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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!

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.

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.

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.

You did it. You took the first step in setting your child up for a happy life and successful future by getting them enrolled in Martial Arts. Or maybe you have been involved for a long time, taking them to and from class, bringing them to tournaments. Though your child may be the one actually taking taekwondo classes, your job isn’t done. You play a huge role in their success.

Accountability:

Many parents come to karate because their children have been acting up and they want help teaching them discipline. Or they have been bullied and lack confidence, and their parents want them to learn self defense and to believe in themselves. We teach the foundations of those skills in taekwondo- respect, discipline, confidence, goals, perseverance, attitude, focus, and integrity. But it is the parent’s job to make sure that those skills carry over at home. They need to reinforce the things they learn in class, and not let bad behaviors slip through the cracks.

Discipline:

We live in a world where we can get anything we want at the touch of a button and only have to focus for short periods of time. This makes our attention span extremely limited, especially for kids who are learning their most basic thought and behavior patterns during this time. Let’s face it, when we do something enough times, we are bound to get bored with it. The same can be true with Martial Arts training. At that moment, it is critical that the parent steps up. Parents should teach their child to follow through on their commitments with a disciplined mind. That means to keep going to class even if they sometimes don’t want to, and to try new things so that they are always challenged. There is always something new to learn, and by not giving up parents work with instructors to teach a valuable life lesson.

Overcoming Challenges:

Life is full of ups and downs and hardships that will challenge us. Those challenges often make us into the people that we are meant to be. However, we can never be prepared for life’s challenges unless we face some when we are kids. In taekwondo, children will be challenged both mentally and physically. They will have setbacks and failures that will teach them to keep going and never give up. They may want to quit because they think it’s too hard or they experience a let down. It’s at that time when parents need to step up and push them to keep going because once they become successful they will be that much more proud and grateful.

Parents and instructors need to work hand in hand to make sure that their children are getting the most out of Martial Arts training. Together they can make it not only fun, but a life changing and enriching experience that will set them up for a bright and amazing future. At Mueller’s Martial Arts, we give out “parent stripes” before testing to ensure that the lessons taught in class are being carried over to home. To learn more about our program, click here.

Everyone wants to change the world. We all want to live in a better place where there is respect, inclusion, and people are happy. We all want to find our purpose and be good people while doing it. At Mueller’s Martial Arts, we believe that we can change the world one Black Belt at a time.

Life skills:

In taekwondo class we teach students about the eight essential life skills. They are discipline, respect, integrity, focus, attitude, goals, confidence, and perseverance. Not only do we teach them their meanings, we also work on them in each class so they are ingrained in their mind. The students carry those skills into their everyday lives. A person that is built with a foundation of those values is destined to be a great leader and make a positive impact on the world around them.

Physical health:

In the US, we are constantly surrounded by processed food and technological devices that keep us sitting on the couch in solitude. Martial Arts training gives us a place to exercise and take care of ourselves. It pushes us in ways that help us grow and make us realize what we are capable of. We train our students to take care of themselves and push their minds and bodies to the limits. That is not the standard for many other activities and with that training, students can make a better world.

Community:

The foundation of a good world is a community of good people. That is exactly what a taekwondo dojang is. It is a group of people that work hard to accomplish their goals. They learn and practice being good people. Most importantly, they support and uplift each other, helping each other learn and achieve their goals. They all contribute to make everyone feel included and to make it feel like home. Imagine if we had an entire world that everyday made you feel like you were part of something bigger, and were part of a welcoming and supportive family. Isn’t that the world we all want to live in? That’s what taekwondo training gives us.

Black Belt Mentality:

Black Belts are trained to be humble, work hard, respect everyone, and never give up. They are strong in heart and mind, and they always help those around them. Black Belts are honorable and protect those in need. They know they are capable of anything they set their mind to. If the world was full of Black Belts, it would be a better place.

At Mueller’s Martial Arts, we work with people of all ages to become the best versions of themselves, physically and mentally. We have a community of people working together to become amazing people. We live with a Black Belt spirit. We strive to change the world, one Black Belt at a time.

After many years or a long time of training in Martial Arts, you will sometimes feel bored, tired, discouraged, and ready to quit. This is the moment your taekwondo lessons truly begin! Life is hard, so is karate, so you must learn to be too! At Mueller’s Martial Arts we know that the only way to truly succeed is to keep moving forward.

Beating Boredom:

When we practice the same thing over and over again we can become bored. We get bored at school, in our jobs, and with the everyday requirements that life calls for. It is possible to get bored in Martial Arts too. As with life, the best way to beat boredom in training is to learn something new! There are always new skills to try and learn in taekwondo. That could be trying elevated and learning tricks or weapons- there are five different ones all with different moves. Each time you earn a new rank you learn new kicks and punches or compete in a tournament. Taking it to the highest level, you can teach others what you have learned. There is always something you can try.

Staying Positive:

We all get discouraged sometimes in life. Life is hard! We can try our best and still find that it isn’t enough. Martial Arts training teaches us to find the positives in life. When we get discouraged it’s an opportunity to show what we are made of and keep moving forward. People that are positive are more likely to succeed in everything that they do. You can find encouragement inside the dojang where you are a part of a community that loves and supports you through your good days and bad ones.

Never quitting:

Life is challenging. We are constantly going through ups and downs, good times and bad. The same can be said for training Martial Arts. There will be times when it seems too hard and your body and mind are beat down. We never quit in life when things get tough. In fact, those are the moments that help us grow the most and build us into the people that we are meant to become. By not quitting you proved that you are strong and resilient. In fact, people that get through that feeling and keep moving forward become champions, the best in the world. They prove that nothing can keep them down and they are strong enough to handle anything that life throws at them.

When you are feeling down about life or taekwondo training, that is a moment of growth for you. It’s not a time to give up, it’s time to learn a new skill, lean on the family you’ve built inside the school, and prove that you don’t quit when things get hard. Training is a metaphor for life, if you can keep moving forward in the dojang, you will always move forward in life. We teach and train this at Mueller’s Martial Arts. To learn more about our program, click here.

Courage is not the absence of fear, courage is acting in spite of fear. In life we face many challenges and there will always be things that we are afraid of. The same can be said when you step on the floor of a dojang for the first time or for the thousandth time. Taekwondo teaches us to overcome our fears both on and off of the mat.

It can be scary to start taekwondo. If you’ve never kicked or punched before, never had to memorize movements with your body. At first glance it can be intimidating, but by stepping in the school and continuing to go you overcome that fear. As you advance in rank, more scary aspects arise. Sparring for example, can be extremely fear inducing at first. There’s a chance you will get punched harder than you expect or even get kicked in the head. It takes courage to try anyways and to keep going until you get better at it.

Breaking boards can be scary. If you do it wrong you might hurt your hand or foot. You might not even be able to break through the board. But you keep trying and practicing until you get it right and it doesn’t hurt. You keep going until you break through the hardest board on the first try. Learning forms is the same way. At first you may not feel like your body can move like that. Or that you might not be able to memorize all those moves. The scariest part can be at testing where you are in front of dozens of people all watching you. If you mess up you don’t get your next belt. The pressure can cause anyone to be afraid! But you face that fear, show up to class, and memorize that form to the best of your ability. You stand proudly in front of everyone and show what you have learned.

Getting a Black Belt can be the scariest of all taekwondo. You’ve trained for years to get there but it is the moment where you have to remember everything you have learned in your Martial Arts training. You show it to people that are high ranks and even Chief Master Horn, the leader of the NMAA. It’s scary to think you might mess something up or forget something. But years of training have taught you to face those fears. In reward, you earn your Black Belt, one of the highest achievements in karate.

Those lessons learned in class carry through to the rest of your life. You are trained in mind and body to never back down from a challenge. Though it may scare you, you know that by facing your fears you can overcome anything. By overcoming your fears you become a stronger person that is capable of doing anything you set your mind to. Taekwondo teaches us that our minds and bodies are amazing and capable of so much more than we give them credit for. Through training our spirit to face our fears, we can do anything.

Mueller’s Martial Arts teaches students to face their fears and grow into stronger people because of it. To learn more about our program, click here.

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State Tournament

Gabo is Student of the Year

Persistence Pays Off

Taekwondo is a Metaphor for Life

A Parent’s Duty in Taekwondo

Changing the World One Black Belt at a Time

Keep Moving Forward

Facing Fears Through Taekwondo