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16
Jul

World’s Week

World Championships are this week! Students in the National Martial Arts Alliance from all around the world will be coming to Denver to compete in the World Championship competition. They will compete to win a world title and be awarded this year’s best in the NMAA. Mueller’s Martial Arts has six students competing this year. Last year, we took home two titles and this year we hope for many more!

It isn’t just a regular tournament however. The festivities start on with seminars and trainings led by Chief Master Horn and other Masters of the NMAA. Masters, students, school owners, and instructors get the chance to improve their craft and learn from the best of the best in the organization. 

On Thursday, testing will begin. Black Belts get to midterm or test for their next belt in front of the entire organization. Five of Mueller’s Martial Arts’s students will be testing. In order to get their next belt they have to know and be able to perform all of the color belt forms, their form, a weapon form, and break boards. Thursday will also begin the first day of competition. 

Friday, competition continues with the Tournament of Champions. Only Black Belts are able to compete for a world title and in order to get the opportunity, they have to earn their way there. They must compete in other tournaments and earn enough points to go to worlds. Points are earned based on how well they do in other tournaments. Essentially, they must get in the top three consistently in their events to qualify. 

That night, opening ceremonies will kick off. The National Martial Arts Alliance will be celebrating its ten year anniversary as an organization. A huge announcement will be shared that you don’t want to miss! It will be a special experience as we show our gratitude for the organization that brings us all together.

Saturday will be the World Tournament, which is open to students of all ranks and ages. Here, everyone will get the chance to compete with people from all around the world to win a medal. This tournament is extremely important because it kicks off the next tournament season and is worth triple points which will set you up in the right direction for the next competition season. 

World’s week is full of fun and such an amazing experience. It will take place at the Colorado Convention Center in Downtown Denver, Colorado. Wish our testers and competitors at Mueller’s Martial Arts good luck!

14
Jul

Kicking Around the World

You may leave taekwondo, but taekwondo will never leave you. This month, many students from Mueller’s Martial Arts have sent in pictures “kicking around the world”. Summer is a crazy time filled with vacations and travel, summer sports and family time. Students may not come to class as consistently as in the fall and winter, but the Martial Arts spirit never leaves them.

You miss it when you are away:

Many may ask why people are randomly throwing side kicks for pictures in front of cool locations. The first reason is that when you are truly dedicated to training, you think about it even when you are on break. You spend so much of your life training and coming to class that when you are away you miss it.

It’s a part of you:

Taekwondo is part of you. It is in your blood, bones, muscles, and soul. Martial Arts isn’t just about learning kicking and punching. It’s about the life skills you learn and embrace along the way- confidence, respect, integrity, attitude, perseverance, discipline, focus, and goals. When practiced enough they become a part of who you are and you carry that with you everywhere that you go.

You want to show some awesome moves:

Not everyone can do awesome kicks above their head or feel confident protecting themselves. When you are in amazing places with spectacular views you want to show off everything that you have learned through the many hours of blood, sweat, and tears. It’s almost your way of getting a postcard of everywhere that you go, except for you, it’s kicking around the world.

Taekwondo becomes a part of who you are when you train long enough. A Black Belt is just a white belt who never quit. The goal of every student when they walk into the dojang for the first time is to become a Black Belt. We all want to be awesome and lucky enough to get to kick around the world.

Mueller’s Martial Arts instills taekwondo to be a part of your entire life. To learn more about our program, click here.

26
Jun

Summertime in Taekwondo

Can you believe it’s almost July? Summer is in full bloom and taekwondo isn’t slowing down. A few weeks ago our students competed in the State tournament and we took home 27 first place titles! Plus we got even more that placed in the top three. In just a few short weeks Black Belts will compete for the World Championships! 

We know that summer means that kids are out of school and people are taking their well deserved vacations. But now is not the time to lose focus! With World coming up and a brand new tournament season right around the corner, it’s extremely important to keep your eyes on the prize. Not to mention, with school being out kids tend to be more rowdy and misbehave. Staying consistent with taekwondo can help that.

Come to class:

Coming to class is the most important thing to do for your taekwondo student. We know that it can be hard with travel, but coming in whenever you can will make a huge difference. Staying consistent in their activities will help with focus, plus they are still learning on and working on the life skills in each class. They must stay disciplined and respectful in class, and that will carry into homelife as well. Plus, they need to keep working to become a champ at the next tournament!

Practice outside of class:

If you don’t want your student to fall behind or lose momentum, have them practice outside of class. When traveling, have them go over their forms and the definitions of the life skills. Every form is on our website and can be watched over and over again. If they stay focused on their goals even when they aren’t able to make it in, coming back to a consistent schedule will be a lot easier for them. Kids love showing off their forms on vacation!

Enjoy your rest:

Sometimes, a little rest is all we need to come back refreshed and rejuvenated. Take your rest and enjoy it! Just remember, rest makes rust and doesn’t last forever. Enjoy it, but get back to taekwondo as soon as you can. We know that kids are around all the time during the summer and you might need a break from them too. Bring your kids to class, drop them off, and know that they are in good hands for the next hour. Parents need a break too! What better place to get it then in a place where your kids are learning and becoming the best versions of themselves?

Happy summer from Mueller’s Martial Arts! We are here all year. Drop by this summer to set your kid up for their best life.

20
Jun

Champ Camp

This week is the final week of champ camp for 2023! Champ camp is held yearly during the summer. It is four weeks of training, three days a week, three hours a day. Students that are on the competition team come to champ camp in order to get extra training before State and World Championships.

Mueller’s Martial Arts competition team consists of elite students that have proven their skill and perseverance in class. They are the students that show up on a daily basis and have committed to becoming the best Martial Artist that they can be. They train nearly every day including every Friday for their own comp team class, which is two hours long and far more difficult than any of the other classes.

Beyond that, comp team is made up of leaders in the school. They are students that can teach others, and always have a black belt attitude. They have a certain mindset that separates them from other students and that is why they are invited to be on comp team. They have to prove themselves day in and day out to remain on the team.

While comp team members already train extremely hard on a normal basis, champ camp is the opportunity for them to put in extra work with the goal of winning a championship. It’s not easy, in fact, most students say that it is the most difficult four weeks of the year. But after bringing home more than 27 State titles this year, we would say that it is worth it.

The students put in their blood, sweat, and tears (literally) to be a part of comp team and champ camp. Many say that they want to be a part of it, but only an elite few are actually willing to show up and put in the work to do it. From running miles, to hundreds of kicks with ankle weights, to hours of practicing forms, champ camp is certainly an arduous task. Those willing to put work will have their efforts pay off, both by winning State titles and hopefully bringing home some World Championship titles.

5
Jun

State Tournament

The State Tournament is next weekend! On June 10th, the National Martial Arts Alliance will be hosting the State Championship Tournament in Golden, Colorado. Students all around the state of Colorado will compete to become the state champion! Students karate kids ages and older of all belt levels will get the chance to win the title. Mueller’s Martial Arts will be there, ready to win some titles!

Throughout the year, students compete in tournaments throughout the state and country to earn points towards competing in State. Each tournament they earn a certain amount of points depending on how they do. Those points are added up and determine if they qualify to go to the tournament to compete. The top ten students of each ring get the honor to go to the tournament.

The students can compete in all events- elevated, inventive, sparring, forms, weapons, and weapons sparring. The catch is that they have to earn the ability to compete in those events. So based on how they do throughout the year will let them know if they qualify for any certain event. 

This is the only chance throughout the year for color belts to earn a big title. Only Black Belts compete at World Championships, so State is where color belts earn their titles. Black Belts can also compete at State. It’s the opportunity for all of their hard work to pay off so that they can bring a title back to their school.

Winners get a plaque, a medal, and a trophy! They earn a uniform with “State Champion” written on the back. Every time they put on their uniform or someone sees them in it, they know that they are in the presence of a champ. They get to show off their hard work and earn what they have worked so hard to achieve.

Mueller’s Martial Art’s students have been putting in countless hours to win that State Champion title. Many of our students will be competing on the 10th. They come to class every night and practice countless hours at home. 

This year is likely to be the largest State tournament yet. You don’t want to miss it! 

29
May

Gabo is Student of the Year

Gabriel “Gabo” Chavez was elected student of the year! Gabo is ten years old and goes to Addenbrooke Classical Academy. Each year, the teachers of the school choose a student that they believe exemplifies a great attitude, is a leader among their friends, and is an excellent student. Gabo personified every one of those traits and even more when he was made student of the year.

Gabo believes that taekwondo training helped him earn this title. He says that it increased his discipline which made him pay better attention in class and work even harder to get good grades. He uses respect, taught to him in class, to treat his teachers and peers with kindness. He is an A+ student that is a joy to be around by all that attend Addenbrooke. 

Taekwondo is a huge part of Gabo’s life. He is a member of the competition team, a group of students placed on a team by invite only. The team is composed of the elite athletes of the school, not only the best martial artists but also the kids with the best attitude that are willing to put in the hard work. Gabo believes that the hard training on the comp team taught him to never shy away from a challenge and work together with his fellow students to become the best he can be.

