Colorado Martial Arts News

(Aurora, CO) – The Korean Academy of Taekwondo hosted the 2018 White Tiger Championships at Rangeview High School on April 28th, 2018. Although most of the competitors were from Colorado, the event drew athletes from Wyoming, Tajikistan, and Iraq.

The White Tiger Championships is part of a series that includes the Twin Dragons Tournament and Lone Wolf Classic. Students earn one piece, or shard, of a medal in each event and then can connect them together to form a super medal if they place in events 3 years in a row.

This year’s tournament set a record with 375 competitors. Sparring was the most popular event, especially in the color belt divisions due to the fact that students didn’t need to purchase Daedo socks. There were many fierce matches from black belt on down.

Academy of Life and Leadership Taekwondo from Colorado Springs, lead by Grandmaster and Olympian Barb Kunkel brought a large team, and took first place in both the Championship and Recreational Demo Team competitions.

The competition featured 10 events in total – Traditional Forms, Team Traditional Forms, Team Creative Forms, Weapons Forms, Junk Weapons, Totem Forms, Blaster Pad Sparring, Olympic Sparring, Cloud Chess and Free Grappling.

There was a wide variety of competitors in attendance, with ages ranging from 3 to over 70, and skills ranging from high international caliber to special needs. The tournament also formed the final meeting in the Colorado K8 League 2017-2018 Season, with Montessori Del Mundo taking top honors.

Several colleges and universities sent teams, including CU Denver, MSU Denver, UNC Greely, and DU. MSU Denver led the way with 17 medals total, and CU Denver followed with 13.

Two competitors get ready to begin Totem Forms

After several hard fought blaster pad matches.

(Aurora, CO) – The Colorado K8 Taekwondo schools league finished up a fierce season on Saturday, April 28th with the 2018 White Tiger Championships. Although the tournament itself featured 375 competitors from around the world, only the elementary schools points counted for the league standings.

Schools earn points for competing in 4 events – Board Breaking, Forms, Grappling, and Sparring. The points from the fall championships and the spring championships are added together to make the overall winner.

Nihal from Lotus wins third place in the WTC2018

MDM Taekwondo started off 5 points behind from Crescent View Academy’s all time record 52 points that they earned on their home turf in the fall championships. However, MdM’s 48 points in the spring was enough to over come it and go home as champions for the second year in a row. Instructor Paola Perez, coach of the winning team had this to say. “I am very proud of MdM Taekwondo kids, it doesn’t surprise me to be in first place again, MdM continues being engaged in training and in participating in tournaments. I love to coach them.”

League Commissioner Master Bill Pottle reflected on the growth of the league in recent years. “It’s getting harder and harder to win – and in fact even to place in the top 5. The league has really grown from its humble beginnings, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

Master Komiljon Latipov has shown a lot of success in the league, with teams that he coaches or helps coach taking 2nd, 4th, and 5th. “I want to thank all the parents and students who worked so hard, especially the administration at Lotus who gives the team such amazing support.”

There is definitely an ebb and flow to the league as students grow too old to compete and as new students come in. Aurora Quest Academy, the league’s only 3 time champions, could muster just a 6th place overall finish after starting so far back in the fall. Can Montessori Del Mundo become the first team to ever win 3 years – in a row? Only time will tell, but they seem unstoppable for now.

2011-2012 Champion: Aurora Quest Academy.

2012-2013 Champion: Global Village Academy.

2013-2014 Champions:  Aurora Quest Academy and Crescent View Academy.

2014-2015 Champion: Crescent View Academy

2015-2016 Champion: Aurora Quest Academy.

2016-2017 Champion: Montessori Del Mundo

Two friends from Quest combine their medals with the interior magnets.

2017-2018 Champion: Montessori Del Mundo

MdM students and friends

While Century Martial Arts has always offered Taekwondo uniforms, their selection, marketing and design has been more focused on the Karate and general martial arts markets. With their new line of basic 7 oz uniforms, they are definitely taking steps to offer a competitively priced item to Olympic Style schools. Scott Granger from Century was kind enough to send us two free dobaks to review.

The uniforms have good quality stitching throughout and at 7 oz don’t feel ‘loose’ or ‘cheap’, but also aren’t too heavy for strenuous workouts. One good innovation is the tagless back design – the sizing information is seamlessly attached on a smooth fabric-like sticker that’s either printed on or seamlessly attached. With traditional uniforms, not only are the tags annoying but they fall off around the dojang and also fade – by the time it’s time for a new dobak, parents have a hard time finding the size.

