Premier Taekwondo Newsletter May 2003 You Can Always Reach Us Premier Taekwondo is located at 280 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, NH. Our telephone number is 424-3633. To reach Master Smith by e-mail, his address is msmith@premiertaekwondo.com To submit Newsletter information, please leave it at the school with Master Smith or e-mail it to newsletter@premiertaekwondo.com Our web site is located at www.premiertaekwondo.com We love hearing from our students. Attention Writers and Artists!! Welcome to the very first edition of the Premier Taekwondo s Newsletter. Premier Taekwondo is looking for different ways to supports its young and adult practitioners and to keep our students informed of important events and proud successes. Master Smith has suggested that a Newsletter would be a great way to get our kids and adults to express themselves and tell us what Tae Kwon Do means to them. In future issues of the Newsletter, we will be sharing information about our students, including birthdays and special events. We d love to hear stories from our students remember, they don t need to be very long just tell us about YOU (Parents, feel free to tell us about your children). Also, we will be publishing Taekwondo related pictures, either drawn by hand or photographs. We will also be writing about and tournament news and our victories. We will be publishing a monthly calendar to keep you apprised of exciting martial arts events. We sincerely hope that all parents will encourage their children to be creative and we all look forward to hearing from our students.
An Acrostic Poem By: Helen Ballou Halloween Photos By: Flavia Gray raining ction nergy icking icked Fun olgul o nonsense iscipline uch Guest Writer This months guest writer and photographer is Flavia Grey. Flavia has been a student with Premier Tae Kwon Do since October 2000 and earned her Black Belt in June 2002. Beside being a great martial artist, Flavia likes to spend her free time reading (fiction, mystery, history) and learning about the ideas and the cultures of people throughout time and throughout the globe. She also likes playing computer games, watching movies, and above all, spending time with her many wonderful friends. Thanks to Flavia for her terrific contributions. Compiled with love by Alien-Mom Page 2
The Black Belt Test of Doom: Fact or Fiction? It s the moment every white belt precariously attempting their first block at their first class dreams of and wishes for: the black belt test. You ve been both dreading and anticipating it for months, years, maybe even decades. And then, the fear hits you. How am I ever going to do 500 pushups? I can t run 3 miles! I m going to make a fool of myself in front of my parents, my friends, and Great Aunt Josephine who came down all the way from Maine and who is videotaping the whole thing! Why did I ever get myself into this? You arrive at the school on Saturday night thinking, let the embarrassment begin, but amazingly, it doesn t. You start stretching and you realize that you are not the only one who has been foreseeing humiliation. Then the pushups, the sit-ups, and the exercises begin. At first, you think, this is the end of me. But strangely, at one point, you pass a certain peak and then you are no longer tired any more. You keep working out and you feel your muscles aching but you can just keep going, and you do. In the evening, you wind down with a movie and some chow. You hardly sleep because your adrenaline is still pumping from five hours of working out. The next morning, when you wake up, your legs feel like lead, but you can t wait to get moving. You start running and then you suddenly realize I can t run three miles! and I m gonna look real stupid if I can t finish the run. Once again, your body overcomes your mind s fears. Everyone helps and encourages each other and the whole group finishes the test to their great happiness. Then, the written exam. I hope you study! Then you go home: a bath, some food, and bed. In the afternoon, when you awake, you start thinking, not only can I not break boards and spar, I can t even get out of bed because my muscles hurt so much. A good kick, a bucket of water, or some nice words of encouragement can help you get up and dressed. At the club, you forget about everything, sore muscles, fears of humiliation, and even Great Aunt Josephine. You perform better than you ever thought you could and you are impressed with yourself and with everyone else. Everything is a whirl and before you know it, it s over, you re being congratulated, and you prepare to go out to dinner. Now, you can finally enjoy yourself. You ve earned it. ~Flavia Grey, special correspondent Comments? Questions? Email fgrey@rivier.edu. Page 3
Massachusetts State Tournament By: Mr. Currier Congratulations to Billy and Courtney Duffy who each did a great job at the Massachusetts State Tournament on March 16. Billy and Courtney both competed in sparring, breaking, and Poomse. Courtney brought home the gold and placed first in Poomse, first in breaking and second in sparring. Billy did an excellent job in his first competition as a red belt by placing third in Poomse, second in breaking, and second in sparring. Please congratulate them on earning the schools first medals this year. Premier Birthdays Master Smith and everyone at Premier Taekwondo wishes a warm and happy birthday our students: Alexandria Lowther January 1 Rick Gordon January 7 Laura Varela January 7 Wesley Notter January 16 Kelly Power-Waters February 3 Stacey Somogyi February 9 Helen Ballou February 11 Alexander Brunelle February 16 Josef Notter February 19 Johnathan Yeaton February 24 Robert Somogyi February 25 Martin Grabowski March 30 Olivia Gilbert April 1 Sparring Games I would like to thank everyone for making our first sparring games a huge success. The turnout was great we had 12 students participate. I also noticed several parents who learned a little more about Taekwondo sparring. The sparring games consisted of a seminar on the rules of Taekwondo sparring and about two hours of matches. I was very pleased with level of participation in the seminar. The students asked a lot great questions. I hope that everyone learned a lot from the presentation. I was also very impressed with the great sparring that we had. We ran over 20 matches and got a lot of good sparring in. It was also great that the students were able to score the matches. This gave them the opportunity to figure out what a point actually is. The following students participated in the sparring games; Kelly Power- Waters, Laura Varela, Danny Varela, Tricia-Marie Closs, Billy Duffy, Courtney Duffy, Hunter Trottier, Dimitry Sergyon, Jenny Wang, Ian Smith, Jasmine Leigh, Dylon Montmony, and Alex Lowther. You, the students and parents are what makes Premier Taekwondo a great place to study Taekwondo. Thanks, Mr. Currier Page 4
Courtesy Is Feel Our Power!! helping an elder across the street - Martin Grabowski saying goodbye - Jenny Wang saying "Yes sir" - Paul Notter giving someone the last cookie - Alex Lowther helping around the house - Johnathan Yeaton waiting your turn - Hunter Trottier not talking during class - Daniel Varela saying you re welcome - Billy Duffy sharing with others - Mike Duffy taking care of someone sick - Courtney Duffy saying Thank you - Becca Mathis asking to be excused from the table - Ian Smith saying please - Alexander Somogyi being polite to your parents - Olivia Gilbert Ms. Power-Walters executing a perfect Double Front Kick Premier Taekwondo would like to give our thanks everyone who contributed to our First Issue. We hope to see more artists and writers in the future and look forward to many more issues. Any comments? Any suggestions? Please contact Master Smith, Mrs. Smith or Stacey Somogyi at newsletter@premiertaekwondo.com Page 5