Bellydance Halloween Party

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A complete list of items for auction will be made available at MainStreetOneonta.com next week.

Main Street Oneonta to hold 10^th Annual Auction at Foothills Performing Arts Center

Please join us for the 10^th Annual Main Street Oneonta Auction on October 23, 2009 in the Atrium of the Foothills Performing Arts Center from 5pm to 8pm. The preview of the items will begin at 5p.m. with the auction commencing at 5:30p.m

There will be hundreds of items to bid on including art/craft work, gift baskets, gift certificates, sporting goods, memorabilia, and jewelry. All items are donated by local businesses and citizens. The proceeds of the auctions will go to underwrite the expenses of family-oriented community events held in Downtown Oneonta. These include Family Festivals, parades, sidewalk sales, sponsorship of the gingerbread house contest, and support for all of the other holiday events held in Downtown Oneonta.

This year’s auctions will include complementary food and a cash bar. New this year Ultimate Idol Performances at 5pm and at the close of the auction, be sure to join us on October 23^rd at 5pm in the Atrium of the Foothills Performing Arts Center for all the fun!

For more information please contact Main Street Oneonta at 434-6755 or mainstreetoneonta@hotmail.com or visit www.mainstreetoneonta.com.

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Free month special,  Next promotion test/Demonstration, Space needed, Black belt classes

Free month special now through September 30th

For the remainder of the month, we are offering a month free to new students when they sign up for a 3 month tuition package which includes a free uniform and two private lessons. If you have contacted us recently about classes, now is the time to join. Due to space restrictions, we can only extend this offer to the next 4 students so contact us today!

Promotion and demonstration Thursday September 24th, 6PM

Please come support our students including Owen McCabe who will be testing for his 1st Dan. Test begins at 6pm sharp. All students are reminded to submit test forms and fees prior to the date of the test. Students and their families are invited to a special dinner celebration afterward. Appropriate attire is requested as we celebrate the recent black belt promotions and birthdays.

Still looking for space

The Mannions are still looking for a different location and seeking 4000-7000 square feet or a vacant lot. Their intention is to offer alternative health services coupled with physical training classes in a central location for a complete support of Mind, Body, and Spiritual health. If you know building owners with upcoming vacancies or an interest to sell, please have them contact the school. Specifically, locations between Price Chopper and Oneida Street are of interest but Downtown Oneonta is preferred.

Black belt classes beginning in October

In order to more fully train our black belts, it is time to add a black belt class to the schedule. Traditionally, this is scheduled at the end of the week, as the last class of the week. At this time, we anticipate that black belt class will be Thursday nights from 7:20 until 7:50pm with the expectation that black belts will attend the 6:30pm regular class as a “warmup”.

Mr. Mannion appointed

The executive committee of Taekwon-do International has appointed Mr. Mannion as the Director of Communications. His first role in this capacity is to launch a new website to reflect the organization as the world class institution it is. The new website will feature forums, a wiki, online store, news releases, video archives, and a social component akin to Facebook where members can have blogs, home pages, and post messages, videos, and pictures. The website will be translated into over 41 languages and provide the leading source of new memberships. John Buck has been hired as an independent contractor to assist with the site’s launch and development. The site has a targeted completion date of 11/1/09 but is currently “live” at http://tkdunion.com

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Oneonta Taekwondo is proud to provide a location for Caroline Huxtable to teach belly dancing classes in the Oneonta area.
Caroline stated that she had studied, choreographed, and performed bellydance with the Pacific Dance Company in Bellingham, Washington. Taught mainly in the folkloric Egyptian style by Shelly Muzzy (Yasmela), one of Jamila Salimpour’s original students, she also practiced at various studios in Virginia and North Carolina. Heavily influenced by American Tribal and Tribal Fusion styles, Caroline has studied with professional dancers from Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and the US, including Amel Tafsout, Aisha Ali, Rossah, and founding members of the troupe Helm.

Caroline is currently the founder and director of troupe “Badra Bahiya” which means “radiant full moon”. Badra Bahiya was formed in 2007. Caroline and her troupe perform semi-regularly at the Farmer’s Market, My Father’s Place and several other venues in the area.