The dobaks come in both white and black collars. The fabric is a little more like canvas and less like the softer cotton of other brands, so it’s definitely a matter of personal taste which you prefer. The uniforms should also handle both heat transfer and screen printing well.

Century uses a high level of safety and environmental checks, which have made it difficult for them to match prices with some brands in the past. However, these new uniforms are priced very competitively. Contact Sgranger@centurymartialarts.com or 800-626-2787 x425 for a quote for your school.

I have participated in several events supporting Aurora Warms the Night over the past few years. This is a local organization that supports the homeless population through food donations, clothing donations, hygiene items, and hotel vouchers when the weather reaches dangerous temperatures.  I have previously participated in making food donation kits and hygiene kits for women through this organization but have never organized a donation drive for them on my own.

I contacted the volunteer coordinator for Aurora Warms the Night, Brian Arnold, and asked him about the current greatest need for the organization. He shared with me that there is currently a great need for new socks and underwear for the homeless population as they have difficulty washing clothing. Thus, I identified my project as attempting to help them meet this need.

I began collecting items in August and hosted an event at my home on September 9^th to support my project. I called it a “Crazy Sock Party” and offered a prize for the person wearing the craziest socks. I provided refreshments, collected donations, and awarded a $20 amazon gift card to the winner of the crazy socks contest. I collected items from eleven people (Lisa Roth, Michele Broswick, Nikki Love, Janet Dorny, Paul LeHardy, Bethany Melnick, Jamie Meitchen-Ojeda, Dyan Stevens, Kerrie Shulman, Valerie Schowinsky, and  Alaina Young) in addition to items I contributed.  I collected 89 pair of underwear and 131 pairs of socks to donate to Aurora Warms the Night.  I delivered these items to Brian Arnold’s home on October 6^th, 2017.  Here are a few photos of the event and of the final donation items.  Thank you to all who helped make this project successful! 

(Aurora, CO) – The Korean Academy of Taekwondo has become (as far as we can see) the world’s first martial arts school to use the power of the Ethereum blockchain to secure their black belt records. KAT Headmaster Bill Pottle explains: “The motto of our school is ‘a mind in the future and a heart in the past‘ so we are always looking at how new technology can benefit either our training or operations.”

Ethereum’s blockchain basically forms an ‘unhackable’ world computer, where transactions are verified by miners solving complex mathematical equations. The system is generally considered secure because of the expense in generating enough power to control 51% of the network – recent estimates suggest that such an attack would cost over $900 million, most of which would be lost. In the near future they will transition to Proof of Stake, making such attacks even more difficult.

Basically, the records are stored and the code is run from so many different computers distributed all around the world, it is unlikely anyone could stop it before the next block comes and the system resets. Also, in the unlikely event that the school were to burn down or go out of business, the records can never be lost.

Blockchains have future applications in all sorts of fields such as storage of medical records, voting systems, resume and degree data, and more.

How to access KAT black belt records.

You can access them directly through KAT’s Website. 

Accessing the records is ‘easy’, once you are on the chain. (See below for instructions on this) Simply interact with

Contract:  0x4B39691Aa835473078F40140509De6FfeC6ba500

(in the future this will be at katblackbelts.eth)

ABI : Copy From Text File

How to Use:

Use the function getBBDate with the certificate number to get the dan number and date that it was awarded. Use function getBBName with the certificate number to get the black belt’s name. The function getHash() provides the hash of the full records, not just the ones used in this pilot program. This is to check that the full records file is correct.

Reading any of the records is free.

Records 197, 212, and 214 are currently filled in.

How to Get on Block Chain

There are several methods. The following is the easiest.

1. Download the Chrome extension MetaMask. (Explanation Video – Ignore Wordcoin info)
2. Go to MyEtherWallet.com   and read through the popups and the click on the ‘contracts’ tab and enter the info above.

(Aurora, CO) – The Fall Elementary Schools League Championships were held on November 18th, 2017. The League has seen exceptional recent growth, and this year’s event featured 90 competitors from twelve different schools. Due to the size of the event, the new venue was Crescent View Academy.

Each year, it is getting more and more difficult to win in the league. CVA showed a great ‘home field advantage’, earning 52 points to take first place. Montessori Del Mundo came in second with 47 points. To put that in perspective, both of those totals were more than any other team (except one) has ever scored in an entire year. 

