ARTICLE IDEAS AND CONTENT

Sidekicks is the official newsletter of the UD-ITC. Its purpose is to assist in the education of UD-ITC members. We hope to have a wide variety of news in Sidekicks. Included will be brief biographies of founders and famous Taekwon-Do stylists, in-depth features on techniques and philosophies, Century sales, and anything else of interest. If you have ideas for articles (such as questions which you think would have an interesting explanation), please ask one of the officers or instructors.

WHY STUDY TAEKWON-DO?

Taekwon-Do, taken as a body of knowledge (just as a theory of music or the study of engineering) is a very powerful tool in the inventory of human knowledge and ability. Studied specifically (as the beginner must do in order to understand any problem more generally), it is a defensive art to protect oneself and others from physical attack. As the beginner advances, more opportunities for application of Taekwon-Do techniques exist everyday, including:

the theory of power as applied to any sport
concentration skills as applied to study or meditation
understanding of internal motivation
teaching as applied to public speaking skills
perseverance and encouragement as applied to positive attitude in life
leadership as applied to management in professional life.

Taken generally, Taekwon-Do can be thought of as a tool for use in many specific aspects of life. This application, however, takes years of study of the art specifically--one can't just "be in" a Taekwon-Do club and expect it to happen. To be truly useful, the student must get more out of the art than just "how to fight"--after all, how many times a day will that skill be used? Only through a commitment with yourself to study the art will this occur. How then, one might ask, does performing a front-punch in class contribute to all this? As General Choi said, "A beginning constitutes a significant part of the entire endeavor". The punch is a start, just as is every technique you learn. With them, a major stride has been made; without them, none.

It should be pointed out that, as powerful a tool as Taekwon-Do can be, it is not for everyone. Individuals are motivated by different things. Environment and situation contribute to motivation. The general applications which Taekwon-Do can provide to life can be achieved through other means--religion, professional affiliation, moral upbringing, etc. It is by no means the only way to dealing with the detestable aspects of life. For some, however, it can be an ultimate guide to understanding, coping, and overcoming the negatives and positives in life.

Please reflect often and discuss this with seniors and juniors to form your own views.

RECENT TESTING—April and May 2003

Our club has had several recent tests and some great progress by our members:

Paul Irwin: Blue Belt
Chris Kretz: Green Belt, Blue Tab
Aaron: Yellow Belt
Jose: Yellow Belt
Kevin: Yellow Belt

And we also have two new black belts:

Tim Gemperline: 1^st degree black belt
George Doyle III: 1^st degree black belt

The UD-ITC now has six active black belts. For a club our size (10-15 members) this is a huge, positive ratio. We hope that Saturdays this fall will continue to be “the day” for all to attend so that members can get more direct black belt instruction.

NEW PRESIDENT

Chris Kretz is the Club’s new President. Chris will be getting with the officers over the summer to ensure continuity. The Vice President will be extremely important this fall as Chris will be cooping and in only on weekends.

CENTURY ORDERING

If you are interested in getting Century items this summer please email me. We will be placing a club order in June.

QUIZ

Do you know the following words? Answers next time!

Ti Dan Gup Jedo Naeryo

Sabum Dobok In Nae

Tae Kwon An

Bituro Choi Hyung

Palgup Gup Do-San

Daruma Hana Sah

Have a Great Workout!

Chris Colliver, Sahdan, UD-ITC

KEEP IN TOUCH: email UDTKDCLUB@aol.com

| |

University of Dayton
International Taekwon-Do Club