Fun coming up

I know our name says we are a “Taekwondo Center” but if you have not noticed we also have a lot more than just martial arts going on here. In the next 2 months we will have a Movie Night/Lock In, Craft fair, First Night Demonstration, and our much anticipated Paddleball Tournament.

The Movie Night/Lock In to be held on December 8th/9th 7PM-8AM is for students and their friends age 7-12. The cost is $25 per person. The fun includes movies on the big screen, popcorn, rock climbing, hide and seek and a sleepover with 40 of your closest TKD friends. Please sign up and pay in advance.

Craft Fair hosted by Master Glenn Parks will be held December 8th, 15th and 22nd. Local artists including a few of our very own TKD family will have their wares on display and for sale just in time for Holiday gift giving.

The First Night Demonstration, a long standing tradition at MTC, will take place on December 31st at JC Penny Court in Southgate Mall. We will begin practicing the first week of December on Tuesdays and Thursdays 7:00-7:30. Everyone is welcome to be on the Demo Team. There are usually about 50 students who participate in this demo. All skill levels are welcome. To ensure a premier spot in the demo start practicing now on Fridays at 7:00 in our Flips and Tricks class with Coach Keane and his brother Lane. Sign ups for the Demo will begin after Thanksgiving.

The Paddleball Tournament will once again be held the Saturday before Christmas. For those of you who have not participated in this event you are in for a surprise. The competition is fierce and preparations begin way in advance. Teams come up with team names, mascots and jerseys. Sign up as a team of 3 in the Teen/Adult division or a team of up to 4 with 3 kids and 1 adult (team make ups must be preapproved by the tournament committee (AKA Mrs. Rosbarsky). The entry fee is $10 per person. 

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Thank you

The Love and Effort shown by our TKD family in our October tournament is overwhelming. Every year we are honored to be joined by so many of our students and their supporters to pull off the tremendous Missoula Taekwondo Championships. This year, our 10th, was one to be remembered for the across the board participation. The Booster Club effort was spread out to many families thanks to the organizational and driving effort of a few families. The list of individuals who gave of themselves so every athlete and family could have a rewarding experience is pages long.

Thank you to all of you for giving of yourselves to make for such a fantastic event for all of Montana’s martial artists.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

National Events Team

Are there students you admire as great martial artists or just plain awesome people at MTC? Chances are those students have been part of our National Events Team and you can be too.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME! All MTC students have the ability to be part of this team. And we encourage you to join us on November 7th to find out more details.

It would seem that at first glance the 2013 USA Taekwondo National Championships on July 3-9 is a long way off, but we ask for commitments in October every year. The process of preparation and growth is one that will be best had over an 8 month period. In that 8 months all or part of the National Events Team will attend the Pikes Peak Challenge in Denver on January 19th, the US Open in Las Vegas on February 19-23 a state qualifier in March and a regional qualifier in April or May and finally Nationals in June. Any current student may be eligible for these events.

This meeting is for all families interested in the possibility of attending one or all out of state events in the Spring and Summer of 2013. 

Please join us at 6:30PM on November 7th.

Most of these events are for ages 6+, yellow belt and up. The only exception is the US Open. The Open is a black belt only international event open to ages 10+.

We will discuss financial and time obligations as well many details associated with preparation for these events.

Last year we took our biggest team yet to nationals. We had 20 athletes from the age of 6 all the way to 40+ with yellow to black belts. This year we will be happy to welcome you to our team.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Kalispell Tournament

The last tournament of the Fall season will be the 15th Annual Big Sky Martial Arts Championships in Kalispell on November 10th.

We encourage all of our students interested in competition to make the trip up Highway 93 for this event. There will be competition in forms and sparring with a good sized athlete pool that in the past includes athletes from Idaho, Montana and a team from Canada. MTA members pay just $45 to compete in sparring and forms.

Please plan to turn in your completed registration and payment to MTC by November 2nd. If you plan to use Booster Club funds to pay for your registration be sure that your request is made to the Booster Club one week prior to the date the check is needed. Otherwise please write a personal check to go with the registration then fill out your BC request  form for a reimbursement check.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Black Belt Test

Nearly every person who makes it to yellow belt yearns to someday be a black belt. A small percentage of individuals belts actually attain the lofty goal of earning it.

It takes years of dedicated practice, uncounted multiples of kicks, numerous occurrences of going to class even though they didn’t feel like it, A LOT of sweat, a few papers, a few more bucks and the support of an entire community of family, friends and classmates.

A select few individuals who have invested what it takes will be participating in a celebration of sorts, their Black Belt Test on November 17th.

Drop in to MTC anytime between 10AM and 6PM to cheer on this year’s candidates.

