to the tournament. Great job people! We really enjoyed watching all the teams compete.

Just a few pictures from the tourney in Vernonia.

A safe work out includes warming up before any serious activity. We do warming up exercises as part of class, but these are meant to follow a slower, more careful warm-up, so I encourage students to move and stretch before class starts. It is vitally important that students (and teachers) warm up carefully and don’t just dive into class unprepared. If you warn muscles as to what you want them to do, they respond a lot better… and you avoid pulls and strains. Also, warming up gets your heart ready for exercise. At the bottom, I included a couple of hot links to articles on stretching. These offer visuals and more detail than I included here. First: Warm Up Studies have shown that muscles need warmed up (literally, raising the temperature of your body) before you put harsher demands on them. The best way to start warming up is to walk or jog slowly around for a few minutes. Once you’re warm, start at the top: move your neck gently and slowly, back and forth (stretch out your chin...

We are now offering Kim's Taekwondo classes through Chemeketa Community College as a one credit PE class! How cool is that? If you want college credit, just sign up at Chemeketa, either online HERE or at Chemeketa's Yamhill Valley Campus, off of Highway 18 and NE Norton Lane across the highway from Willamette Valley Medical.

Here is an inside view of the padded floor. Here is the outside view of our new place to work out. No more worry about whether the gradeschool will let us in, and no more hauling equipment all over the place! Here is an inside view of our favorite wall: And here is Ed faithfully sweeping the secondary workout area. The dressing rooms are there on the left. We are working on getting more workout equipment and on learning how to utilize this fantastic space to its best potential. To keep it going, we need to recruit more students...

Board holders are hard to find, even on the internet. Here is an inexpensive model, $70. It is quickly adaptable to various sized boards, can be easily adjusted for height with one hand, and can be held by one person, even a child, while someone practices breaking boards. Currently posted on Craigslist under Portland, OR sporting goods. Search "board holder, one hand."