As a member of the comp team, Gabo attends every taekwondo tournament. There, his hard work is rewarded, as he is consistently bringing home winning medals. His is always the first to arrive and the last to leave, always offering out a helping hand. 

All of Gabo’s peers and mentors agree that he has a bright future ahead of him. His success in school and taekwondo prove that he is willing to work hard for his dreams. His teachers and instructors agree that he deserves every accolade and is polite, respectful, fun- all the good things you can find in a person. We all agree at Addenbrooke and Mueller’s Martial Arts that this kid is incredible!

To help your child get on this same path, learn more about Mueller’s Martial Arts by clicking here.

15
May

Persistence Pays Off

Water cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence. In Martial Arts, as with all things in life, sometimes we feel like we are in a constant state of repetition. We practice the same form, the same life skills, and the same material over and over again. On the other hand, sometimes we feel like we have so much to learn and don’t know where to start. On both sides of the coin, persistence pays off.

Repetition:

Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man that has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”. We get better when we continue to practice the same material over and over again until we become an expert. Because we are human, no one will ever be perfect every time they do something. But we can strive for our own sense of perfection- doing the best to our ability. 

If you want to be great at something, even if you feel like you have practiced it an endless number of times, persistence pays off. If your goals are to become a black belt someday, you have to learn every single move in every single form. You will have to practice it again and again until you get it almost to perfection. If your goal is to become a World Champion, the same is true. You must practice your form over and over until it is the best it possibly can be. If you want to achieve greatness, you must persist.

Advancing:

On the other hand, maybe you have been training for awhile in taekwondo and you become an advanced rank. Or maybe you just became a red black belt. When achieving higher ranks in Martial Arts, training intensifies. The material gets more difficult to learn and remember. You may start to feel that you are not learning as fast as your fellow students or that you are not as good as they are. This is not the moment to get discouraged and definitely not the moment to quit. This is the moment to persist. 

You put in the time and effort. You dedicated yourself to becoming a black belt, or even a higher degree black belt. We do not give up on our goals just because things get hard or we become self conscious about our abilities. If in this hard time you decide to show up more and work even harder, you will be rewarded. You will realize that you are capable of more than you ever thought you could be. If you persist, it will pay off.

Whether it’s on or off the mat, in life or during class, persistence pays off. If you set your mind to doing something and are willing to put in the work to get there, you will thank yourself for it. In life there will always be new things to learn and times where things feel repetitious, but we must persist. At Mueller’s Martial Arts, we will help you cut through that rock.

9
May

Taekwondo is a Metaphor for Life

Life is hard and also beautiful. We face challenges that we think will break us, and moments that lift us higher than we could ever imagine. Taekwondo is the same way. It is a metaphor for life, the things we go through during our taekwondo journey directly reflect the things we go through in life. The important thing is how we grow through the journey. At Mueller’s Martial Arts, we guide students through their training to help them with life.

Challenges:

We all face challenges in life. Sometimes it feels like it can be every single day. The same can be said for taekwondo. We face moments where we push our bodies past our limits or our minds can’t learn one more bit of information. We get kicked in the head and fall down or fail at something we poured our heart and soul into doing. That’s life isn’t it? Taekwondo teaches us that each time we fall, we strive to get back up. It teaches us to face the hard moments in life head on, and never give up until we reach our goal. Instead of fearing the challenges, we embrace them with everything we’ve got.

Support:

No matter how alone we feel in life, there will always be people that love and support us. You will always have someone you can count on. The same is true for taekwondo. Though it is an independent sport, you are never alone. You are surrounded by coaches, mentors, and friends who want you to succeed. There are always people in your corner rooting for you. They are willing to do whatever it takes to help you reach your goals. If you really think about the people in your life, we bet there’s at least one person who is that for you. The community you find in taekwondo is just like the community that supports you in life.

Growth:

Life is never about standing still. We are constantly changing and evolving, becoming the person we are meant to be. Taekwondo is the same way. You learn something new every day and are always working towards your next goals. You start training to become a Black Belt but the journey doesn’t end there. Just like in life when you achieve a goal your journey does not end in that moment. It is about the things you learn and the better you become along the way. It is all about growing into an incredible human being, and an amazing Martial Artist.

Taekwondo is a metaphor for life, whether it is overcoming challenges, finding your community, or growing into the person you are meant to be. Martial Arts training helps us navigate through life and have fun along the way.

To learn more about Mueller’s Martial Arts, click here.