I know a few members of the ICTF are wondering about blogging about serious information with my opinion, with judgements, with observations.  They are wondering if it is correct for me to make comments on things that occur, things that I see or things that cross my path.  They think maybe I should be silent and ignore what transpires in our industry.  Just concentrate on the ICTF accomplishements. 

Here is a one of my favorite sayings.
    When they came for the jews, I was silent.  For I was not a Jew.
    When they came for the blacks, I was silent. For I was not black.
    When they came for the gays, I was silent.  For I am not gay.
    When they came for the elderly, I was silent.  For I am not elderly.
    When they came for me, no one spoke out.  For there was no one left.

I like these quotes as well...

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it!

A wise man learns by the mistakes of others,
a fool by his own.

You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Loyalty, above all else.

I remember a tournament where a certain head instructor ridiculed our introduction and enforcement of helmets for sparring.  He actually had one of his students wear a helmet for patterns to protest the decision.  We of course disqualified the student for disrespect but the true disrespect came from his instructor, not to mention how cowardly it is to use some one else to protest rather than your own self.  The actions of some people yell very loudly about what type of people they are.  Actions do speak louder than words.  In the ICTF we have struggled to put the students first.  All our actions further confirm our commitment to the members.  This instructor is now being sued for half a million dollars due to an injury to a student.  The student was not wearing a helmet.  His sparring partner allegedly hit him excessively hard and caused brain damage.  Judging by past experience I would venture a guess that the instructor ordered the hard hitting, but that is only speculation.  In fact the scenario is in the courts so the entire story is alleged.  What will ultimately come of this event?  Who can say.  If the students of that club were smart they'd get the heck out of there.  I have already seen remarks from some students of that club defending the action and ridiculing the injured student.  Shows what type of martial art club they belong to.  Right from the top on down, the attitude is completely wrong.  Their technique may be excellent, but it takes much more than technique to make a martial artist.

For those of you who are trying to solve the puzzles to win up to $1000.00, use this blog to share ideas and help each other.  Remember to register in order to win 2nd and 3rd prizes, if you can't solve the entire puzzle.

Ask your instructor any questions you have in regards to Taekwon-Do references in the puzzles.

Hints will come out every 10 days.  Posted here. 

I deal with a lot of Taekwon-do people.  Instructors and students of the ICTF.  Many non ICTF people through e-mail contacts.  A lot of Karate and Kung-Fu people at open events, demos, and mall events.  Hundreds of parents both with my club, with other ICTF clubs, and parents from Taekwon-Do clubs I have never even heard of.  I do Taekwon-do related stuff each and every day of the week.  For me, Taekwon-do really is a way of life. 
So when I deal with others, I have to remind myself that they are probably only involved with Taekwon-do a tiny bit.  Like I am the beach and they are a grain of sand, in relation to Taekwon-do.  All my interactions must be tempered with this concept.  If I had a parent approach me to tell me that their son (a Taekwon-Do student), has been accepted into a hockey program and will be missing numerous classes, I have to smile and say, great.  Even though we both know that son will be done with hockey in a few years, while he could have continued with Taekwon-do for a life time.  Perhaps a student tells me that he/she can't go to the tournament next Saturday because of a friends birthday party that night.  We both know its just an excuse because they don't conflict time wise.  But I say, have fun and maybe next time.  Knowing inside how much fun, knowledge, skill improvement, and new friends that student will be missing.
I wouldn't miss a class to see the opening night of a new movie.  I'd wait to go at a time when there is no conflict with Taekwon-do.  Taekwon-do has so many more benefits to it than people can grasp.  I love soccer but it can't be practised in the car at a red light.  Taekwon-do can.  Soccer doesn't help protect me from a bully in school.  Taekwon-do can.  Soccer doesn't make me a more respectful, courteous person.  Taekwon-do can. 
A recent contact from a parent from a non ICTF school springs to mind.  This mom was upset that her son had tested for blackbelt but the instructor refused to give a certificate until they signed up for another year.  So she went to the internet and contacted me.  This school was not in my Federation.  Was not even in my Province.  After some investigation I discovered the instructor was one of those, "buyer beware" types.  Since there is no governing body that over sees all martial arts schools, any Tom, Dick, or Harry can open a school and claim to be an instructor.  After obtaining video of this boys test I had to inform the mom that not only was I unable to help with a certificate, but if her son had tested with me, he would not have passed the test.  Inferior instruction leads to inferior ability in the student.
I may be one of very few people that have completely immersed themselves into Taekwon-Do.  But it is well worth it.  I am very happy doing what I love to do, almost every minute of the day.  Maybe you should do it more.  Life is full of excuses and distractions.  Make Taekwon-do your focus.

