TKD Opportunities Sprouting Up this Spring

Coming to class is a tremendous way to tap into the world of Taekwondo and how it can enhance your own varied abilities. To open the floodgates of your own potential Taekwondo offers much more. 

Attending activities that expose you to new teachers, new classmates, new challenges and new information will help you grow as a martial artist and person.  Consider doing just one of the following to enhance your life experience and become something greater than you were before 2013.

Tournament opportunities for all students: 

• February 2nd MTC Fun Tournament, 
• February 9th Zootown Kickdown hosted by MT TKD Academy, 
• April 13 Great Falls Tournament hosted by GM Scott Miranti,    
• April 20th Dae Myung Tournament in Butte
• May 4th Livingston Tournament hosted by GM Dan Williams.

Some other tournaments for passionate pursuers are the US Open in Las Vegas February 18-24th, the MT State USAT National Qualifier and MT Collegiate Fight Off on March 23rd in Bonner, National Collegiates in Colorado on April 13th, and USAT Nationals in Chicago July 3-9.

It is not just tournaments that can expand your martial arts experience. Growth may be spurred by something as simple as picking up an extra class during the week or even just once a month. Every person in a class changes and enhances the dynamic. Even when learning from the same instructor, with different students, he or she may approach a lesson from a slightly or completely new angle which may reach right to the heart of your understanding.

We highly encourage attendance at the seminar being given by Grandmaster Park in Butte (for all belts)on Friday March 1st and/or the Judo winter camp at Clark Canyon Bible Camp also instructed by Grandmaster Park (for blue belts and above) on March 2nd and 3rd. A seminar with Grandmaster Park is a rare occurrence in Montana and should be treated like it may never happen again.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

The Booster Club/ Butter Braids

Taekwondo Competition is life enriching, and can sometimes be wallet slimming. To counter the slimming of any families’ wallet we encourage the use of the MTC Booster Club as a source of funds for competition or other extras like the Dae Myung Winter Camp. 

Currently Booster Club members can sell the very delicious Butter Braids to earn money for their Booster Club account ($3 from each braid goes directly into the student’s account). Students can sell until March 8th and the Braids will be delivered on March 20th.

To learn more about this and other facets of the MTC Booster Club please plan to attend the Monthly meeting , scheduled this month for February 13th at 5:30PM (may be changed to February 20th-announced soon).

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Why do we Do?

When our Grandmaster speaks he constantly reinforces that martial arts are for life. That we may be kicking, punching, blocking, rolling, throwing, sweeping, holding and pulling, but what we are really doing is enhancing our own lives and the lives of everyone we know.

We are utilizing the knowledge we gain to enhance our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual selves. We are developing our physical bodies to use in and outside of the dojang. We are building relationships that will help us uncover our own true hearts and that will support us through the highs and lows of training and life.

Simply, our daily training goal should be to do Taekwondo tomorrow as well as today. Listen to and respect what your body tells you and internalize the entwined lessons of humility, perseverance, modesty and self control.

Broadly, our training goal should be to do Taekwondo for our whole life. Not just until we die, but also to become a better human being every step of the way. To contribute in a positive way to all our rolls in life.

Tae Kwon Do, the way of kicking and punching, is primarily about the way.  Grandmaster Park also defines it as “the Life Road”.

Through your entire journey stay mindful of the fact that whether you are in a period of incremental growth or are leaping forward along your path, you are still making progress along your life road.

Taking on Thomas Edison’s way of thinking, you can see where what you learn in Taekwondo can take you. He said, when asked about all of his attempts at inventing the light bulb, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that it won't work.”  Let your failures and your successes be woven into the fabric of you. Celebrate and own every stitch of your existence. Develop your “Do” through a lifetime practice of Tae Kwon Do.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Stay in the Loop

The best way to be sure that you know what is going on at MTC is to follow us on Twitter. It is as simple as sending a text message to start and then you will receive a text message update when there are schedule changes or other important time sensitive information to share.

To receive our updates as a text message on your cell phone: text  follow mtcweb to 40404. You will be asked to reply with your name. Once you have done that you are all set to receive our tweets. You will know when we have an abnormality in our schedule or get reminders of special events.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Belt Testing Coming Up

Belt test preparation is a perfect way to imbibe your training with purpose. We recommend testing every 3 months for all colored belts.  Test readiness can be determined by the individual student but we highly encourage being fully prepared so you may approach the test with an, “I can’t wait to show all that I have worked hard to learn.” Instead of, “I hope I did enough to get by.” All Belt Test Requirements are available to download at missoulatkd.com. 

We also encourage checking in with an instructor to make sure you know what is required to test.  A private lesson may be just the right way to ensure that a student is fully prepared for a test.  See the posters on the bulletin board for available instructors.

We always shoot for holding our belt tests every 6 weeks, so students should participate in every other test until they reach black belt. The next test is scheduled for Friday, March 8th.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky