YOU are Worth The Fight

That is the message we are sending in our self defense/self definition/empowerment seminar exclusively for Missoula Taekwondo Center Family females on March 16th.   

This self defense seminar will be more than just a way to learn some ninja moves to help you in a tense or dangerous situation. We will focus on how to ensure that you are reaching your full potential in life through self definition.

Many, if not most, instances of violence against women are not perpetrated in the blink of an eye. Often people are victimized because they believe they are not worth being treated well and therefore have      remained in situations that slowly escalate into verbal, mentally or physical abuse. That is why our Worth The Fight seminars will focus on each person making the discovery of what makes them uniquely Worth The Fight. We will also guide individuals to some realization about who and what, outside of themselves, have an interest in defining them. Other people, clothing companies, recording artists, movie production companies, food venders, cigarette companies; the list of potential influences on who you become is nearly endless.  

Join the crowd of females who believe they are Worth The Fight .

Saturday, March 16th         

1-3PM

At Missoula Taekwondo Center

For all females age 6-96 in our Family. Weather you are a martial artist, mom, sister, grandmother or friend of a MTC martial artist you are Family to us.

There is a suggested donation of $15.                  

Sign up with your BFF (or your daughter, sister or mother )and give             

$20 total for the 2 of you.

Advanced sign up is suggested. Limited space available.

Come in sweats and bring a water bottle.

See you there!

Notes from our Noses

Although there is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground as I write this, it is  becoming the season to think about how you may affect the olfactory senses of yourself and those around you after an hour of intense running, jumping, kicking, blocking, striking and such. In other words, now that it is getting warmer outside our bodies start to sweat more and with that they also start to smell more, when our bodies smell more in an enclosed space we are all affected.

There are many socially accepted ways to alleviate body odors. They include showering, laundering your clothing, wearing deodorant, wearing socks in your shoes and eating healthy natural foods (without beans). Please feel free to employ these and other methods of keeping yourself and our dojang smelling sweet.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Nationals Qualifier/Sparring Seminar/Collegiate Fight Off

Montana athletes are invited to compete at the 2013 Montana State USAT Championships to qualify for competition at this summer’s Junior and Senior Nationals in Chicago. This qualifying tournament will take place on March 23rd at Bonner School. This is a mandatory step for athletes competing in Chicago July 3rd-8th. Registration must occur online at usat.hangastar by March 15th to receive the Early Kick discount. There is NO day of event registration.

This qualifier is not a typical tournament. We must use the same divisions that are used at the national events where there are 3000+ competitors. This means at our event with around 50 competitors there will likely be very few contested qualifying spots. Most athletes will qualify without needing to fight. We will, however, arrange exhibition matches whenever possible. 

Following the qualifier…the Montana Taekwondo Association will host a Competition Clinic, also at Bonner for 2 hours. All MTA members are welcome to participate in the clinic. Master Rosbarsky, Master Miranti and Master Williams will run the clinic. The fee for the clinic is $25. Registrations are available at MTC.

Following the clinic… the first ever MTA Collegiate Team Fight-Offs will take place also at Bonner School. Current Collegiate athletes from the state of Montana who are MTA members and red or black belts may compete for a chance to earn 1 of 10 $300 scholarships to be used at National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships on April 13th and 14th in Colorado Springs, CO. The fee to participate in the fight off is $25 includes entrance into the preceding Competition Clinic.

You may call Mrs. Rosbarsky or visit montanataekwondo.org for further information.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Spring Happenings

So many Taekwondo things happening this spring. Here is a list to pique your interest.

Tournaments will be held on: 

 April 13th in Great Falls, 

April 20th in Butte,  

May 4th in Livingston, 

May 25th-26th in Los Angeles

June 1st in Butte.

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

Drummond, Denver and 2 in Missoula

This time of year we don’t always have many competition opportunities in Montana, but this year is far different. Starting with 2 new tournaments on January 19th. 

The first of which is just to the east of us in Drummond. This will be The Drummond Taekowndo Championships first year, but the tournament organizers are very familiar faces around here. Gordy Paske and his daughters all have trained here at MTC with us off and on over the years and run the Taekwondo program in Drummond. They are faithful supporters of our tournament and they and their students exemplify good martial artists. We encourage all of our students to participate in this tournament as we are sure you will find a positive community of martial artists hosting this event. The cost of this event is $45 for MTA members and $55 for nonmembers. Please fill out your registration and hand it in to Mrs. R by January 11th. 

Also on the 19th about a dozen of our MTC NET (National Events Team) will travel to Denver for the 1st Pikes Peak Daedo Challenge which promises to be a top level event with competitors from all of the nation.

We will have our biannual FUN Tournament here at MTC on February 2nd.  This has stood the test of time as the greatest tournament experience for new students and for students who are new to competition. It is also, like the name says, FUN. This is just for MTC students and is an incredibly low stress way to bond with your Taekwondo Family. We use the FUN Tournament as a day for learning and gaining confidence in all facets of the tournament experience. From fitting the mouth guard to learning the holding area process to learning what the referee signals and calls mean. Spectators are free and the registration fee is $30. To encourage a fuller tournament experience we give a discount to families that also volunteer an hour or 2 to help out.

Also, Montana TKD Academy is hosting a tournament on Feb 9th. Details available soon.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

NEW!!!! Poomsae DVDs

The long awaited revamp of our very own Poomsae DVDs are now available!

We are grateful to Tony Gamell for affording us the opportunity to develop this invaluable tool for students to progress in Taekwondo. The videos feature Master and Mrs. R showing the poomsae in 3 helpful formats with instruction to optimize your at home practice time. Having these DVDs will help you take the progression of your TKD journey in your own hands.

Each DVD, Taeguek or Palgwe, can be purchased individually for $25 or as a set for $45. This pricing is for a limited time and will normally be $30 each. The Mastering Taekowndo Poomsae DVDs are also available on Amazon. If you purchase from Amazon please also submit a review so more people can benefit from your experience.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Ski Day at Discovery

Our annual ski day is planned for January 26th at Discovery Ski Area.

Every year we set aside a day for our TKD family to ski together. Most years there are around 60 of us that meet at the hill and spend the day gliding down the mountain on our boards and skis.

In years past we have done an advanced sign up for lift tickets, rentals and lessons. It has been a bit of a logistical nightmare, so this year we will coordinate a  caravan and plan for a group picture followed by a group run.

To caravan with us please plan to meet at the dojang at 7:30 AM. There will be a sign up sheet available to coordinate drivers with extra room and ride-less skiers and their gear.

We will plan a 1:30 picture behind the lodge and a Goldbug run to follow. All TKD family welcome. 

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky