NEWS AND ARTICLES

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My responsibilities as a red belt to everyone around me include, but are not limited to being courtesy which is displaying polite behavior and consideration for others. Having integrity; veracity; adherence to a code or standard of value; doing the right  thing even when no one is looking. Further examples are showing perseverance because you can have a new student that may not learn like others did in the past, but you have to stay persistent with them so that you may be able to see their growth. Having self control is always needed I believe because you never know who is watching you or who may look up to you and having that controlled behavior results from discipline. While using those other qualities and characteristics you need to have indomitable spirit. This allows you to not quit or give up on yourself or others. You stay courageous, valiant, and unconquerable to achieve your goals while helping others achieve their goals too. In closing red belts are the immediate next future leaders of their martial arts school. They have been through the test of mental amplitude and physical fitness to be ready to take on more challenges in their surroundings.  They are ready to take the next step in personal growth thru their martial arts training which may be through scholarly activity and creative endeavors. A red belt should have the upmost respect for their instructor and fellow students.

- Dennis Mack, Red Belt

Anger management is managing your anger when you feel upset.  When you manage your anger, you seem calmer.  Anger management isn't always easy to do but when you do, you will be seen as a role model, a good person to be around, and an MTI black belt. 

There are a lot of different way to control your anger, but different ways work better for different people.  One is taking slow, deep breaths.  Another is walking away from the situation and coming back later when you are calm.  For some people talking about their problems helps them manage their anger.  A good MTI black belt can manage their anger.

As an MTI student, it is especially important to manager your temper because as you learn stronger techniques, you could hurt someone easier than they, or you, might think.  

MTI encourages anger management among its students by teaching us about anger management in homework, and also by teaching us to say Hoshin (self control before self defense) at the end of EVERY class.  They do this because it is important to know how and why to manage your anger.  This is why it is important to know what anger management is and its importance.

- Jackson Sisk, Junior Purple Belt

Perseverance is pushing through something without complaining or bragging.  It's broad meaning can be lots of things to lots of people.  It could be consistency in doing your job, doing work at school, pushing through chores.  It could be knowing that deep down, you have to keep going.  It could also be knowing that you have to keep doing it for others and yourself.  Perseverance should be known and practiced by everyone.

My goal is to get my 9th Dan black belt in MSK Taekwondo.  Obviously I won't even get my 1st Dan overnight, so I need perseverance to get me through it and determination, otherwise it's useless.  Without determination, I won't actually be learning moves and understanding.  

I will feel proud and excited; even though 9th Dan is as high as you can go, I will still enjoy making new moves and growing as a person.   As out motto says "Lead by Example" while not everyone will follow, setting an example is a great way to get through to people and help them understand. 

Like I said before, leading by example is a great way to show perseverance and encouragement is key.  Encouragement can make your family feel better about themselves and make them want to continue.  (also with friends)  While I (just received) my green belt, it still took a lot of work, memorizing, fixing my mistakes, and patience.

- Abigail Shelby, Junior Green Belt

Having indomitable spirit means always keeping a positive mindset. Having a positive mindset makes keeping a positive attitude easier.

Having a positive attitude can only take you higher in life. Having a good attitude not only helps you to achieve your goals faster, but it also helps you to go above the goal you set for yourself.  Maintaining a positive attitude, even during a very negative situation, can help you and others around you.  Also, the more positive your attitude, the more easy it is to deal with negative situations.

- Thomas Joslyn, Purple Belt

The MTI mission statement, “To develop world class leaders through educational excellence and Moo Sul Kwan martial arts traditions”, is very important. Guidance is extremely important for children, teens, and even adults. Where better than in a program/ activity that is based around discipline and respect.    

Leadership is an extremely important trait and can greatly affect one’s life. Whether it be sports, job, or everyday life, being a leader is a crucial skill. However, more people aren’t born leaders, but develop it through programs.  Being an MTI black belt is an amazing feeling for many reasons. Just being a part of MTI and Moo Sul Kwan, I know that I belong to a unique and strong family. We help and take care of our own. We celebrate others success and help when they struggle.   

 Being a black belt, I know that I can hold my own against other organizations. We do not slack and get pushed along to the next belt. We have to work hard and earn what we get, which is an amazing feeling. Sometimes I look back at the journey I have walked so far, and still struggle to believe that I am a black belt. 

However, I know that as a black belt, there are higher expectations that I must meet and look forward to the challenge. In conclusion, I love being a black belt in MTI and look forward to the rest of my journey.   

 - Mr. Matthew Gibson, 1st Dan Black belt

 FRASER, Colorado – During the blistering heatwave of late last week, a dozen taekwondo students from Southeast Missouri found an interesting way to beat the heat. They traveled with their instructor to Snow Mountain Ranch (YMCA of the Rockies) to the Colorado Taekwondo Institute’s Moo Sul Kwan CamXpo 2021. The CamXpo is a unique hybrid experience of the Colorado Institute’s camp and expo events that have been being hosted in the mountains for long over two decades.

“It is a very unique experience this year for our students because they’ve never done anything like this, but due to the lack of live events these past couple of years, they had to merge the two together for this year,” said Sikeston’s Missouri Taekwondo Institute head instructor Nick Slinkard. “Normally they have a camp that is a week-long with all the normal camp activities and classes dispersed in. The Expo is usually a weekend thing. The plan for next year is for it to go back to normal, so this may be the only time our students get to experience both on one trip.”

The students participated in traditional taekwondo classes working on poomses, defensive drills, board breaking, and walking steps, but also in several “summer camp style” activities including a rock-climbing wall, archery, a downhill mountain slide, and a zip line. Students also had free time to roller skate, play basketball, or an assortment of other activities.

“It’s several days of training and camp activities where our students get to learn from other instructors and meet people from outside of Missouri,” said Slinkard, who is a 4th degree black belt and owns the Missouri Taekwondo Institute in Sikeston.

Approximately 150 students, from ages 6 and up participated in the four-day event in the Rocky Mountains that included a lunchtime hike up to the waterfalls at Snow Mountain Ranch. Students from several Southeast Missouri schools including Sikeston, Oran, Bell City, and Richland all had students participate in the weekend.

While discussing their usual class load of 13-14 classes that are open to the public each week in Sikeston, Slinkard finished by talking about how attending an event like this would infuse energy into their school. “This is going to make us all better,” said Slinkard. “They (the 12 students from Southeast Missouri that attended) are going to bring this excitement back to all our school in Sikeston and our school is just going to keep growing.”

-Article from the Standard Democrat by Kyle Carter

During our journey through our Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo training, there will be many obstacles that we have to overcome both in class and in life.  But our number one tool to work past these "speed bumps" is perseverance.  

Perseverance, in plain terms, is never giving up.  Sticking to a recipe that is proven to work. Let's say you LOVE your grandma's chocolate chip cookie, so you want to make some at home.  She is kind enough to give you her recipe, and you head to the store to gather all the ingredients you'll need.  Once you return home, you begin working on your first batch of you Grandma's cookies; you're so excited because you haven't had them in a while and the chewy taste of the gooey chocolate chips is so very enticing.  You realize that one step of grandma's recipe is to let the dough rest in the fridge for an hour.  You don't think this step is necessary and you want to be able to enjoy those cookies as soon as possible, so you skip this step.  Once the oven timer goes off and the cookies have cooled, you take your first bite. But something isn't right, the cookie is hard on the bottom and not really soft in the middle? It turns out that step that you decided to skip because it would take a little extra time changed the outcome of what you thought would be grandma's chewy chocolate chip cookies.  You'll probably eat them since you don't want to waste them; but the experience you have eating them is quite different from what you imagined.  

We tell ourselves "it's been a long and busy day" or "Ill just make it up later"  but these excuses are what hold us back.  Online resources are a wonderful addition to our tool kit, making up an IN PERSON class is essential to staying on track; but these are no substitute to showing up and putting in the work even when it isn't convenient.

This can affect our daily lives as well.  "That test is next week, I can always study later", "I know this job task should be finished by today, but I'm tired", "Yeah date night is important, but we see each other often so we are good."  These are not the kinds of mindsets that lead to success.

There are plenty of excuses to not "follow the recipe" or skip steps.  But the end result will not be the desired one.  If you show up to class consistently, pay attention to what the instructor tells you, and give 100% effort each class, you WILL make progress!   You will learn that new move, or be ready to test for that new belt, or be prepared for that tournament.  You WILL reach whatever goals you set for yourself, because nothing will keep you from persevering through that tough times.  

-Nick Slinkard, 4th Dan

 At the individual level, integrity is more than ethics; it is all about the character of the  individual. It is these characteristics of an individual that are consistently considerate,  compassionate, honest, and ethical. Trust and honesty are closely associated  with integrity. We view individuals with integrity as people that we can count on to do consistently what is “right” not just what is expected of them. They are reliable and predictable in dealing with others and with issues, and they are supporters of what is fair and right.  

As Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo students, we have to be held accountable. We need to have more than just a sense of right and wrong, but also have principles enough to understand whether our actions show integrity or not.  How we speak to each other is an indication of our integrity.  If we are rude, that is not integrity.  We have to be consistently conscious of our thoughts and actions at all times and say and do the right thing.  

It isn't enough to just know what is right from wrong. We as individuals and especially martial artists have the moral responsibility of standing up for what is right based on our morals.  If we see something that is wrong, unfair, or unjust then we should be willing to take a stand and make things right.  

Nobody is perfect and it is a long, never ending journey toward self-improvement, whether it is working on our integrity or anything else. Just as a martial arts instructor points out the areas in a poomse that need improvement, others in your life can point out areas that need improvement, and then, hopefully, they will encourage you and help you to make those improvements.  

Self Intergrity is self discipline, absence of fear, accountability.  It is the whisper you hear in your mind letting you know you are honoring your true self.  Self Integrity is not guilt, telling yourself that you should do something because someone else expects you to.  It is not something you use to measure yourself against others.  It is not pleasing others to make yourself feel good.  It should be deeply ingrained in everything you do. 

 “Confidence in others' honesty is no light testimony of one's own integrity.” ― michel de montaigne

- Barb Slinkard, Orange Belt 

One-step sparring is another part of our martial arts training that puts our basics into motion.  The foundations that are established first in basics and then in poomse can be built upon while practicing one-step sparring. In addition to developing speed on your techniques, there are a few additional benefits since you are training with a partner.  Timing (can you hit your stance and block just as the attacker throws theirs?), judgment of distance (can you throw your blocks, kicks and strikes with a precise distance to your partner?) and precision (can you throw your moves to the correct target position?) are three of the benefits that one-steps help a student develop. 

Be sure to practice your one-steps in walking drills too.  They will help you memorize the moves, perfect the technique and stances, and help you develop speed for each one-step.  Don’t forget there are one step walking drill defenses (start with your left leg back on the first side) and one-step walking drill attacks (start with your right leg back on the first side).

The MTI Student Manual lists 12 One-Step Sparring rules. Four of these rules mirror other rules of Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo training:

1. Kihap - there are actually two one-step sparring rules that correlate with kihaps. One is for both the attacker and defender to go into their respective ready stance with a loud and clear kihap. The second is for the defender to kihap on their last counter attack.  
2. Eye contact - it’s sort of a no-brainer that there is a one-step rule about eye contact. In order to practice awareness in a self-defense situation, and to have the best possible balance, eye contact is a must!
3. Start slowly - this rule is similar to the poomse rule. When a student is first learning a one-step, they should perform it slowly and make each block, kick, punch and stance accurate and awesome. After a few hundred repetitions they can speed it up.
4. Correct stance and posture - since our power comes from being grounded to the earth, it is most important that each stance is correct and that our balance and posture is the best it can be. 