The tournament was held in both the cafeteria and the gym. The cafeteria provided two floors of stadium style seating for parents and spectators.

The championship features 4 separate events. In the Forms competition, students try to perform a set pattern with a high level of technical accuracy. In the Breaking competition, students create a routine where they destroy boards of varying thicknesses with a combination of different techniques. In Sparring, students earn points for kicking and punching their opponents. In Grappling, students try to hold others down or force them to give up. 

Although the competition is fierce, sportsmanship and cooperation is stressed over results. Students know that their primary goal is to become stronger as a person and help others to do so as well.

Here are the team standings so far. Trophies will be awarded for the final standings, which will also take into account the White Tiger Championships on April 28, 2018. 

(Aurora, CO) – The 2017 Lone Wolf Classic was held at Aurora Quest Academy on April 22nd, 2017. Improbably, it once again snowed, although this time it was just early in the morning during setup. After asking “What are the odds” so many times in a row, Master Bill Pottle actually calculated the odds conservatively at 1 in 500.

Nonetheless, the tournament was a great success, with 315 competitors and participants registered from 3 countries and 5 states. The new event this year was Totem Forms, where one person does the hand techniques of a form while the other does the stances. Although there were only 8 competitors, it garnered a lot of compliments and applause.

Master Kunkel’s ALL TKD continued their streak of demo team victories, defeating Team Xtreme in the Championship Demo Division.

Elementary League Results – . In our 6th season, we have a new champion! Congratulations to Ins Paola Andrea and MDM Taekwondo! Although they were the clear winner, the competition for 2-4th places was fierce, with only a couple of points separating the winners. Congratulations to CVA Taekwando Team, Aurora Quest TKD, and Carbon Valley Academy (under Ins. Dean Leverett). These are just the top 7 teams.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158536378535317&set=a.232993595316.293424.889570316&type=3&theater

All in all the tournament was a positive experience for those who participated. The Phoenix Medal was a big hit, and may make a comeback. Next on tap is the 2018 White Tiger Championships!

KAT and UNC face off in the Cloud Chess Grand Final.

Demo Team Action

Totem Forms Champions Rylan and Mahayla pose with Toko, the KAT Mascot.

Master Ron Roe, 70, competes in board breaking.

Tournament Co-Director Master Laron Younger poses with Taylor and her medal.

(Denver, CO) – There will be several historic events coming this June to Denver, CO, timed to coincide with the US Open Taekwondo Hanmadang. (www.usopentkd.com)

The Kukkiwon is celebrating its 45th anniversary, and is working together with the Korean government and the US Taekwondo Centers to give tremendous opportunities to US Taekwondo instructors. There will also be many, many, senior martial artists in attendance.

Special Promotion Test – They will hold a Special Promotion Test which will feature regular promotions of all Dan ranks, including 8th and 9th Dans. This is the first time this has ever been held outside of Korea. They will also hold a ‘skip dan’ testing, which is for people whose masters never ordered their Kukkiwon certificates, or for other special circumstances. The test is on Thursday, June 15th. Everyone doing the Special Promotion Test must also attend the Master License Seminar.

Master License Seminar – The Kukkiwon will also hold a training for all instructors. The seminar will cover proper techniques, as well as how to teach them to students. The seminar will be on Friday, June 16th and Saturday, June 17th. The seminar is usually $350, but in this case it is only $200. They are also offering 2 nights in the hotel as well as 2 banquet dinners, making it an even better value. Everyone who completes the seminar will also be invited to participate in the Korea Trip.

Korea Trip – Everyone who completes the Master License Seminar will get to go to Korea from July 27- Aug 3rd. Participants will have to pay for their own airfare, but hotel, food, ground transportation and more will be covered. Participants will get to spend 3 days at the Kukkiwon and 3 days at the newly constructed Taekwondowon in Muju. (http://www.tkdwon.kr/eng/)

What’s the Catch? 

At this point, many people may be wondering about the fine print. There are two important restrictions –

1. The trip to Korea is only for 4th Dan Kukkiwon holders and up.
2. The event is limited to the first 300 people who sign up.

As of press time on April 3, there are still a few spots open. For more information or to register, please visit www.kukkiwonlicense.com

Click the link below to view file containing Paul’s Black Belt Service Project.

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