Back in the Swing of Things – Classes and Tournaments

Fall brings routine back to our lives and with it a more consistent TKD attendance.  We look forward to having you all in our lives and a steady basis again.

• We spent a great summer with camps, our own and those taught by Grand Master Park, tournaments, nationally and abroad and lots of great Missoula summer activities.  As a side note, next summer we will hold the same camps and will add camps based on your input.  All of our camps were at capacity so when sign ups are available, get your name on there early.

•  Master and Mrs. Rosbarsky are joined by Master Parks, Mr. Watson, Mr. Mikkola, Ms. Hunton, Ms Ardiana and Ms Jes Curtis on the mat and at the front desk to teach and guide our families along their TKD path.  We care what you think and welcome hearing from you on any subject TKD related or otherwise. We have a wealth of knowledge in all of our black belts and other TKD family members and we highly encourage our TKD family supporting each other in the dojang and in life outside of TKD.

• To help all our students learn more and excel we have restructured Friday classes and are excited to see where this will take us.  Come try out a new class.

•   To start your tournament season off right, we are once again holding the MTC FUN Tournament on September 17^th.  This is the perfect event for all MTC Taekwondoists, those who are new to tournaments and even for those who are new to taekwondo.  This event is low stress and low cost enough to suit the most timid beginners.  Registration begins September 6^th and ends September 16^th.

•   The Fall tournament season will continue with tournaments in October and November in Missoula and Kalispell.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Belt Testing

Hopefully I can answer some of the many questions about tests and open the doors for more questions to be answered.
The next belt test will be held on September 23rd.  We generally hold group colored belt tests every 6 to 8 weeks, however, students should test every 3-4 months. Colored Belts should have a minimum of 2 tips to test.
Poomsae is a required element at each test, as are kicks, strikes, blocks, self-defense and terminology.  White belts age 7 and older are required to know Taeguek 1, white belts age 4-6 will perform Basic Form 1 (with or without help). Yellow belts and above will be tested over 1 new Taeguek and 1 new Palgwe at each test and should retain all previous forms.  When testing for Sr. Yellow one should know T2 and P1, for Green T3 and P2, and so on.

The sign up sheet or the next test is on the bulletin board. Please sign up and pay the $25 testing fee 1 week in advance.

from the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

 

The Belt Requirements Page on the webpage can be helpful in preparing to test.  It will have the requirements in .pdf format and several pictures and video to help with the different kicks, strikes, blocks and stances.  (The test may not be limited to the requirements list, but also include other techniques learned  in class).

Functional Fitness with Keane Hamilton

Functional Fitness is a group fitness class taking place at Missoula Taekwondo Center.  It is called functional fitness because every movement you will do in this class is a natural, and functional body movement.  You will jump, lift, climb, throw, push, run and much more.  We use our own body weight, medicine balls, Bulgarian bags, and much more.  Workouts are created and led by trainer Keane Hamilton.  Keane is a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer and has a B.S. in Exercise Science.  He was also one of Master Rosbarsky’s first Taekwondo students. 
Keane is also currently training the national team at MTC.  Come check out Functional Fitness at MTC.  Your first class is free!!  Classes take place Mondays and Wednesdays 11am to noon, and 4:30pm to 5:30pm.  Contact Keane Hamilton for more info or feel free to show up to class.

Keanehamilton@gmail.com
406-531-8492
Facebook page

TKD Logistics (PARKING)

Getting to Missoula TKD by foot, bike, bus or car is relatively easy.

We enjoy our central location very much, but upon arrival many of our students and their parents confront a different logistical problem—parking.  We are great proponents of parents being involved with their children’s journey in TKD by actively watching class whenever possible.  With that in mind, if you will be staying for the entire class please consider parking in the Northeast corner of the Mall parking lot. This will free up spaces closer for quick in and out and hopefully alleviate some parking stress for those who live in the neighborhood.  Also if you park near the railroad tracks please be mindful of the space trains need to pass through.

From the Desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Fall Schedule

This schedule begins September 1st, 2011.  Please keep this copy and use our website for future reference.  Also for reminders of special events, schedule changes and or closures please join our Missoula Taekwondo Center Facebook group or sign up to get text message updates on Twitter (text "follow mtcweb" to 40404 from your cellphone then reply with your first and last name to receive important MTC tweets or sign up on Twitter).  This is particularly helpful when there are class cancellations due to belt tests or MCPS holidays.

Website Calendar and Class Schedule.

Fall tests will be September 23rd and November 11th.  

We will be closed for Holidays September 5th, November 23-25th and December 22nd to January 2nd.  These dates are the same dates Missoula County Public School are closed for holidays (not PIR or conference days.)

Within the new schedule you will find changes to Friday and some detailed descriptions of classes we have had and will continue to have.

Note a General Poomsae Class which will introduce poomsae in a quicker format to cover more of the forms. And the Competition Team classes which focus more on presentation elements of the forms and on sparring.  All of the Competition Team classes will focus on self improvement through striving to attain skills that are only within our reach with a maximal level of effort.

August Camps

Ninja Camp

The much anticipated Ninja Camp is nearly upon us.  We will be accepting a few more campers.  The first ever Ninja Camp is August 9-13 (Tuesday to Saturday), 9:30AM to Noon for 8 year olds and up.  This camp will be a melding of Taekwondo and Parkour and will culminate with a performance for parents on Saturday.  Sign ups are at the Dojang on the bulletin board. Registration Form.

Dae Myung Camp with Grand Master Jae Ho Park

A very rare opportunity to train with Grand Master Park and his son Edison Park are coming up August 26-28. 

 Grand Master Martin of Butte has coordinated an International Dae Myung Moodoo Federation Camp at Clark Canyon Bible Camp near Dillon, Montana.  The schools attending are IDMF schools from around Montana (MTC included), New York, California and possibly Rome, Italy. 

We will receive instruction in Taekwondo, Judo and Hapkido.  Aside from the instruction in techniques participants will come home with tremendous exposure to the Philosophies of the Martial Arts we hold so dear. Grand Master Park, Master Edison and Grand Master Martin are great men and gifted teachers who have much to offer us in the way of knowledge and humanity.

This camp is open to ALL Belts and ages!  We can not stress enough what a life changing opportunity this is and how seizing this moment is tremendously important.

The cost of camp is $130 which includes meals, lodging and instruction without instruction the cost is $95.  This means families can attend.  All campers under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

Please contact Mrs. R for questions about these camps and forms are available at missoulatkd.com.

 From the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky

Poomsae Practice

Lately I have been fielding many questions about how to gain proficiency in Poomsae.  Commonly I hear, “why don’t they practice enough in class to “get it”?”  The most simply put answer is  “If we practiced in class enough to really “get it” we would not have time for anything else.”  

Poomsae, being a set pattern, is one element of Taekwondo that we can become proficient at with practice on our own, and, in fact, will not get past a basic level of proficiency without practice outside of class.

We recommend using the Powerful Poomsae DVDs to ensure correct practice at home.  These DVDs feature Master R and are great for all colored belts at MTC.  We have them on hand and they are also available at amazon.com.

To have proficiency in Poomsae carving out a spot for it in your daily routine is a must.

From the desk of Mrs. Rosbarsky