Our Moment to Shine/MTChampionships

For ten years the Missoula Taekwondo Center Family has been showing the greater Montana community how a tournament can have the greatest possible affect on all of its participants.  This year our chance to bring our touch of love and effort to all aspects of running and participating in a tournament is on October 19th and 20th, here in Missoula at the RAM Activity Center.

The Missoula Taekwondo Championships is always an efficient, enriching coming together of our region's Taekwondo Community.

Organizing, staffing and operating a tournament is a massive group effort.  Without the helping hands of each of our family members we would be unable to provide a life enriching experience to all participants.  We ask that each MTC family participate in some way (or multiple ways) to give yourselves the great satisfaction of contributing to the experience of our own children and the Martial Artists from our entire region.

How to participate or contribute to the MTChampionships:

Students:  Martial Artists from Missoula Taekwondo Center can use paper registration found on the bulletin board at MTC or online registration is available at missoulatkd.com.  There is competition in Poomsae, Sparring, NEW Sport Poomsae and there are divisions for athletes with disabilities.  There are special discounts for MTC Students, MTA members and Families.

Students and Parents:  There are a wide variety of jobs to be done to run this event including setting up, working gear sales, admissions, registration, medical and logistics.  Most jobs require very little effort, but make a tremendous difference in everyone's experience.  Please sign up for a shift or two on the front counter.

Parents and Students 14+:  Officiating or judging is a great way to engage in this and all Montana Tournament.  There will be a MTA certification taught by Master Rosbarsky on October 6th at MTC for any new referees as well as those seeking a refresher. Click HERE for more information.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Why Compete?

In the martial arts there are many conflicting schools of thought.  Some are all about competition, some are only about self defense and others still are anti-conflict.

We are of the thinking that competition develops a process that enriches the competitors lives through deeply preparing for a meaningful goal.  It is not the act of competing that makes a martial artist a greater person but the process of preparing mentally, emotionally and physically.  In the weeks, months and eventually years that some competitors spend training for competitions they discover more about themselves and with proper training, goal setting and coaching actually become better people.

So start your journey and participate in the Missoula Taekwondo Championships on October 19th & 20th.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Women's Leadership Council/Worth the Fight

The Montana Taekwondo Association's Women's Leadership Council had a planning and idea sharing meeting on October 5th at 7:30pm at MTC.

The WLC is for all females in, or with an interest in, ( a daughter, granddaughter, mother or friend who participates) Taekwondo and the roles females fulfill within our sport and community.  Our goals include empowering women and girls to be leaders within their tkd families and their other social circles, and also to find ways to positively impact our world.

The WLC is planning events for this Fall that include women's and girl's self defense clinics and seminars.  Their first event will be hosted by Florence Carlton High School on October 7th at 5pm.

This meeting will serve to lay the groundwork for week long (1 hour per day) seminars being taught in area high schools.  The seminars will teach self defense techniques as well as empowerment skills and how to see and shift the way females define themselves.  In short our priority is to teach every female we can reach that they are Worth the Fight.

ALL of our female TKD community members are invited and encouraged to attend this meeting.  We have lofty goals of reaching every female age 12+ in the state of Montana.  To do this we will need many individuals with diverse strengths.

As a sideline, we have also coordinated a team to run/walk the Diva Day 5K on Saturday October 6th at Fort Missoula and the Community Medical Center Campus.  You can register to be part of our team at runwildmissoula.com.  Our team name is MTA Leadership Divas, team leader is Amanda Rosbarsky and our password is 100612.

All females are welcome!

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

MTC Haunted House and Halloween Carnival

Mark your calendar for October 27th for the Halloween Carnival and Haunted House at MTC.

Organized as a National Team Fundraiser this year.  Prepare to be scared out of your shoes!!!

MTA Referee Seminar at MTC

The Montana Taekwondo Association invites all Martial Artist and individuals 14+ to learn how to be a Taekwondo referee.  And Master Rosbarsky asks that all of our students age 14+ attend this seminar to become more familiar with all rules associated with sparring and poomsae.  This will give everyone a deeper understanding of the rules and give each person a way to contribute to our TKD family and the Montana Taekwondo community.

Join us from 1pm to 5pm on October 6th.

The cost is $35 and includes your MTA membership (a $25 value) and your referee shirt. Click HERE for registration form.

All people age 14+ are eligible.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Colored Belt Test

Schedule permitting we hold belt tests every 6 weeks, but expect all colored belts to test at a rate of once every 3 months.  That means that if a student should test in every other test that is held.  If, a student did not test in our August 24th test they should be testing in this test.

The next installment of Colored Belt Test will be Friday, October 12th at MTC.

***The only class held on Belt Test day is a general Poomsae Class from 4:00-5:00.***

We appreciate that belt testing is an exciting and sometime anxiety causing event.  If you or your child has testing anxiety please let us help you through it.  Sometimes a peptalk will help sometimes scheduling a private lesson or helping a student come up with their own doable practice plan will get them over the lump of anxiety.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky