Newsletter Publisher - J. Slinn Volume No.1 Issue No. 10 Date: January 2017

V1.10 1 January 2017

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to TaeKwonDo and Kickboxing! I hope everyone had a very happy holiday and that you’re ready to resume your hard work. This year we’ll be changing the curriculum a little to put more emphasis on Focus – meaning getting you to Think and use common sense! I’m looking forward to an exciting year – you’ll notice that we did a little sprucing up over the holidays … fresh paint. We’ve expanded our Township Program to include Robbinsville, Monroe, Cranbury and Lawrenceville this year, so we’re expecting to increase our student population rapidly. Which might mean we will need to expand the dojang.

We kick off the new year with our 25th Battle of Champions Tournament in February. Belt testing will be the week after the Tournament.

Master Master Master Master StevenStevenStevenSteven

Black Belt Club

In January, the Black Belt Club will continue work with double Nunchakus.

Gerald Sagbay and Brett Bock joined the Black Belt Club in December.

New Students

In December, the East Windsor TaeKwonDo & Kickboxing Academy welcomed the following new students:

Little Dragon - Dylan Delmedo TaeKwonDo - Hamza Lodhi

- Victor Onochie - Parker Gruntzel - Kevin Aeillo - Vihaan Chhabra - Cameron Sargent

January Birthdays

Jacob Naulaguari 3rd Siddharth Gorty 6th Jacinda Munson 12th Jocelyn Herrera 19th Rushab Shah 20th Prahas Palwai 28th Ashley Herrera 30th

The Uniform - Dobak

The TaeKwonDo uniform is called a "dobak" and, like everything else in TaeKwonDo, it is steeped in tradition and history. The dobak consists of a jacket, trousers, and belt. It is derived from traditional Korean clothing called "hanbok." The dobak is not only for wear during TaeKwonDo training, it is the required uniform for competition in regional and national tournaments and in the Olympics (the V-neck style is required in Olympic competition).

Three Shapes

The traditional hanbok was based on three shapes that signify the foundation of the universe ("samilshingo") - the circle ("won") symbolizing heaven, the square ("bang") symbolizing earth, and the triangle ("kak") symbolizing man. The circle is associated with the number "one," the square to the number "two," and the triangle to the number "three" and the combination (unity) of the three shapes is called "han." These three shapes are symbolized in the hanbok: the waist is the circle, the legs and sleeves are the square, and the hip or torso area is the triangle. In comparison to the principle of Eum-Yang, the trousers are Eum or earth, the jacket is Yang or heaven, and the belt is man, who ties everything together.

Colors

Traditional dobaks are all white to symbolize oneness with the universe ("han”). White also represents purity, beginning, or novice, and is an outward sign of the humility students are supposed to show as they seek (never-obtainable) perfection through training in the martial arts. Plus, colored fabric would not stand up to the dirty training and frequent harsh washings. Traditional dobaks have an open jacket that overlaps in the front from left to right. The proper uniform for Olympic TaeKwonDo competition is a V-neck, pull-over style jacket. Black Belts and 1st Dans wear a black uniform. A blue uniform indicates that the wearer is a 2nd Dan (or 2nd Degree Black Belt), and a red uniform is worn by 3rd Dans.

Competition Uniforms

Black Belt students often wear heavier uniforms - made of heavy cotton or canvas. These uniforms last longer and make a louder "snapping" sound when punching and kicking. Some tournament competitors, especially in forms competition, know the impressive effect of executing kicks and punches with a loud "snap," so they starch the sleeves and the pants to make their uniform make a louder snap. Tournament competitors also like longer jackets and belts to impress the judges. The idea is that when they are performing low stances, the longer belt and jacket make it look like they’re lower to the ground.

Students should keep their dobaks clean, ironed, and in good repair. They should understand its historical significance and wear it with pride and proper respect and etiquette.

Newsletter Publisher - J. Slinn Volume No.1 Issue No. 10 Date: January 2017

V1.10 2 January 2017

Upcoming Events

January 1st – New Year’s Day - East Windsor TaeKwonDo & Kickboxing Academy will be CLOSED.

January 2nd - East Windsor TaeKwonDo & Kickboxing Academy will be CLOSED in observance of New Year’s Day.

January 6th – Epiphany or Three Kings' Day, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God in his Son as human in Jesus Christ. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ child, and thus Jesus' physical manifestation to the Gentiles. Moreover, the feast of the Epiphany, in some Western Christian denominations, also initiates the liturgical season of Epiphanytide. Eastern Christians, on the other hand, commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God.

January 10th – Township Classes begin – through February 28th

January 14th - Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the sun into the zodiacal sign of Makara (Capricorn) on its celestial path, which is the first change in the zodiac after the winter solstice and is the first day of the month of Magha. The festival is celebrated in various parts of the Indian subcontinent to observe the day which marks the shift of the sun into ever-lengthening days. Makara Sankranthi is a solar event making it one of the few Hindu festivals which fall on the same date in local calendars every year: 14 January, with some exceptions when the festival is celebrated on 15 January.

January 16th – Martin Luther King Day. January 21st – Martial Arts Madness at the West

Windsor TaeKwonDo & Kickboxing Academy. January 28th – Chinese New Year - the Year of the Fire

Rooster. The rooster being the sign of dawn and awakening, triumph and success can only be achieved at the price of hard work and patience in 2017. Chinese Zodiac 2017 energies are subject to the Fire element in its Yin form. Yin Fire expresses inner warmth and insight, as well as the quietness of privacy and family ties. Forgotten thoughts arise out of nowhere, amid a disconcerting atmosphere, both stiff and motley.

February 2nd – Ground Hog’s Day February 17th & 18th – Battle of Champions at the West

Windsor TaeKwonDo & Kickboxing Academy. East Windsor TaeKwonDo & Kickboxing Academy will be CLOSED.

Funnies A kindergarten kid told his teacher he’d found a cat, but it was dead. “How do you know the cat was dead?” she asked him. “Because I pissed in its ear & it didn’t move,” answered the child innocently. “You did WHAT?!!” the teacher exclaimed in surprise. “You know,” explained the boy, “I leaned over and went “Psst!’ and it didn’t move.”

Orion

Orion, often referred to as "The Hunter," is a prominent constellation – one of the largest and most recognizable in the night sky. Its name refers to Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. It is best visible in the Northern Hemisphere at 9pm during the month of January.

You can recognize it is by the three stars in a line - Orion's Belt. Can you see the dagger hanging from the belt? The most brilliant stars in the Orion constellation are Betegeuse – a variable red giant – at the left shoulder of the Hunter, and Rigel – a blue-white giant – at the right foot.

According to legend, Orion is standing next to the river Eridanus with his two hunting dogs Canis Major and Canis Minor, fighting Taurus the bull. Other prey of his, such as Lepus the hare, can be found nearby.

Martial Arts Madness

At the West Windsor TaeKwonDo & Kickboxing Academy, this is a casual evening get-together for TaeKwonDo students and their friends and/or relatives. We play some kickball to burn off all that excess energy, then sit down for pizza. Then – the main attraction – a movie. Everyone brings a comforter or sleeping bag or big pillow so that they’re comfortable on the floor and we watch a movie on the big screen that Master Steven built. We start at 6:30pm and pickup is at 9:30pm. Cost is $15 per student and you need to sign up ahead of time.

Third Saturday of the month – beginning January 21st.

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