Dear Students & Parents,
Classes are going well and spring is just around the corner. We have many exciting events planned in the coming months.
On Saturday, February 4, we had an excellent quarterly black belt test. Once a quarter we hold the Northern California Black Belt test. The schools that participate in our area are: Wheatland, Placerville, Yuba City, El Dorado Hills, Lincoln and Gold Country Kuk Sool Won. Gold Country had 13 new brown-black belts beginning their first-degree testing, and three new second-degree candidates beginning the testing process as well. I am proud to announce we currently have 63 active black belts training at Gold Country Kuk Sool Won and 46 brown-black belts testing for first-degree black belt.
While we are having a great time learning this wonderful martial art, we develop friendships that have gone on for decades. This in turn integrates our training into being part of our lives instead of something we just do.
The West Coast Kuk Sool Won tournament will be held Saturday, April 1, at Folsom High School. This is a fun-filled family event. Participants compete with students of the same age and belt level.
In March we will begin having tournament classes to prepare for the event. A special tournament training schedule will be posted. We will also have tournament sparring classes twice a week and a special sparring clinic on Sunday, March 26, from 2:30-4:00 p.m. at Yuba City Kuk Sool Won. Carpooling will be available for the clinic and the tournament.
This summer we will hold our 22nd annual Martial Arts Adventure Summer Day Camp. This year we will be offering four mini camps at our Kuk Sool Outdoor Training Center. Activities include archery, martial arts, crafts, animals, outdoor skills, games, a fishing clinic, and much, much more. Camp sessions are as follows: Session I, June 20-22; session II, July 11-13; session III, July 18-20; and Session IV, August 1-3. Our mini camps are limited to 30 campers per session and are from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We offer reservations to Kuk Sool students and returning campers before opening registration to the general public. We believe this is the most diverse day camp in Northern California. Our camps always fill up quickly, so reserve your spot today. We are very proud that our Martial Arts Adventure Camp has won the Parents' Choice Award for Best Summer Camp for five consecutive years.
This spring and summer there will be archery and knife throwing classes, including live sword cutting at the Kuk Sool Outdoor Training Center. These classes will be available to all ages and belt levels. We are one of the few martial arts schools to offer this type of training in the country. Only black belt students can participate in live sword cutting.
Show your school spirit with a free Gold Country Kuk Sool Won window decal for your vehicle. Semi-professional installation by Kwahn Jahng Nim Tony is included.
Our next quarterly black belt test will be on Saturday, May 13, at Ready Springs school in Penn Valley.
I was raised in Douglas, Georgia, located in southeast Georgia, the deep south. I was recently on a fishing trip and spent a week with a family that lived about 60 miles from where I was brought up. What immediately struck me was their etiquette. In the south it's called southern hospitality. I noticed they all said sir and ma'am. At dinner they always passed food to everyone before serving themselves. They were also kind and patient. It made me realize my etiquette training started before my military or martial arts training. It started in Douglas, Georgia, where the word etiquette truly means having good manners, a kind heart, and helping others. I am very fortunate to have started my etiquette training there.
