The Last Airbender

This summer, The Last Airbender features ATA blackbelt Noah Ringer as Aang, the Avatar.

Great Job at Summer Camp!

Students at the Titusville location did a great job in last week's 'Super Hero' Summer Camp!

For more information about upcoming summer camps, ask your instructor!

ATA World Championships

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The Karate Kid Official Trailer - In Theaters June 11

Graduation!

This evening, Space Coast Martial Arts held it's graduation ceremony. Students received the results from last weeks testing including their belts and certificates of rank from the American Taekwondo Association.

Everyone did a great job in their own performance and by encouraging their fellow students. This truly shows the Spirit of Taekwondo, and all of the students should be proud of what they have accomplished!

April's Life Skill: Goals in Education and Career

This month's life sills is Goals in Education and Career. In January, we set Goals in Martial Arts. Students set goals to learn new forms, become black belts, instructors, world champion, and even Grand Master. Just as we can set short term, intermediate, and long term goals for our Martial Arts training, we can apply the same skills to our education and career.

Maybe your education goal is to do better in school. But remember to make it a SMART goal! Is it specific? Which grades specifically do you want to improve? Are you motivated? Also, it's important that our goals are achievable. It's probably not possible to change a failing grade to an A in one week. Instead, that student could set a goal to complete every assignment for a week. That way you can see you're making progress!

This month, work with your instructors, parents, and friends to set SMART goals for your education and career! Remember what President Abraham Lincoln said, "A goal properly set is halfway met."

Even if your goal for your career seems far away today, you can still start working towards it today. Do you want to be an astronaut? The inventor of tomorrow's computer? Do you want to be a doctor? You can do it, and there are things you can do today to make it happen!

This is also a great time to review your Goals in Martial Arts that you set back in January. See how much success you have already made towards those goals, or adjust them based on what you've learned since then. Seeing how successful you've been in those goals might help you believe in your ability to achieve more and bigger goals!

Good Luck! And don't forget, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Great Job at Spring Break Camp!

This week students at Space Coast Martial Arts have been using their Spring Break to improve their fitness and get 20 hours of Martial Arts training!

Students have worked on learning the material required for their next belt, improving their flexibility, and practicing for the black belt fit test, which includes finding out how many kicks and punches you can do in just one minute!


Students also enjoyed playing taekwondo baseball, taekwondo basketball, taekwondo video games, and other fun applications of their training.

Students also enjoyed learning about the ATA's new combat weapons training.

If you missed out on this camp, don't worry! This Summer, Space Coast Martial Arts has scheduled 3 week-long summer camps! It's a great opportunity to get extra training, improve your fitness, and have fun over the summer break! Make sure you ask your instructor for more information!

Space Coast Martial Arts Hosts Kid Safety Open House

Knowledge and confidence were the key words at the Space Coast Martial Arts free Kid Safety Open House held recently at Parrish Health & Fitness Center in Titusville. The American Taekwondo Association’s Kidz in Power safety training provided children and their parents the opportunity to learn and practice self defense techniques in a fun environment. In addition, the children heard a presentation from the Titusville Fire Department regarding fire safety and practiced what to do in case of a fire. For more information about the next Kidz in Power safety training, contact 383-4600.

"I've Got Courage" Mini Tournament

This weekend, students from Space Coast Martial Arts had the opportunity to participate in our "I've Got Courage" mini tournament. Participants learned how ATA tournaments work and participated in forms, weapons, and free sparring competition.

Students showed courtesy with our volunteer judges, respect for their fellows students, and had fun participating in the supportive competition. All students received a medal, certificate, and red star for their Karate for Kids patch.









Student show their opinion of what the scores should be.






Student instructor Mr. Valdes participated in the competition.





Some of our color belt students participated in free sparring competition for the first time!

March's life skill: Loyalty

This month's life skill is Loyalty. Loyalty means being faithful to your family, friends, and beliefs. Loyalty is how we show our dedication and commitment to the things we care about. It means that we stand firm, even in the face of peer pressure, public opinion, or other difficult circumstances.

Many people show loyalty to sports teams by cheering for them, even when they have a bad game, wearing clothes or hats with the team's logo, and watching their games in person or on television. You can loyalty to your friends by standing up for them if someone says mean things about them behind their backs. And you can show loyalty to your taekwondo instructors by never using your Martial Arts training to hurt your family, friends, or pets. And of course, you show loyalty by coming to class at least twice every week and practicing to the best of your ability!

Loyalty is an essential skill for leaders, too. Eternal Grand Master H. U. Lee once said, "A great leader is one who knows when and how to follow." One way we show loyalty is by following the instructions of our parents and teachers because we trust them. And if we show loyalty to them, it builds trust, so they show loyalty to us by helping us improve, and by listening to our input and ideas. By showing loyalty in the decisions we make, the things we say, and the actions we take every day, we can each build a strong foundation to become great leaders!

Martial Arts Movies from Movie Night!

Last Sunday night was our Valentine's Day movie night. Students from Space Coast Martial Arts and their guests enjoyed two Martial Arts Movies!

The first was The Karate Kid Part II. This movie is the 1986 sequel to The Karate Kid and continues the story of Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi. The two travel to Japan to visit Mr. Miyagi's dying father and learn about Mr. Miyagi's life in Japan.

This is a great story about loyalty, friendship, and forgiveness--important traits for all budding Martial Artists!

The next movie was the 1992 comedy, The Three Ninja's. In this movie, three boys learn Martial Arts from their grandfather when they visit him over the summer and have to defend themselves when they return home and find themselves caught in the middle of their father's FBI investigation.

They boys stand up to bullies, defend themselves against would-be kidnappers, and keep your attention engaged with constant adventures and humorous antics.


If you missed out on this movie night, be sure to sign up next time!

Great Job at Instructor Certification Camp!

Congratulations to Mr. Latherow, Mr. Valdes, Ms. Gillett and Mr. Penton! Last weekend, they attended the Region 104 Certification and Leadership Camp in the Miami area. Along with students from ATA schools all over the region, they took a big step to reach their goal of becoming ATA Certified Instructors.

During the camp, the instructors demonstrated their knowledge of the Songahm forms, ATA Life Skills curriculum, and class management skills. They also learned new ways that all instructors can share their enthusiasm for Taekwondo and make every class exciting.

The day after the Certification Camp, the instructors, trainees, and ATA Leadership students continued their training at the Region 104 Leadership Camp. They trained in Sparring, Joint Locks, Ground Fighting, Knife Defense, and XMA Sword. They also got an in-depth perspective on teaching and training in the Martial Arts during a question and answer session with the Masters and high-level instructors at the camp.

Next week in class, you'll get to try out some of the new techniques they learned at the Camps! Be sure to Congratulate Mr. Latherow, Mr. Valdes, Ms. Gillett, and Mr. Penton for doing a great job at Camp and becoming Level 2 Specialty Instructors in the ATA!

February's Life Skill: Courtesy

February's life skills is courtesty. Courtesy is kind, unselfish behavior like sharing, helping, and using good manners. Have you ever noticed that we promise to show courtesy to our fellow students at the beginning of every class?

The Songahm Spirit of Taekwondo begins:

I will practice in the Spirit of Taekwondo
with Courtesy for fellow students....

It begins this way because Eternal Grand Master H. U. Lee believed that courtesy was an essential component of our Martial Arts training. He knew that if students couldn't show courtesy to their parents, fellow students, and instructor, they couldn't be trusted to learn Taekwondo.

Luckily, we show courtesy in the little things we do every day. We show courtesy when we say "Thank you" to our parents and family members and when we bow to our partners during sparring drills saying "Good Luck, Sir/Ma'am!" We have hundreds of opportunities every day to show courtesy to everyone we meet. And just as we improve our taekwondo techniques by practicing them regularly, showing courtesy becomes more and more natural every time we share, smile, or help someone out!

One of the best things about courtesy is that by showing good manners, sharing, and helping others you in turn will earn other people's respect. Showing courtesy and earning respect will help you feel good about yourself when you're practicing taekwondo and in everything else you do!

What were the four original color belts?

The four original ranks of color belts in the Songahm Style of Taekwondo are shown on the Songahm Star. They were yellow, green, blue, and red--all students began as white belts and worked to earn their black belts.

Other ranks were later added so that each color belt corresponded to one of the 9 Songahm forms and other rank material.

Remember, each weekly quiz question on the blog will help you earn blue stars for your karate for kids patch. After your earn 25 blue stars, you can get a new patch like Anthony, one of our green belts! Great job, Anthony!

Oh Sung Do Training

For the next two testing cycles, the black belt weapon will be the Oh Sung Do, or Korean Broad Sword. Although it is a relatively new weapon in the ATA, students can compete with the Oh Sung Do form at ATA competitions. Mrs. Latherow is Certified to teach this weapon and is working with our instructors and black belts on the form. Start looking for it in class!




Mrs. Latherow helps Mr. Penton improve his technique.
























Fourth Degree Black Belt Mr. Riordan, and Second Degree Recommended Black Belt Mrs. Long practice the form after class.

Board Breaking!

This week, we have real wooden board available at the school for students to try and break. On Saturday, brown belt Sydney got to try it out!














Master Latherow shows Sydney the proper foot position for her Side Kick!











Next, Sydney shows respect and courtesy by asking her parents for permission to break her board.













On the first attempt, she wasn't able to break the board, but she didn't give up!












Finally, she executes a great side kick and breaks the board right through the middle!







Great job, Sydney and Congratulations!!!!




If you'd like to break a real wooden board, be sure to ask your instructor the next time you come to class!!!

Upcoming Events: How to use a Hand Target Seminar

Hand Targets are great tools to help students practice Board Breaking, using the correct striking service in your Hand and Foot Techniques, and they're also safe and fun to use at home when you practice!

On Friday, January 22 Space Coast Martial Arts is hosting a Seminar where students and their parent's will learn exciting drills and exercises that they can practice together at home to improve all their techniques and have fun doing it!

Make sure you sign up with your instructor the next time you come to class!

The Seminar will be held at the Titusville school from 6-7 p.m.

January's Life Skill: Goals in the Martial Arts

This month's life skill is Goals in the Martial Arts. Having a goal is to want something and be willing to work hard for it. The famous quote of Eternal Grand Master H. U. Lee is, "Today not possible, tomorrow possible." If we believe in our goals, and work every day to achieve them, anything really is possible. Eternal Grand Master showed this in his own life; he came to the United States from Korea in 1962 and started teaching taekwondo in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1969, he founded the American Taekwondo Association. During his life, he developed the Songahm style of taekwondo, a standard for training and certifying instructors, and became the first Master to achieve the rank of 9th degree black belt under public documentation. Today the ATA and its affiliated organizations includes over 300,000 registered members, 53,000 black belts and 3,000 certified instructors. To learn more about Eternal Grand Master and the history of the ATA visit the ATA's website.

Your goal for your Martial Arts training might be to earn a black belt, become a Master, compete for World Champion, or become a Certified Instructor. These are all great goals, but remember Eternal Grand Master H. U. Lee once said, "Train hard-with patience! The best techniques are achieved one punch, one block and one kick at a time." To help us reach our long term goals we set short-term and intermediate goals, so that we can track our progress to our goals. So, maybe you want to earn your form stripe this week or compete in a tournament in the next two months.

Don't forget to set Goals for your Martial Arts training, so that you and your instructors can work together make them possible!

Reminders from Sargeant Safety

Every quarter, Space Coast Martial Arts hosts a Kidz n' Power Child Safety Seminar for the community. The Kidz n' Power program was developed by the ATA in partnership with Amber Alert. If you have any concerns about safety or self-defense techniques, be sure to ask your instructor and keep an eye out for the next seminar!