We would like to congratulate the following Black Belt students for becoming our latest champions during the Atlantic-Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation’s International Championships which took place on Friday July 18, 2008 in Suwanee, GA:
| Mr. Duva | 3rd place in Forms |
| Dr. Meetze | 1st place in Forms & 1st place in Weapons |
| Mr. Paik | 3rd place in Forms & 3rd place in Breaking |
| Mr. Scarpino | 2nd place in Weapons & 3rd place in Sparring |
Congratulations to all of you.
Do you expect great health and fitness? Do you expect wealth and happiness? Do you expect great friends and loving relationships? Do you expect the best of life? Law of Expectations says: “Whatever you expect, with confidence becomes your own self fulfilling prophecy”. Said another way, what you expect, is what you get… good or bad, positive or negative.
Martial Arts teaches us to focus on a desired outcome. When you confidently expect good things to happen, good things usually do happen. If you expect negative things to happen, you are willing yourself to experience a negative outcome. If you truly expect to perform well on your next progress check, you will perform well. welcoIf you expect to bomb or perform poorly, you are planting the seeds of failure in your mind. Think great thoughts, take great actions, and you will enjoy the rewards of success instead of the penalties of failure. Tell yourself: “I am the Best… I am the Best… I am the Best!” By doing this, you are sending a message to yourself, that you are the best. You are a Champion and you deserve success. In a sense, you are giving yourself a pep talk to perform at your best level. On of my favorite sayings is: “In life, you get what you expect and accept!” Expect the best from yourself and you will begin to experience greatness in life.
Here’s is one great affirmation to start the morning with: “Yes, today is going to be a great day!”. More often than not, it truly is a great day and at the end of the day, when you look for the good, there are many victories and accomplishments to celebrate, whether it was a great training session and you felt on your “A” game, or someone shared their victories and achievements with you. That is not to say that there aren’t challenges and challenging days, because there are. However, I have found that the more you focus on the good stuff, the more good stuff there is to focus on. If you focus on all the CRAP…you soon become a CRAP magnet. Whenever I ask people if they would rather influence others in a positive or a negative fashion, the answer has always been positive. That being said, the best way to influence others, is by example. So, I hope you will continue to join me in being a force for good and spread more of the good stuff to everyone and anyone you have the opportunity to influence.
Train Hard…Work Hard…Enjoy the Rewards of your Success!
Cambridge Tang Soo Do would like to thank Master Molitano for attending our Summer 2008 Gup testing. The students who have successfully completed the test are:
| Oleg Khodko | 2nd Dan |
| Chris Scarpino | 1st Dan |
| Richard Heppner | Cho Dan Bo |
| Daniel Maibor | 2nd Gup |
| Jason Green | 5th Gup |
| Anthony Messina | 6th Gup |
| Kevin Palmer | 7th Gup |
| Mike Vemula | 8th Gup |
| Linh Chau | 8th Gup |
| Jim Kim | 9th Gup |
We would also like to welcome the following new students
| Catalina Greco |
| James Kim |
| Luke Schlatter |
| Kaliyah Catwell |
On 5/16, the 2008 New England Atlantic Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation Black Belt camp took place at scenic Camp Jewell YMCA in Colebrook Connecticut. Participants of all ages ranking from red belt to Master took part in the events, all of which incorporated the five pillars of Moo Do: History, Tradition, Culture, Philosophy and Physical Action/Empowerment.
With a heavy agenda and the spring Black Belt testing cycle to accomplish, associated members and distinguished guests got right to work. Throughout the weekend students were not only asked to physically give 150% effort, but to attend leadership presentations and to stretch one’s own self expectations, pushing the group to a higher level of awareness. Teachings included Moo Do philosophy, Korean history and Korean language. World class clinics were held by APTSDF Masters with a focus in weaponry, hyungs, Aikido, Capoeira, grappling, breaking and seated “one-step” sparring.
People of all nationalities and cultural backgrounds came together in an effort to further their understanding of Tang Soo Do. As a student myself, I can attest that what we came away with was so much more. KJN St. James’ first words at orientation were “learn, grow, and share”. We learned, not just physical action, but about each other. We grew, in a duality that encompassed mental and corporeal challenges. We shared, and will carry to others the enormous amount of spirit that embodied the experience of those lessons learned.
We started on Friday as strangers with something in common. We ended on Sunday as a family united in diversity and chi. “Mind, Body, Spirit”… Moo Do. Balance. Harmony. I am at peace.
Thank You to all who gave of themselves their energy, their knowledge and their wisdom.