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18 Apr 2022
Mental aspect of control

When something doesn’t go the way you want it to, it’s really easy to sit and wonder why. When you start questioning things, it’s also really easy to place blame on yourself. What could I have done differently? Did a choice I made give me this result? But, that doesn’t allow you to accept the reality that sometimes, things just happen. Maybe you studied really hard for a test, and just had a bad day. Maybe you got hurt and can’t do something you want to do now. Maybe you have a health problem that is impacting you both physically and mentally. Maybe your boards just didn’t break at testing, even though they broke every time you practiced. Some things ....
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4 Apr 2022
Post Testing Feelings

One of my favorite parts of testing is watching the faces of the students who test, and seeing how they process all of the different emotions that go into it. Testing is hard. It’s scary and nerve wracking. One of the things that we try to do is make it that way as much as possible. We want our students to learn how to deal with nerves, stress and fear. If they are ever in a situation where they have to defend themselves, they will go through very similar emotions, and our job is to ensure that they can control them. Testing never gets easier to do or go through. Actually, it tends to get harder as you progress in rank. The difference between testing for your Yellow Belt and testing ....
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21 Mar 2022
Just Kick

Just Kick Everyone has a reason as to why they struggle with something. Everyone has an excuse as to why something is hard. As my instructor always said, “excuses are like armpits. Everyone has them, most of them stink.” But in general, making reasons for why you can’t do something only shows that you are self-conscious about your training, your techniques, and your ability. Excuses are a reason for you to validate why you’re struggling. And while it may not seem like a big deal, when someone gives you a correction or a critique, making an excuse as to why it was done differently is disrespectful. Think about it like someone told you to clean your ....
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Post Tournament Write Up

Post-Tournament Write-Up: I was so excited to see so many of our students participate in the tournament! Make sure to tag us in your pictures :) I was also excited to see all of you compete. We are so proud of all of you who went and competed, no matter what medals you got. It takes a lot of courage to get up in front of people who are there specifically to judge you. For an idea, we had 161 competitors between 3 schools. The schools combined have approximately 350 students who take classes from us. Less than half of the students that we have in our region went to the tournament. This is for various reasons: vacations, injuries, finances, etc. But some of the biggest reasons that I hear ....
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28 Feb 2022
Tournament Q&A

With this being the last week to sign up for the tournament, I wanted to address a few concerns that people have had about the event. I’m not sure that my student/I’m ready to compete. Tournaments are definitely set up to see how students perform against people of similar age, ranks, and sizes do against each other. But it’s not always about the medal that they receive. Is your student excited to compete but you don’t know if they’ll win? Well, everyone goes to a tournament wanting to win, but only 2 gold medals get handed out in each division. Holding your student back because you don’t know if they’ll perform “well enough” starts ....
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14 Feb 2022
THUNK

A 16 year old 2nd Degree Decided Black Belt set up her board breaks for testing. She had practiced them over and over, and always broke them the on the first try. She broke her elbow smash first, easy, first attempt. Then she went to her flying side kick, easy again, first attempt. Then she went to her spin side kick, and she knew it was going to break. Then she heard the THUNK. That thunk meant she had to hit it again, and for that Black Belt, it was the beginning of the end. She had NEVER gone to second attempt on a board. So she took a deep breath, set it up again, bowed in, and threw her kick. Before she heard the second thunk, she said it was a bad kick. The center judge for her ....
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31 Jan 2022
Tournament Wrap Up

We had such a great tournament this past weekend! All of our students brought home medals and rocked it! We even had a few who earned gold medals! We had two competitors who earned both a Gold medal in Forms and a Gold Medal in Sparring! It is so easy to be proud of their results, but the thing that I’m most proud of had nothing to do with any of the medals that our students earned. It didn’t matter if our students won or lost, I watched them all cheer for their competitors, celebrate with them on the podiums, and congratulate all those around them. When someone else took 1st place, or they lost a sparring round, there was no whining or crying. They simply moved on and went ....
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24 Jan 2022
Criticism

As we get closer to tournament and testing time, you will start to receive more detailed corrections and positives of your pattern. It’s important to remember that instructors are there to correct what we both think you can fix, and what is expected of your rank. At our regional camp in November, 6th Degree Master Instructor Ms. Nicole McGhee taught a forms seminar, and one of the first things she said was that if you do your pattern in front of someone and don’t expect to hear anything to work on, then you need to check your ego. She was 100% correct. Mr. O and I have both done taekwondo for 20+ years. Every time I do my form in front of higher ranks they find something I can ....
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17 Jan 2022
"I Have a Dream"

Today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and every year I try to learn more about one of the things that this incredible man did for our country. His fight for racial equality is recognized throughout history, and his journey is well documented. What I think of most when I think of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was how he managed to convey his message about a topic that is considered to be one of the most controversial in our country’s history, in a way that shouted for peace and love to all. As racial inequality has continued to be an issue in our society, I have always wondered why, as a community, people cannot have a discussion without it turning to anger and violence. ....
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10 Jan 2022
Self-Care

Last year I read a book called "A Year of Positive Thinking" and shared daily posts in our Facebook group. This year, I am reading "A Year of Self-Care" and continuing to do the same. Both are things that I have struggled with in the past, and that I hope to gain insight from and share that insight with you. Self-Care is often one that's hard to do. I often feel selfish when I do the things that I want because I feel like I could be doing something to help someone else instead. If you're like me, make sure you're a part of our Facebook group, www.facebook.com/ctafamilies you need this as much as I do. You cannot be fully happy if you are putting everyone else first. Even ....
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Joseph Latham

"Amazing coaching, culture and team at Clermont Taekwondo Academy. My son loves the mix of fun, discipline, fitness and technical sessions each week. He has progressed at a exactly the right pace since joining thanks to the training he’s received. We Love the communication and warmth from the team - it’s clear they love what they do and the students they teach. Highly recommend the classes / courses and coaches."

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Testing, 4/7 - Awards & PNO 4/14!