 At the Missouri Taekwondo Institute, we train in Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo, which also includes some Moo Sul Kwan Hapkido training. Both Taekwondo and Hapkido are martial arts that are thousands of years old, initially developed for people to learn to defend themselves, from both other people and wild animals. 

Moo Sul Kwan classes include lots of exercise to get our bodies and mind into shape, but they also include learning self-defense techniques. Hopefully they will never be needed, but learning this self-defense can have the real world consequences.  In the event of finding yourself in danger in your day to day life, self-defense is a very necessary skill to have in order to keep yourself safe.  Although the possibility of having to use your self defense in your everyday life is very slim, it is still important to practice your self defense techniques in case the situation arises that you would need to use them.  

Just as it is important to practice some of the more complicated or difficult areas of our Moo Sul Kwan training like basic techniques or poomse (patterned movements), one should not forget to practice their one-step sparring and self-defense skills and techniques.  Being able to properly defend yourself is a highly prized skill in ones daily life. A martial artists should also take time to practice all of their self defense and understand how the techniques work on the body and how to properly execute them.  In the event of a dangerous situation, it would be very harmful of one had to stop and think about what they had to do. To truly improve one's self defense skills, you should be able to not only perform the appropriate technique, but execute it without having to actively think about it. This will be very beneficial in the event of an actual dangerous situation. It would be very valuable to incorporate self-defense training into ones ongoing training.  Even though some of the techniques are less complicated that other areas of our Moo Sul Kwan training, one's self defense can always be improved upon just like any other branch of our Taekwondo. 

Remember, in class as well as outside of class, make sure to practice effectively but safely.  Self-defense training is meant to be very effective and can be harmful if used improperly. Training in self defense is just a small, but very important part of our Moo Sul Kwan discipline, but must also be maintained to ensure that it is ready should the need ever arise.    

The first time I read the Aims of Moo Sul Kwan Martial Arts, written by Great Grandmaster Lee H. Park, I was a new white belt student studying the CTI Student Manual in preparation for my yellow belt written test. The second aim reads: “Help students in identifying and accomplishing appropriate goals, developing a sense of self-esteem and confidence, in encouraging their desire for self-directed learning, and in expressing themselves as thoughtful individuals.” As a white belt, my goals were pretty simple: lose weight, get through all of the jumping jacks at the beginning of class without needing to rest, be able to touch my toes during stretches, and get the foot movement correct on Taegeuk Il Chang. I didn’t really understand how martial arts could bring me better self-esteem and confidence, but I was hoping that was true, because I needed it. Going to class was intimidating. Being the only white belt, and the newcomer who didn’t know anyone, was a little bit scary. Looking back on it, I can see that most of these feelings were due to my own self-esteem and confidence issues outside of the dojang.

Reading that second aim struck a chord, and I hoped that some of it would prove to be true for me.  It wasn’t long after I was promoted to yellow belt that I started to settle in to my place in class. My instructor had always been wonderful and supportive, but I was starting to develop a camaraderie with other students in my class too. A couple of the black and red belts had taken me under their wing so to speak, and were encouraging and friendly, helping to guide me in my training. It felt like I was starting to get some people in my corner. I didn’t have to motivate myself to go to class anymore- I wanted to be there. I was happier when I was there, and I was definitely less stressed when I left. I was starting to notice small strides toward my first goals of physical fitness, which motivated me even more to keep at it. I even broke my first wooden board, which was something I didn’t think I’d ever be capable of doing. That feeling when my foot went through that board for the first time was amazing.

Around the orange and green belt level, I had become 100% committed. Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo had become my passion. Suddenly my goals had developed from small strides in physical fitness to big “pie-in-the-sky” goals. Sure, I still had short term goals. Like fixing my front kick foot position, getting the pivot correct in my side kick, reaching my next belt. But I had bigger dreams too. Like getting to the purple belt level so I could start going to upper belt training on Saturdays, join LeAD team, be on the demo team, make it to black belt, be able to travel with the Black Belt Team during a World Tour, become an instructor and have my own students. I knew in order to reach these goals, I needed to keep at it. I needed to push myself harder than I ever had, and not waste any opportunities for training. So that’s what I did. I never missed an event, and it was very rare that I missed a class. I was more driven toward these goals than I had ever been before. And somewhere along the way, I needed to go down a size in my dobok pants.

I realized recently, a little more than three years since I first bowed in to class, that many of these “pie-in-the-sky” goals have either become reality, or are now within my reach. My self-esteem, confidence, and physical fitness are like night and day from where I was in 2016. I’m in the best physical health of my adult life, and am happier than I have been in a very long time. I used to be the new white belt who didn’t know anyone. Now I’ve been fortunate enough to have met some of the very best friends I have ever had through the CTI. The first time I read that second aim of MSK martial arts, I admit I had some doubts on whether or not any of that would ever hold true for me. Not only has it held true, but it’s gone above and beyond anything that I thought would be possible. My instructor, Grandmaster James Sautel, will ask us on occasion to think of where we could be in a year if we keep pushing as hard as we can every class. It only occurred to me recently that he is referring to Aim #2. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.

-Amy Krupp, red belt 

(Now Mrs. Krupp, 1st Dan)

Perseverance is one of the tenets of Taekwondo that we study and learn about during our training. Many of us understand the importance of perseverance but at times we may forget when it is needed the most. The definition of perseverance is persistence in performing a task or attaining a goal despite difficulty or resistance. Perseverance is probably the most applicable tenet of Taekwondo as many of us have needed to use perseverance at school or work but, none can compare to our training here at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute (CTI). The road to black belt, and beyond, is long and tedious and requires much dedication, work, and commitment. At times we may want to give up and stop trying, but at that moment is the time when a student in the CTI needs to understand the importance of perseverance and apply it.

            Perseverance is used every day in small doses and you may not even know that you are showing perseverance. Most of us had a paper in school or a project at work that we thought could wait and we wanted to procrastinate. However, Taekwondo training at the CTI helps us understand that instead of procrastinating, we should take advantage of the time we have now and at least start those projects. Starting or completing a task instead of waiting and putting off that project is an example of us using perseverance. An example of this in MSK Taekwondo would be studying for a written test or doing your monthly excellence sheet. These things maybe aren’t the biggest priorities in our everyday lives but in order to further enhance our Moo Sul Kwan training, these activities are essential. And if we as students let ourselves procrastinate and put off these items then we are not bettering ourselves, but taking steps backwards. Every class we do basics and are reminded that if we aren’t pushing 100% every class and strive to take steps forward, then we are actually taking steps backwards. That concept still applies to homework, written tests, and articles. These tasks require perseverance and we may not think of needing it with these tasks but in order to attain a black belt, students must learn to have perseverance, in any task, either physical or mental.

Not only do we need to work hard and have perseverance in our classes and training, but we also need to set a black belt example outside of the school. One of the hardest parts of training at CTI is understanding that the behavior that we are required to follow in the school is the same type of behavior that we need to exhibit in life. Perseverance is essential to do this. There are many times in life that will test this training and we may be tempted to break that training. A true Moo Sul Kwan black belt has to understand that the behavior exhibited in classes and around other students, instructors and assistant instructors is the same behavior that needs to be shown to co-workers, classmates, and any stranger. Although this may be tough, it will help your training and the road to become a black belt will be a little easier. Applying this skill to life will also help you become a better person. Although many students know the definition of perseverance, we may not know how to apply it to our martial arts training and our lives but the quicker you learn how to do that, the better off you will be in your MSK Taekwondo training and school or work.