Fall/Winter Season offers 12 Classes/3 Sessions on Wednesday nights from 7:15pm – 8:15pm at Oneonta Taekwondo Do Jang at 12 South Main Street between Eighth note and DMV. There is a fee of $10 per class. Class fee is waived for all Oneonta Taekwondo members. Advance payment is encouraged in 4-week intervals. Missed classes may be rolled over to the next session.
While no special gear is required, loose pants or a loose skirt with a snug fitting top are recommended. Hip scarves/belts and finger cymbals are provided for beginning students.

Session 1 – September 23 – October 14. This session focuses on hip isolations and shimmies with an introduction to fing cymbals and basic steps.

Session 2 – October 21 – November 11. This session will add chest and and shoulder isolations, with turns and combination steps and continuation of finger cymbal practice and review of previous material.

Session 3 – November 18 – December 16 (NO Class November 25) will introduce spins and bellyrolls along with choreographed dance based on combination steps. A holiday break schedule will be announced during Session 3.

If you are unable to attend at Oneonta Taekwondo. Caroline also offers lessons at Oneonta Dance Center at the Corner of Fairview & Academy Street. These classes are held each Sunday from 5:00pm -6:15pm starting September 20th. Fee is $10 per class with pre-pay option. You may reach Caroline at upstatebellydance@yahoo.com or feel free to call her at 607-547-5909.

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Judy contacted us because the exchange student is very interested in Taekwondo. Judy can be reached at 765-6507.

We are trying to place students quickly now because
we are getting down to the wire on getting flights before school
starts. Below is basic information about one of our students from Germany who is very into Taekwando and we have another German boy who is very interested in martial arts in general. I have attached a general fact sheet about hosting as well. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions. 765-6507. Thanks! Judy

Etienne

First Name: Etienne ID: 1116
Term: Academic Year 2009
Type: one-way
Status: available
Home City: Wuppertal
Home Country: Germany

Gender: male
Date of Birth: 10/09/92
Age upon Arrival: 16
Height:
Current grade: 10
Recommended grade in US: 11
Will have graduated before program? No
Grades: average
SLEP Score:
Religion: Christian
Willing to attend religious service? Yes
Allergies: none
Willing to live with smokers? No
Health Notes:

Placement Goal: n/a
Placement Date: 0620
Status Details:
Placement Pending:
NWSE Coordinator: Sergej Buchholz
Acad. Coordinator:
Regional Manager:
Host School:
Host Family:

Student Profile:
Luis loves taekwondo, which he has practiced for eight years in a
local sports club. He also enjoys spending time with friends, playing
soccer, and swimming. In the U.S., Luis would be excited to have the
chance to join a drama club. He takes part in school activities at his
German school and diligently fulfills his responsibility of
maintaining records for his teachers. Luis has a good relationship
with his parents and has many friends, with whom he likes to hang out,
watch movies, and go downtown (e.g. to visit the Christmas market in
the winter). His interests include handicrafts, cooking, watching
movies, playing video games, and listening to music. Luis is a
sociable, respectful, optimistic, and motivated young man who has a
good sense of humor, is well-liked by his peers and teachers, and
sometimes acts as a quiet leader.

Luis’s native language is German. He is proficient in English and has
studied the language for five years. Luis earns average grades at
school and his favorite subjects include English, Biology, and
History. In the future, he would like to become a social worker.

Luis lives with his mother, who is a social worker. He also spends a
lot of time with his father, who works as an engineer and is divorced
from his mother. Luis does not have any allergies.

Letter to Host Family:
Dear friends,

My name is Luis Etienne and I’m 16 years old. I’m German and live in
Wuppertal. In Wuppertal we are more than 300.000 people. I was born in
Solingen,which is close to Wuppertal.

My parents are divorced. I live in the home of my mother, but I spend
a lot of time with my father too. I visit the [...] in Wuppertal. This
school is a full time school. I have a lot of friends there .My
favourite subjects are English, Biology and History.

In the year 2007 I had my confirmation. This was an important day for
me. First we celebrated at church and after this; we celebrated with
my family, with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I got a
lot of presents and everybody was proud of me.

My favourite sport is Tae Kwon Do. I do that sport more than seven
years. I have a lot of friends at this sport club. [...]

