|
IMPORTANT
DATES
Link to our facebook page from the
homepage for events and more news.
Feb 9-11, 2012
Belt Rank Testing
Thursday, Feb 9
Regular Junior/Little Dragon Classes
7:30 PM Teen/Adult White-Sr Red
Testing
Thursday, Feb 9
Regular Junior/Little Dragon Classes
7:30 PM Teen/Adult White-Sr Red
Testing
Friday, Feb 10
6:00 PM Black Belt Testing
Optional testing date for
Brown -
Sr Red Belts
Saturday, Feb 11
9:00 AM Little Dragons
9:45 White-Orange Belts Juniors
10:15 Demo
10:30 Sr Orange-Sr Purple
Juniors
11:30 Blue-Sr Red Juniors
Monday Feb 13,
6:00 PM Make-up testing for White -
Sr. Red
Belts &
7:00 PM Instructor/Helper workshop
Tuesday Feb 14, Award Ceremonies
6:00 PM Little Dragons and Juniors
White -
Sr Green
6:30 Juniors Pruple and up and
All Teens and Adults
Wednesday, Feb 15
Bring a Buddy & Break a
Board Day
If you bring a friend to take class with you who:
●has never tried a class at our
school,
● isn't already in a martial arts
program
●is the appropriate age for your
class
●has a waiver signed by their parent
or
has their parent with them
then you and your buddy both get to try to break a board.
Dates for regional and national tournaments, Black Belt conference and
Regional camp are at the bottom of this page.
Upcoming Testing Dates
February 9-11 2012
April 5-7 2012
June 1-2 2012
August 2-4 2012
October 4-6 2012
December 6-8 2012
Except for black belts, if you are not able to make one of the scheduled
testing dates, you may request the option of testing during class that
week. Full uniform is required to test. Black Belts not able to test
during our BB testing, may have the option of testing at another
Taekwondo America school.
Get a FREE
T-Shirt!
It's easy! All you have to do is refer someone to
our school who isn't a family member and who has never been a Hilliard
Taekwondo Academy student.
When they come in to try their free class, they just need to put your
name on the visitor form as having referred them. Then, when they sign
up and pay for our intro special or one of
our longer term memberships, you get to pick out a t-shirt.
It's that easy!
Look before you leave!
When we clean the school at the end of every evening, some of the things
we're amazed to find:
● crumbs, half empty drink cups and litter
under the lobby chairs and in the siblings room
● puzzle pieces and DVDs scattered about in the
siblings room
● pieces of toilet paper all over the bathroom floor
● "wet spots" around the toilets
● gum stuck to the lids and
outsides of trash cans
We can't imagine you find this to be acceptable in your own homes so
please look around before you leave and help tidy up. And I know we'd
all like to believe our children when they tell us they didn't play with
the puzzle or create the mess that is now strewn all across the floor,
but I've watched from the workout floor as kids in the sibling room
turned puzzles over onto the floor and tossed the pieces around and then
tell me (with the most innocent expression on their face, at least until
I tell them I just watch them) that hey didn't do it when I asked what
happened.
Also, double check to make sure your child is taking home their gear
bag. Students tend to grab the first gear bag that looks like theirs and
head out the door. We often have frantic students who don't have any
gear when we start sparring, because someone took the wrong gear bag
home. And when the wrong bag taken is a teen's or adult's who needs
their wallet and car keys in their bag to get home, it causes a big
problem!
Parents, start getting in shape for price of
a uniform!!
Parents, if your children are HTA students, you can
take up to 2 months of classes for the price of a uniform. With tax,
that's only $32.03!
What better way to ensure that you can keep up with all your children's
activities ... and your grandchildren's? All the exercise you'll get in
our taekwondo classes will help:
● lower your blood pressure
● decrease your waistline
● increase your muscle tone
and, of course, increase your "cool" factor!
And remember, we now have the T/Th 9:15 a.m. adult class starting
January 5.