Master Cariati and I were working together on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for about 6 hours each day going over every single detail of every single technique we could find in the 15 volume encyclopedia.  At some point one of us commented that General Choi created Taekwon-Do (with help from many people) but he is now gone.  He had stated to us before his demise that it would be up to the seniors around the world to continue developing Taekwon-Do. 
I have heard of some seniors changing things in patterns, altering moves to suit themselves better, and renaming techniques or patterns.  I don't think this is what the General meant.  Taking the reverse turning kick in Juche and changing it to a reverse hook kick for example is not a step forward but simply a selfish act that did not happen when Genral Choi was alive because he said no.  Now that he is gone, he can't say no and the person in charge has no opposition to molding the moves as he wishes. 
Over the 3 days we worked on techniques, Master Cariati and I actually discovered new concepts never before seen in Taekwon-Do.  These concepts broadened the ability to understand how to do moves, making the techniques easier to perform.  Without altering a current technique, without renaming a move, or any other changes we actually added to the body of work that General Choi started.  It was an amazing accomplishment and we were fairly excited and happy to have discovered these new ideas.  We ended up with a full page of notes that will ultimately become standard terms and ideas in the Taekwon-Do community. 
Being a master instructor is certainly more than just wearing a belt.  The Masters are supposed to be the leaders of Taekwon-do.  So we must of course stand up and lead.  Too many masters live on past accomplishments.  Accomplishments usually done as young 2nd, 3rd and 4th degrees.  That was great what you did then, but what have you done lately?...

WOW.   What a weekend.  Over 40 black belts traveled to St. Albert to take part in the ICTF of Canada Instructor training weekend.  I don't know where to begin.  The amount of information that was exchanged was phenominal.  All the patterns were worked on.  Warm up drills were shared.  Sparring techniques and drills on Sunday.  Along with self-defense techniques.   The masters (3 of them) in attendance did not do all the instructing either.  In fact in one particular seminar every single participant got to get up and demonstrate their favorite move to all the other seminar participants.  They explained the move, demonstrated it, and then everyone performed it.  Marketing seminars, how to teach little kids seminar...  So much happened. 
Mr. Bobby Scott used his magic with the camera and photographed every Member that was present for our web site and for their own personal use.  You can see them on another page of this site.  Awesome shots Mr. Scott.
The members who came to the event were also compensated for their travel and they all received one night in the host hotel free of charge.  Saturday night an all expense dinner was held for the members where a short video presentation was shown and other than that, it was just conversation time.
I had so many comments from all the members I couldn't hope to quote them all here.  The one I will quote was pretty funny.  The member said "don't let any other instructors join ICTF of Canada.  If too many join the benefits will have to be shared and that will shrink everyone elses funding."  They said it in jest but there may have been a bit of concern in the statement as well.  Not to worry though.  More members will also mean more funding becomes available to the organization so we can keep growing and keep sharing.
I can't wait until the next get together.  October 15 in Toronto I guess. 

You might think from the title I am going to give you some videos to watch on you tube.  Nope.  I was cruising the web and ran across some sparring video's of Taekwon-do in Edmonton.  So I clicked on them and watched.  They turned out to be WTF videos shot at a few different local tournaments.  I considered moving on, but then decided to watch and see how they went.  I usually don't watch WTF sparring since it is so boring.  I expected to see 2 people bouncing in place, staring at each other with the occasional feint followed by more bouncing (oh yes, hands down by their side too).  Then a dash towards each other with a few quick "round house" (Turning) kicks.  where upon they would be stuck chest to chest until the referee moves in to separate them.  All together maybe 20 round house kicks in 3 minutes with the rare match having a spin kick or high turning kick thrown in.

I watched 3 different vidoes.  2 young kids, 2 adults and a "champion" lady who would dominate for years to come.  They all looked exactly the same.  Just as I described it.  The "champion" did do a high turnin kick and a back kick.  Guess that is why she's considerd so good.

I still can't believe I wasted 10 minutes of my life on that.  Don't they get it.  Kwon stands for hands, punching etc.  And there are more kicks to use like side kicks, axe kicks, front kicks, hook kicks and yes, back kicks.  TaeKwon-Do is so much more than what the WTF shows the world.

compare any Chang-Hon sparring match to any WTF match and the excitement factor is light years ahead for us.  Techniques used, continuous action, and we actually hit harder and more often as well. 

End of rant...

Our membership fee is $250 per year.  Ouch! That is so high.  Yes it is, but what do I get for that?  Ultimately free insurance for my school.  That can save clubs up to $1000 per year.  Even small clubs will save $500 per year.  That alone is well worth the membership fee.  But there's more?  Yes actually there is.  Master Instructor seminars are available at low or no cost for each region in Canada one time per year.  Cash prizes for your students when they attend sanctioned ICTF tournaments.  Free online contests with prizes for any ICTF member.  Subsidized instructor training one time per year.  Funding for members and students of members to attend international tournaments.  Reduced prices for training tools like DVDs and encyclopedias.  Seminars for members on marketing, managing and running your clubs. 

But what if I don't want to participate in all those things.

The membership fee is easily made back with the insurance coverage for your club but if you don't want to be a member, you don't have to be.  Membership to ICTF of Canada is totally optional.  No instructor or club will be shunned if they are not members of ICTF of Canada.  Join only if you want to enjoy the benefits you can get with membership.

Heard a great story yesterday.  It tells me that we are doing the right thing and it scares the hell out of the "Other" organizations.  I can guarantee you don't hear any of the instructors in the ICTF talking about other organizations in negative or derogatory ways.  There is no need to do that.  Their actions speak for themselves.  Remember the old saying "actions speak louder than words". 

Here's the story.
One instructor (over the course of some months) passed on information to the students of his club that the ICTF wears helmets because we can't take punches to the head.  (That organization just passed a rule for mandatory head gear).  He went on to say that our tournaments are small and boring.  (This was said at an event of his organization which boasted 150 competitors.  The last ICTF event had 530 competitors.)  He continued to rant, that their organization was structured to support their members.  (meanwhile his students paid organization fees but received nothing back.  The ICTF just announcd our latest support, 50 bursaries of $500 each.) 

I find it amazing how many senior black belt instructors can so easily stick their foot in their own mouths so often.  Great flexability? 

I just recently found out that one of our members is unhappy with me personally so he will be leaving the ICTF.  He jokingly called the ICTF of Canada, the International "Craig" Taekwon-Do Federation.  He seems to feel that everything being done is by my decision and strictly for my purposes.  Over the years I have been attacked by narrow minded and ignorant people on a continual basis.  It simply shows the level of their character.  Since if they were leading the organization they would be doing exactly what they suspect me of doing.  I have found that most people who "have an issue" with someone, have that issue because they would be doing what they think the other person is doing.

People who know me, know I don't often toot my own horn.  But in light of this latest attack from out of no where I am going to toot.

A small list of some things I have done.  You decide if they were done for me or for the group at large.
 - obtained mats for western Canada competitions. (safety and professionalism since 2006)
    - acquiring mats for Ontario in March/April 2011
 - obtained and maintain each year insurance for all members of the ICTF in Canada. (no small task)
 - applied for and was given a casino to raise funds for the group. (huge application process)
 - instituted a policy where by members can get free insurance.
 - organized and spear headed fund raising efforts for teams to travel to England and Puerto Rico.
 - co-ordinated fund raising efforts to send 50 members (all belt levels) to Toronto in October of 2011.($25 000)
 - scripted, funded, and directed the referee DVD for the ICTF to ensure consistent judging.
 - and many more...
All the time I spent working on these projects I could have spent on my own club.  I suppose some people think it is foolish to work so hard for other people.  Personally I don't think so.  Even when I get attacked by the uneducated I know what I have done and continue to do is right.  It is the DO in Taekwon-DO.  I am a martial artist, what are you?