McMinnville Taekwondo

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...

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.

Coming up: Vernonia Tournament! We and the Forest Grove Dojang are hosting the next tournament February 20, in Vernonia, Oregon. Don't miss this one. All proceeds will go to the Vernonia School District, which is still trying to recover from devastating flooding. Click here for a larger image of poster. If you are a new student, we highly recommend that you at least go and watch. Participation in a tournament is an excellent way to meet new friends, get contact with the students and black belts from other Kim's schools, to hone your skills in a competition environment, and to find out that there is no limit to your courage. When: Feb. 20, 2010, starts at noon. Where: Vernonia High School, Vernonia, OR 97064 Directions: try google maps , or simply take Highway 47 north to Vernonia. The highway passes through Banks, joins Hwy 26 for a few miles, then diverts north at Staley's Junction. Follow Hwy 47 for about fifteen miles after the junction. As you come into town,...

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...

For some reason, less experienced students tend to forget about front kick during sparring matches. They often rely on side kick and round kick, even when the angle is wrong and a front kick would have been simpler, faster, and easier. Maybe the problem is that from a beginner’s point of view, front kick is not so simple. It does require some skill to produce a proper front kick weapon, and many students struggle with pulling their toes back far enough. This article offers some ways to build those muscles and perfect that front kick. But remember, the black belts have such beautiful weapons of the foot because they’ve spent years developing them. A powerful kick doesn’t happen overnight. The Weapon First, a proper front kick weapon points the ball of the foot (that round fairly hard area just below the big toe and second toe) at the target. The top of the foot is a flat line all the way up the leg, and the toes are pulled back at a ninety degree angle. It isn’t luck that produce...

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."