Tournaments
Next Tournament:
Midwest Regional
Where: Westerville OH
When: March 17 2012
If you had fun at this last tournament or missed
out on it and are wondering when the next one is, it's just around the
corner. Every student, from Little Dragons and Junior White Belts up
through Teen and Adult Black Belts can participate in Taekwondo America
tournaments.
You don't need to qualify for these events. All you need to do is fill
out the registration form and pay the registration fee at our counter.
Of course, it helps if Juniors, Teens and Adults know their form. White
- Senior Orange Belts also do their one-steps/sparring combinations and
Green Belts and higher will spar.
Every participant comes home with some type of medal. Participants who
don't get a 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th place medal in the competition will
receive a Spirit Medal for participating.
And students who go to tournaments tend to do better at testing because
of the effort they put into preparing for the tournament AND the
feedback they get from judges on how to improve their form and sparring.
|
Dates for national and regional events are at the bottom of this
page.
___________
Belt Rank Testing
EVERY single student (except some of our Black Belt students who have a
longer time requirement between testings) should register and test.
Why? Testing helps students move toward their goal of earning a new rank
and eventually earning their Black Belt. Stepping up to the challenge of
testing also helps them build self-confidence. Think about challenging
situations you've been in and how good you felt about yourself when you
got through it. We've been working hard week after week to build up
their self-confidence. Telling your child you don't think they are ready
for testing tells them you don't have confidence in them.
We are not a belt factory, just giving belts new rank away to every
student just to get them to Black Belt. But just like everything in life
we do have different expectations based on rank. (Think about learning
to talk and walk, to ride a bike; or the different between preschool,
elementary school, middle school and high school.)
Beginner students are expected:
- to answer up
- to try hard to do their form and
one-steps the best they can
- to be respectful during testing
These are the basics a person needs to succeed in school, on the job and
in life. Even if a beginner student does not have all 5 stripes, they
are typically ready to move on and learn new material.
Intermediate students are also expected to answer up, try hard and be
respectful, but they must execute their form with almost no mistakes and
spar well.
Advanced students have those same requirements, but also must execute
their forms flawlessly, with advanced techniques, spar with excellence
and break all their board stations.
Parents often compare their child to other students in the class and
feel their child isn't performing as well and so shouldn't test. Even
though we send notes and emails home and announce after every class that
all students should plan to test (and in most cases have told the
parents in person their child should test), these parents don't sign up
their child. After testing and the award ceremony have passed, almost
every one of these parents end up telling us they realize now that they
should have signed their child up for testing.
Trust us and help us work to build your child's self-confidence. Sign up
for testing today.
"Can you really
help my child
do better in
school?!
Yes. Really! We're not going to help them study for
their math test or work with them using flash cards, but we can help
them develop the focus and self-discipline they need to do better in
school.
When you stop in to try a class you'll see that not only are the martial arts classes at Hilliard Taekwondo Academy FUN,
but we can also help your child be better prepared for school by giving
them with the skills they need to:
● be better focused
● show more respectful &
self-confidence
● set and work toward a goal
● keep trying even when it's
challenging
● resist negative peer pressure &
bullies
And just think about how cool their "All About Me" story will be
when they talk about all the cool stuff they're learning at Hilliard
Taekwondo Academy!
What if I try class and the other students laugh at me?!
One of the hardest things to do, especially
for teens and adults, is to just get started and walk out on our floor and try a class.
You may wonder "what if no one chooses me to be their partner?" or "what
if I'm the only one who doesn't know how to do this stuff?" or even "Am
I even in good enough shape to do martial arts?"
I have yet to have a student try a class, especially the teen/adult
class, who wasn't surprised at how much fun they had, what a great
workout it was AND that everyone was so friendly, encouraging and
helpful!
Plus, our students come in all sizes, shapes, ages and fitness levels.
Some have worked out all their lives and some never really exercised
before stepping out onto our workout floor.
Every student and every instructor started as a white belt. And we all
remember what it felt like to try that first class. That's why we try to
make it as easy and comfortable as possible for you to get started.
But don't just take my word for it ... stop in and try a free class!
"Why is my child resisting coming to
class?!"
Your child, who loved taekwondo so much that they wanted to sleep in their
new uniform and were asking first thing in the morning if they could go
to class today, is now resisting coming to class. What happened?! Did
Taekwondo really become "dumb" or "boring"?! Nope! It's still the same
action packed class with fun target drills and high energy activities.
So, what has changed to make them resist coming to
class?
Here are the most common triggers for this new "not wanting to go to
class" behavior:
● You are bringing them to class TOO
OFTEN and they are burning out
(2-3 times a week is enough for any student to develop the
skills they need to continue improving)
● They're not coming AT LEAST 2 times a week and feel like
everyone else is better than they are
(We encourage every family to go on a vacation and we
understand that kids get sick and
miss class sometimes, but do try to get them to class at least 2 times a
week on a regular basis)
● They had negative consequences in class
(Isn't this one of the important life lessons you want
them to learn - that negative behavior has negative consequences?
Bringing them right back to the next class they would normally come to
is important. On the other hand, if you yell at them all the way home
after they've been disciplined in class, ground them and take away use
of all their video games, they are going to resist coming to class. And
we understand that it's hard to strike the perfect balance between
letting them think that negative behavior is okay with you and
over-reacting. We suggest just asking them what happened and calmly and
briefly discussing how negative behavior has negative consequences.
Discipline them for negative behavior that happens when they are with
you, let them know that you agree with any discipline we use in class,
but don't double up the discipline or they won't want to come back.
● Their new form is harder to learn than the last one
(yes, learning skills that challenge them is part of their
training; keep bringing them and they will feel so proud and
self-confident when they do get it; letting them come less just makes
the problem worse)
● They just got sparring gear and it feels "weird" or
uncomfortable
(coming less makes the problem worse; bringing them more helps
them get used to their gear)
● They don't feel confident at free sparring yet
(again, avoiding class only makes it worse; coming more often
helps them develop their sparring skills and become better equipped to
handle bullies)
● They may have gotten their first
no-change
(other students are typically more focused on their own
accomplishments and forget very quickly that someone else got a
no-change so students shouldn't be embarrassed about coming to class; as
a matter of fact they should come back as quickly as possible so we can
work on whatever part of testing they no-changed on; and while a
no-change is no fun, it helps students learn that they can face and
overcome a challenge, and without the world coming to an end, rather than giving up at the first adversity)
● There may be a change in family dynamics; parents may have
separated or divorced or remarried, a relative may have passed away, you
may have moved to a new home, a sibling went away to college
(continuing to come to class regularly can help provide the
consistency and stability the student needs)
● Parents or other family members may be giving too much
"helpful" advice about the student's performance after every class;
over time the child learns that no matter how much effort they put into
class, they're always going to hear how they could have done better,
what they did wrong, etc and eventually they just give up trying. After
all, if they try hard they get criticized and if they don't try hard they
get criticized (and yes "helpful advice" comes across as criticism) Imagine
every time you fix dinner, or do the laundry or give someone a gift or
mow the lawn, someone responds with the "thanks, but if only you'd
(fill in how it could have been better)... "
After awhile wouldn't YOU feel like giving up if every effort felt like
it was being criticized? And then the downward
spiral begins. The students puts in less effort, the parents criticize
even more, less effort, more criticism ...
(if you're already well into the downward spiral, you probably
need to sit down with your child, talk about what's been happening,
apologize and tell them how you are going to handle things differently from now on
... and expect it to take a while for things to change; to avoid or turn
around a downward spiral, compliment them honestly on things they did
well in class, ignore what wasn't top effort and let us work to motivate
them to want to be more successful; remind yourself of how excited you
were when your child first began to walk and to talk, to color and build
with blocks, to recognize animals and sound out words from books; you
didn't criticize them for falling down or not talking in complete
sentences or coloring outside the lines; you praised them for every
effort because those efforts and accomplishments were appropriate for
their age and ability)
Why don't our kids behave at home, too?
We often hear, "I
wish my kids would behave for ME as well as they behave for YOU!". We
joke that it's because they're afraid of us. But the truth is, they learn quickly to respect us.
Why?
We have age/ability-appropriate expectations, reasonable consequences for
unacceptable behavior, consequences that are immediate and consistent,
and we give positive feedback for good behavior.
Students learn pretty quickly that not answering up means extra push-ups.
And being rude or disrespectful means sitting under the clock or being
dismissed from class for that day. Whining and acting helpless? ... we
ignore that!
Some of the hardest things for parents to do consistently include:
1) figuring out what motivates each child to change (sometimes
you have to have different consequences for each of your children)
2) having realistic consequences (are you REALLY going
to cancel the vacation to Disney if your child doesn't put their shoes
away?! And can you really expect a 3-year-old to quietly endure the
weekly major grocery shopping?!)
3) actually enforcing consequences
Saying you're counting to 3 and then adding fractions in so you
say 20 numbers, ISN'T counting to 3. Threatening to take them home or
miss the movie or not get ice cream if they do or don't do something
only works if you REALLY take them home RIGHT NOW, no discussion, if
they do it one more time! Yes, they'll argue or beg or promise they
won't do it again. But if you give in, then you're teaching them that
they can get away with misbehaving if they argue, beg or make promises
that they've learned their lesson this time.
Also, stating (even screaming) consequences, isn't what makes kids behave. It's
enforcing the
consequences that makes them behave. That's the only way they learn
the boundaries of what's acceptable. (Would you drive differently if you
got a ticket every time you went over the speed limit?)
But what if they apologize?
They SHOULD learn to apologize for inappropriate behavior. That's part
of developing maturity. What they shouldn't learn is that if they
say they're sorry they won't have to "do the time." Because all that teaches
them is that, as long as they apologize, they can get away with
misbehaving.
As your children get into the preteen
and teenage years, you shouldn't have to constantly spell out specific
behavior and consequences anymore. They should know what type of
behavior is acceptable and not
acceptable without getting a series of warnings first. And that there will be consequences.
Otherwise, what's going to happen when they get their first job? Their
employer isn't going to warn them over and over.
On the other hand, is it fair to take your 3-year-old with you for an hour long
grocery shopping trip? It may be hard for them to sit still in the cart
for more than a few minutes and it's typical for young children to want
everything they see on the shelves. It might
be better for your child, for you AND for the other shoppers to plan
those longer shopping trips when you can do it alone.
If you haven't been enforcing consequences consistently, your children may get angry and
behave worse initially because you are changing their world. But over time they
will learn that negative behavior gets negative results for them and
appropriate behavior is rewarded.
Birthday Parties
Your next birthday can be
THE party all your friends will be talking about!
(We've also done self-defense birthday parties for women!)
You bring the cake, snacks and decorations. We'll provide the tables,
chairs and FUN age-appropriate taekwondo activities
including learning how to do cool martial arts kicks and punches on
targets, navigating an obstacle course, and tons of other fun and active martial
arts games. Plus, if we have openings in the class for their age/rank, we'll
offer your party guests passes for free taekwondo
classes.
Participants will have a great time and you don't have to spend hours
getting your house ready and cleaning up afterward!
Parties are up to 1 1/2 hours, which includes 30-45 minutes of martial arts
activities. Price is:
HTA students: $50
Non-HTA students: $125
How many kids can we have at the birthday party?
Ages 4-6: up to 8 kids, including birthday child
Ages 7-12: up to 10 kids, including birthday child.
Women's Self-Defense: up to 25 participants
All participants in the martial arts activities must be at least
4 years old or older.
Call us at 777-6033 for more information!
Certain restrictions may apply; ask for
details.
|
NEW
Weekday morning adult Taekwondo classes!
No need to get in shape first! Come as you are!
Whether you're a stay-at-home parent, newly retired, working an evening or
overnight shift or have a flexible work schedule, you can now work out
with us Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:15-10:15 a.m.
Plus the Saturday noon class. And when you have a free evening, work out
in the weekday evening teen/adult class, too.
No more excuses!
You've been telling us you just can't fit evening classes in regularly
because of helping kids with homework and bedtime after the junior
program classes and if we'd just have some day time classes you would
workout with us. We listened.
And the great news is we've had great turnouts for our first weeks of classes, so you
don't have to worry about being the only student. (But would a
one-on-one class with Ms. Thompson really be so bad?!)
Just wear loose-fitting comfortable clothes
like sweatpants and a short sleeved t-shirt (we work out in bare feet).
You don't need to get in shape. It's our job to help you get there. Read
the other articles about the benefits of Taekwondo. Of course, it's
always a good idea to ask your doctor before you start any new exercise
program, especially if you haven't worked out at all lately.
How much does it cost?
We always start with an introductory special.
If you are an adult and your family is new to our program, right now for
just $109 total you can workout for 2 months and you'll receive a
uniform.
If your child or spouse is already a student in our program, you can
work out for 2 months for the price of your uniform: $32.03 (includes
tax).
For parents with children who are too young to go to school, it's
important to note that we do not offer childcare.
If it's from "kicksite.net" it's not
spam
We're using a secure online database from kicksite.net and you can log in to see how
many classes your child has since the last testing, download the
scholastic recognition form or the class schedule, receive announcements
and more.
Once you give us your email address, we'll send you an invite from our
kicksite database. You create a username and password and voila! You're
in!
Black collars, red collars and
helpers, oh my!
If you've been wondering what the different colors of ribbon on uniform
jackets and pants mean and who's teaching in the classes, here's a quick
reference.
A 7/8" black stripe down the sleeves of a uniform jacket tells you the
students is a 6th degree black belt or higher. They may be referred to
as "Master" in place of Mr. Ms. Mrs. etc.
A 7/8" black stripe down the uniform pants tells you the student is a 4th
degree black belt or higher. (Some 4th degrees who wear other color of
workout pants may have other colors of ribbon down the sides of those
workout pants.)
Ribbon around the collar indicates the Black Belt is an instructor and
is at least a 1st Decided Black Belt or higher rank. There are 4 levels
of instructor with Level 1 being the newest instructors and Level 4
being the most seasoned instructors.
- Level 1 is a narrow red collar
- Level 2 is a wide red collar
- Level 3 is a narrow black collar
- Level 4 is a wide black collar
As Taekwondo America schools transition to this new collar system, you
may see instructors under the age of 18 with a red and black collar.
This means they are the nationally certified instructors, the highest
level a Junior or teenage instructor can reach until they turn 18.
Other students helping out in class, whether they are Black Belts or
have a color belt, are referred to as "Helpers". They are not certified
to teach/instruct in the Junior Program or in the Teen/Adult class. In
the Little Dragons program the Helpers are more involved with students
to reinforce the 4 to 5-move patterns those students learn as well as
holding targets and setting up activities, but are still Helpers and not
Instructors or Teachers. In the Junior program our Helpers hold targets
and provide guidance at activity stations under the supervision of a
Senior Certified Instructor to keep students safe while the instructors
teach forms and other techniques.
Childhood
Obesity & Diabetes
calories in vs calories burned
I can't remember a single overweight kid in my entire neighborhood where I
grew up. And I knew everybody because we all played outside, all day
long, every day in the summer.
And I think that's part of why I have a hard time remembering any
overweight kids from my hometown. We all played outside ... ALOT.
Many homes didn't have central air yet, so we were used to the heat and
didn't mind getting sweaty and dirty outside.
Fast food wasn't common yet. I believe we only had a BBF and a KFC, but
those were rare "treats" for families rather than a daily or weekly
option. And not because people couldn't afford it ... it just didn't
occur to people not to eat at home.
Video games weren't around yet. (GASP!!) And the TV only had 3 channels
with a dial that you had to get up, walk to and turn (DOUBLE GASP!!).
And it went off the air at 10 or 11 every night. So we didn't sit around
in front of the TV or computer for hours, moving only our thumbs,
mindlessly putting chips, cookies, etc into our mouths.
And yes, I had to battle fast food, junk food and too much video games
time when my own kids were growing up. As a matter of fact, one great
argument my daughter and I had when she was little was that she was
going to find a foster family to live with if I wouldn't go to the store
right NOW to buy Doritos!
The point is, you as a parent have to set the example and the rules for
your home.
And if your children are already overweight? Yes, it's going to be very
difficult to change their eating and exercise habits. (Parents, pick up
a 10-pound medicine ball and carry it around all day and see how tired
YOU get dragging around that extra weight!!) And overweight kids with
poor eating habits are at much higher risk for developing diabetes.
We're not suggesting that you make drastic changes all at once or that
you never let them have another Oreo.
Start by gradually substituting healthier snacks and gradually reducing
serving sizes at meals. Increase the fruits and vegetables you serve.
And get them moving a little more each day.
And find a fun physical activity for them to participate in. At
Hilliard Taekwondo Academy, we'll keep them moving while
teaching them self-defense and increasing their self-confidence.
Of course, parents, if you start working out with us, too, it's
important to remember that rewarding yourself for a great workout that
burned maybe 300-500 calories, with a 500-calorie whipped caramel mocha
something or other and a 600-calorie double chocolate muffin is
counter-productive. :)
More self-confident kids starting in just 6 weeks
Is that really possible?!
Every day we hear from families that school teachers of our Little
Dragons, junior and teen students start seeing positive changes within
weeks.
Not only do students start behaving and focusing better, but their
self-confidence increases as they learn new skills and achieve goals.
We've found that the key is consistency in what we expect and in the
consequences, plus positive feedback when they correct their behavior
and when they try hard in class.
Haven't tried one of our free classes yet? Could your kids:
- be better behaved,
- feel more self-confident
- feel healthier
starting in as little as 6 weeks?
Now that they are back in school, it's a great time to get your children started in martial arts at
Hilliard Taekwondo Academy. They'll soon be on their way to being more self-disciplined and having
increase focus.
What are you waiting for?!
Stand up to BULLIES!
According to recent news, bullying seems to be at an all time high!
Children, teens and even adults seem to think it's okay to make others
miserable. Is it because modern technology allows them to mistreat
others from a more anonymous distance using texting, emails, facebook,
youtube, etc.? That probably has something to do with it. Parents may be
less aware that their children are bullying others when it's happening
behind closed doors using a cell phone or computer.
Does the current economy play a role? Are parents scared and angry,
taking that anger out on their household, and then their kids are
turning around and mistreating others?
What can you do? If you suspect your child may be bullying others or
someone tells you they are, don't ignore it, don't write it off as "it's
just kids being kids" and don't get angry with the person telling you.
Find out why your child is bullying others and get the help needed to
stop it. You may need the help of a school guidance counselor or a
family therapist. Using the same behavior bullies use to try to get your
child to stop bullying others is probably counter-productive.
If you suspect your child is being bullied, talk with him or her and
work out a solution together. Taking over to solve the problem for your
child may make them feel even more bullied and less likely to confide in
you. You may need to meet with the teacher and even the principal. Your
child has the right to go to school without being afraid. You
can also help your child build self-confidence that may make them less
of a target for bullies.
At Hilliard Taekwondo Academy, children, teens and adults learn how to defend themselves
which helps them develop
more self-confidence. They are also getting a great workout! Try a FREE
class today and take the first step toward standing up to BULLIES!
And, adults, if someone at work is abusing their power, or spreading
rumors, talking behind your back, sabotaging your work, that is
bullying! And you, too, can gain self-confidence at Hilliard Taekwondo
Academy in our adult class. Plus punching and kicking targets is a great
way to work out the stress from a challenging day at work.
"I CAN do it!"
We often mistake fear for a lack of bravery or lack of courage. If someone is scared,
they're sometimes teased or told they shouldn't be afraid.
A certain amount
of fear is healthy. Fear of getting hit by a car is what makes us look both
ways before crossing the street. Fear of getting burned teaches us not
to play with fire or a hot stovetop. Fear of consequences can also
help us make good decisions and stand up to our friends when they are telling us to do
something we know isn't right.
Bravery is facing
that fear and then making the decision to do the right thing anyway. If
your friend is being picked on by a bully and you are afraid of the
bully, too, but you stand by your friend and tell the bully to leave
your friend alone, that's bravery!
|
