of Santa Fe In El Dorado
USA Taekwondo Centers of Santa Fe in El Dorado
#2 Casa Del Oro Loop
Santa Fe, NM 87505 (New Mexico)
(505) 466-8555
(505) 450-8560 [Fax]
[email protected]
Hi, and thanx for coming to
visit my Taekwondo page. I've hopefully placed some worthwhile
information and links to other pages here. Please feel free to
make me aware of any problems with my links, or if you have any
other information or links that might be interesting to other
readers.
Taekwondo is a Korean Martial
art, which translates roughly to "the Way of the Hand and
Foot." Taekwondo emphasizes predominately foot techniques.
A good rule of toe (I mean thumb) is that Taekwondo is 80% feet
and 20% hands. There are two main international Taekwondo organizations, the
World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and the International
Taekwondo Federation (ITF). Nationally (in the United States) there
are several governing bodies- the one I am most familiar with,
due to my personal and school affiliations, is the
United States
Taekwondo Union (USTU). Others that I know of include the
American
Taekwondo Association (ATA), and the
United States Taekwondo Federation (USTF). There are several benefits to being affiliated
with the USTU/WTF. The World Taekwondo Federation has been recognized
as the only sanctioning body for Taekwondo by the Olympic Sports Council,
and the USTU is the only national organization (For the United States)
recognized by the WTF. To make a long story short, martial artists
who wish to compete in Taekwondo in the Olympics need to be affiliated
with the WTF, and for Americans, that means that we must be affiliated
with the USTU, because the WTF does not allow individuals to be directly affiliated, only through their national organizations.
What a bunch of red tape, huh?
About
Me:
I am currently a WTF/Kukkiwon
Certified 2nd Dan Black Belt. I've been studying Taekwondo since
1982, when I was twelve. I am 28 years old now, so I've been
studying Taekwondo for 16 years (well more than half my life). Wow,
it doesn't seem like that long...
The
USA Taekwondo Centers:
I teach my own Taekwondo School,
and have since 1992, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My school is a
branch of the United States Taekwondo Centers, which is headquartered
in Abilene, Texas, and led by Head Instructor Master Dale Higginbotham.
Click here to see some pictures of my school. Coming soon- a
list of other school and instructors affiliated with the USA Taekwondo
Centers.
My Students:
Currently I only have about 15 or 20 students
enrolled in my classes. Three of the students, however, are soon to be testing
for Black Belt. Recently three of my students competed in a Taekwondo Tournament
here in Santa Fe. Mr. Aaron Lenihan and Mr. Brendan Lenihan competed in Forms (Poomse)
and Sparring (Gyrogi), and Mr. Beers-Green competed in Sparring only. Every student
competing in Sparring returned with a Gold Medal. The Gold Medalists'
were Mr. Aaron Lenihan, Mr. Brendan Lenihan, and Mr. Arlen Beers-Green. Mr. Beers-Green
competed in two sparring divisions and returned with two Gold Medals, one from each division.
The two Mr. Lenihans also competed in Forms, and both returned with Bronze Medals from that
competition.
Taeguek Forms:
The USTU/WTF require the Taeguek
forms for testing and certification. To see a text version of
all Taeguek forms required up to first degree Black Belt, please click here.
Other Taekwondo/Martial Arts Links:
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