My hobbies are staying with friends, going to the Tae Kwon Do club,
going to cinema, even I like to hear music. At time my favourite
interpret is Falco.

My friends and I like to go to the Christmas Market. In Germany
Christmas Market are in every town. This year my favorite Christmas
Market was in Dortmund, because there was the biggest Christmas tree.

During 2007 I visited the USA and stayed there more than a month. I
have visited Washington, New Jersy, Baltimore and New York. In Florida
I have visited Key-West, Miami and Naples.

I liked to stay in the USA and I wish to study in this country. [...]
I hope we can make friendship . I hope we can learn from each other. I
hope he can explain me the school life. I’m open mined and very
interested in your culture and way of life. [...] I hope it will be
interesting for you to show me your life and I can be a part of your
family.

My parents and I often visit foreign cultures. I think you won’t have
problems with me. My character is friendly. I have no problem with
foreign food. I was educated to try first. I accept rules and I think
I won’t have problems at school. I think at the first time I need your
help, because I will have a lot of questions.

I hope I wake up your interest to take me in your home. I think we can
learn from each other and we can have fun together.

I will be very happy to stay in your home and I’m curious of the new
part of my life.

your Etienne

Student Essay:
Hallo Ladies and Gentlemen

I wish me become an exchange student because it will be a grateful
chance for me to learn the language perfectly and to learn to live in
another culture.

In our English lessons we learned a lot about the USA. This was very
interesting for me.

During holidays in 2007 I spent over a month in the USA . I have
visited Baltimore, Washington and New York. I was fascinated about the
skyscrapers. New York was amazing. I have never been in a city with so
much life style. In Florida I stayed in Key-West, Miami and Naples. I
was surprised how friendly the American people are. If I asked for the
way or other things, they took time to explain. So I have talked to
many people and I noticed that Americans are interesting at the way of
life in Europe especially in Germany.

For me it’s interesting to learn the language perfectly, because it’s
important to speak and understand English for finding a good job. So I
made an internship at the American Company PPG, in Wuppertal Germany.
I have noticed that’s important to communicate in English to impore
Business. I want to receive an impression about the culture of the
USA. It’s important for me to see how people live in other countries.
To see where it is different and where it is the same. I think after
one year in America I will come back with new ideas and a differnt
understanding.

I can offer an open mind. I can to stand to the rules. I curious about
life in the USA. So it will be interesting for me to stay at my host
family. I can offer friendship to my host family and to the students
of my school. I have a friendly character and it’s easy for me to
except life in other families. I think it can be interested for my
host family and me to exchange our ways of life. And I think we can
have a lot of fun together. I hope my host family is interesting about
me too and have fun on me too.

I can offer my open mind also to my school and teachers . So it’s
normally for me to do my homework and work on school projects. I’m
interesting in Spanish too. Maybe I can to pass a Spanish course at
school.

I can also stand to the rules. I think it will be interesting for
American students to hear about life in Germany. I hope I can make new
friends and these friendships will be for the future.

My favourite subjects are English, Biology and History. I’m
interesting in Sports too.
In Germany I’m member of a Tae Kwon Do club. I do this sport for more
than seven years. Perhaps there is a possibility to do this sport at
school too.

I hope to arouse your interest, and I also hope that I am an asset to
your school, teachers and students will be.

your
Etienne

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We are proud to announce the addition of 4 classes being taught here at 12 South Main Street. Daniel Blacklock, Caroline Chronowski, and Patti Virasi have offered to begin teaching new classes in our space.

This is great news for our students because all classes are FREE to Oneonta Taekwon-do students.

This is also helpful to us in terms of attracting new students. Most of our new students claim that “driving by and seeing the sign” is what made them come in. More foot traffic = more new students.

Please take a moment to think of someone you know who might be interested in these classes and email them the link to this web page!

Contact: Call Patti for more information at 774-454-1641

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Mr. Mannion returns

Yoga / Kickboxing teacher wanted

Do you know someone qualified to teach Yoga, Tai Chi, Cardio Kickboxing or other non-martial arts activities that would enjoy our space?  Several time slots are available and the price can’t be beat.  Please refer interested parties to Mr. Mannion at 607-437-7866.

New Class Schedule

Kids summer program

Oneonta Taekwon-do plans to offer a 4 week summer Taekwondo program for kids aged 6-10 years old.  Classes will be offered five days per week with a structured curriculum and weekly promotion tests.  More details will be released in June.  We anticipate offering ongoing childrens classes in September.  Student teachers are needed and one paid instructor position is available for adults blue belt and above.  If you are interested, please speak to me so we can begin organizing and planning.

May tuition special

Our doors are open once again for new students and we are recruiting aggressively!

Flyers will be available in the Do-Jang.  Please keep some in your car to post in gas stations or on bulletin boards where you work.  Give some to friends, neighbors, and coworkers!

Remember, all new students get a free uniform and 2 private lessons with a black belt instructor as part of their initial tuition package.  Remember:  students renewing for 6 months or more get a discounted rate along with a FREE uniform.

Save the Dates

Next promotion test Wednesday May 27 at 6pm

Grandmaster Kim’s annual Taekwon-Do summer camp will be held August 21-23 at Camp Pontiac . Please join Mr. Mannion in attending.  This camp is a great opportunity to fine-tune your Taekwon-Do training with specialized seminars. It is also a chance to leave Oneonta for a weekend and get to know your friends at the Taekwon-Do school and “cousins” from NYC better.  Learning the patterns from Grandmaster Kim is a unique experience and all students are EXTREMELY urged to attend.  Grandmaster Kim has in fact declared the seminar “mandatory” for red belts and black belts!

Spiritual arts fair – Saturday May 2^nd at the Unitarian Universalist Society

Oneonta is having its annual Spiritual Arts Fair next Saturday.  Among the presenters will be Jennifer Mannion giving a workshop on Healing Chronic Pain and we hope Matt can get his knee healed ASAP!  Please see the flyer online for more details.

Thank you John Buck

John Buck has graciously loaned us an adjustable stand for holding a focus pad and Ken Graig has loaned us a retractable focus pad.  This is excellent for practicing your kicks without having someone hold the pad.  We’re not sure how long it will last so please give it some use and share your feedback and gratitude with John.  We can’t share the name of this product with you because it may be under copyright!

Local business owners!

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Taekwondo International Black belt Oath

• I shall always observe the school rules and lead by example.
• I shall always maintain my training to continue improving my mind and body.
• I shall always exemplify discipline and focus during practice.
• I shall always promote unity and honor amongst black belts.
• I shall always earn respect through my training and conduct.
• I shall always be faithful to my seniors.
• I shall always be faithful to my teacher.
• I shall always be faithful to the Union

Test picture

Videos:

3 board reverse knife hand video

3 boards reverse turning kick

4 boards back kick

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John – thanks for noticing that Grandmaster Kim’s website now features videos of him performing Chon-Ji, Dan-Gun, and Do-San.  Please take a moment and watch the Grandmaster in action on the SJKim Taekwondo Website Patterns Page.

Next Test
Saturday, February 21st at 10am

We anticipate that Alex Lusins, David Howard, and Owen McCabe will be eligible to test. Please come out to support them and cheer them on. We will have class at 9am and begin the test when the students are ready.  If you are eligible to test and weren’t mentioned, please speak to Mr. Mannion.  The next test should be in early March.

New York City trip 2/18
Attend class with Grandmaster Kim

Grandmaster Kim has graciously invited us to visit his school in NYC for class and lunch afterward.  This is an excellent opportunity for all students to meet the man who has been teaching and practicing Taekwondo for over 35 years.  We need a tenative list immediately to coordinate driving.  Please call me or email me.  The expectation would be to leave Oneonta at 7am and return home around 7pm.  I’m not sure what a reasonable donation would be but I’m guessing about $25-$30 per person to be used toward gas and a gift depending upon how many people go.  I will be going from White Plains but Mr. Davis is planning to go.

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We are pleased to see the return of Ryan Graig after his hiatus this past fall. Ryan helped lead the Oneonta Soccer team to the Section championships before suffering a severe knee injury. Fortunately, Ryan takes great care of himself and has worked on strengthening and stretching the affected knee and is ready to resume training.

Also, please remember to bring a hat or wear hooded coats during cold weather to protect yourself when leaving class with a wet head!

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