Martial Arts Champion

Superstar Cory Lutkus is a national karate champion and is only 16! This 3rd degree Black Belt came to the school and wowed everyone with his teaching and performance skills. He is very mature and confident and a masterful teacher who really motivated the students to reach new levels. Watch carefully as he does a back flip and almost kicks the fan!

We are grateful to have this young superstar teaching at our school.

Junior Black Belts

For years we have deliberated the idea of a "child" Black Belt.

We used to teach kids the same as adults. We knew that they couldn't learn the same as adults but we tried to ram the material down their throats anyway. Once in a great while we would get a gifted child that could hang in there and get to Black Belt while in the meantime we made it mostly impossible for them to succeed in an adult curriculum. Kids couldn't match adults in technique and should not be expected to. Well it took many years to figure out how to teach them better but I think we finally figured it out.

While in college I studied child psychology but had not translated it to our martial arts teaching. Now we have designed a "Junior" Black Belt rank that lets kids that train hard and practice a lot the opportunity to make a rank that is a condensed version of our adult Black Belt. After this promotion they will continue training to learn the remainder of our adult curriculum to become a full fledged adult Black Belt. This photo is of our first group to be awarded the rank of Junior Black Belt.

Congratulations!

Kwan Jang Nim Bogdanski

Newest Sa Bom

Congratulations Master Duethorn!

After many years of hard training, thousands of repetitions of forms, techniques, situps and pushups, selfless devotion, dedication to the school and loyal service, Kristin Duethorn was promoted to 4th Dan in Tang Soo Do. She is also very skilled in Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, boxing and kickboxing. We are proud of you.

First You Tube Effort

The Old Days And The New Days

Here I am on the cusp of another birthday. No not sweet sixteen but fabulous fifty five. It seems like just the other day I was a green belt, still finding my way, wanting to learn that next form, still trying to get in shape and ready to spar whoever was in front of me. Now here I am nearly fourty years later still feisty, wanting to learn that next form and last night sparred very hard against a group of Black Belt candidates with my last match against a twenty eight year old in
peak physical condition.

When I was a kid I remember thinking my Dad seemed old at this age. He often took a nap on weekend afternoons and seemed to have a slower pace about him. I never could have imagined my father doing what I did yesterday. I guess we don’t always become our parents. I think in my case I have just had a lifetime habit of training and never stopped. There is still a teenager inside of me that keeps my mind on a positive track, and makes me think- where is the next fun thing I can do?

Last night was our Black Belt physical challenge testing. It is a training where we push ourselves physically through running, pushups, situps and sparring-hard sparring. I believe that this is also a peak emotional challenge for students to push themselves way past their usual expectations.

Treating kids different- Yes I think so. If we were to see kids in non karate clothes we would have a different expectation of them than if they donned their doboks. Now we will treat them different again because they will be wearing the coveted rank of Black Belt. We can see for certain these kids are destined for greatness because they know what hard work really is.

Breaking the old stereotypes.

Mr. Sullivan (aka “The Professor”) celebrated his fifty second birthday during the testing for third degree Black Belt. He is in every way admired for his physical performance (even with knee problems), his caring and helpful attitude to others in the school and his mentorship of all students he comes in contact with. He is a modern day samurai with his highest skill level in his character and how he passes this skill through his leadership.

Women in martial arts.

From the girls to the teens and women in our school we see only the best balance of gender and age. Mrs. Ciquera (whose husband is a Black Belt) exemplifies determination and spirit and all around growth in the field of martial arts. A working Mom of three continues to attack life in every way and inspires me with her inner strength. My mothers influence as a strong and driven woman makes appreciate the modern day matriarchs in our society breaking ground for future generations of females. Way to go Mrs. Ciquera!

We could not be prouder of you all!

Master Bogdanski

Tang Soo Do

Kicho Hyung

Basic Form TSD Kwang Jan Nim

• (Gicho) Hyung Il Bu
• (Gicho) Hyung Ee Bu
• (Gicho) Hyung Sam Bu

The Kicho Hyung were developed as a basic, simple form for beginner learning the art of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan. The symbol for the Kicho Hyung is a human baby learning to walk. The pattern is used in the increasingly complex forms that follow. These forms were used by the Grandmaster to teach applications of the basic moves and techniques. These forms are influenced by the We Ga Ryu style of southern China. These and the Pyung Ahn forms to follow are characterized by speed, aggressiveness, dynamic action, and quick reaction

Pyung Ahn Hyung

The pyung ahn hyung are a series of five forms cognate in many ways to the pinan kata series of karate. Creator: Mr. Idos, Okinawan Master Date: 1870 approximately Place: Ha Nam area of China (south

Pyung means well balanced, calm, and peaceful and Ahn means safe, confident, and comfortable. These forms were reorganized from their original style (called "Jae-Nam") in approximately 1870 to their present style. These forms show the influence of the southern China martial art style.

The Pyung Ahn Hyungs are often referred to as the "turtle forms". The turtle is well balanced, calm, and peaceful (pyung) and with its shell as its major means of defence, the turtle likely feels safe, confident, and comfortable (ahn).

The name Moo Duk Kwan means "School of Martial Virtue"

• Moo – military, chivalry, martial; within the ideograph the inner part of the symbol is the word for "stop" and the outer part means "weapon"
• Duk – benevolence, virtue, goodness, commanding respect; within the ideograph on the left it means "little steps" or "to happen", and on the right the character means "moral"; thus moral steps or perhaps virtuous conduct
• Kwan – large building, palace, library; again within the ideograph the left part looks like a roofed building and technically means "to eat" (under a roof).