It has been 1 year since we opened the Burlington Blue Wave. What a year is has been! The Burlington gym is located on Main Street in downtown Burlington Vermont. We have about 30 students, plus another 5 or so Milton "Cross Over" students that train in both Milton and Burlington.

We are fortunate to have a solid group of black belts at the school. Mr. Warren, Mr. Westcott and Mr. Smith are all regulars. Also helping out with teaching and day-to-day tasks of running the gym are Ms. Hubert and Ms. Walters. I don't think the gym would be open with out these people, Thanks guys! Another major factor to the "thus-far- successful" gym is Mrs. White. She is helping with the brand new children's classes on Saturday mornings, and with out her dedication to keeping the White family life in order, and her understanding of "TaeKwonDo addiction" the gym would have closed long ago.

Recently, we had an inflow of new students from the Hinesburg/Bristol area. Mr. Todd Sayles decided to close his TaeKwonDo School in Bristol, and become a member of the Blue Wave. Mr. Sayles, his daughter Sara and several other students have joined class and have brought with them awesome enthusiasm, attitude and sparring skills! You will be meeting them at Winter Camp and other up coming Blue Wave Functions.

We have nine classes a week at the Burlington Blue Wave School. Four "All Rank" classes, Two Intermediate and Advanced level classes, Two Athlete Training Program classes and one children's class. Below is a description of each.

All Ranks: This is a well-rounded Blue Wave TaeKwonDo class. Currently class size varies from 10 - 20 participants, from White belt on up.

Intermediate and Advanced Class: This is for Green belts and higher. Often we do competition training, or higher rank testing requirements; class size is from 5 - 10 participants.

Athlete Training Program: This is competition training, and is for Yellow Belts and higher. It is also open to anyone from any school that is interested in competition style training. We have some ATP only members that train at other Blue Wave, and non Blue Wave schools who participate in this class.

Children's Class: This class is for children ages 5 -9 years old. There are 6 students signed up.

We love visitors, so drop me a line and let me know when you would like to come see us! The gym is conveniently located above Nectars Restaurant, famous for its Gravy Fries...if you are into that sort of thing!

Gordon White, President Blue Wave Association
Instructor of Burlington Blue Wave

As I write this, Grandmaster Lee is in the air on his way from South Korea, to the US. He will be in the US for about 1 month, attending and teaching at Winter Camp, and visiting various Blue Wave Gyms during his stay.

In the most recent issue of TaeKwonDo Times magazine, the cover article is about the first non-Korean TaeKwonDo-ist to be awarded a Kukkiwon 9th dan. This is truly an impressive achievement. 9th dan is the highest rank one can achieve from the Kukkiwon. The man's name is Grandmaster Ed Sell, and he has been training in TaeKwonDo for over 40 years. While this is an amazing example of dedication and hard work, I would like to put some Blue Wave perspective on it.

Grandmaster Sell began his TaeKwonDo training in Korea, in the early 60's, at Osan AirForce Base. He trained in the Chung do Kwan gym, the same place Grandmaster Twing trained. He remained in Korea long enough, and trained hard enough, to be promoted to 2nd dan before returning to the states. While in Korea, his instructor was none other, then our very own Grandmaster Tae Sung Lee. When people tell you that Grandmaster Lee is one of the most senior TaeKwonDo grandmasters in the world, they are not exaggerating.

I encourage you to get in your car, and make a few road trips. Become a Grandmaster Lee Groupie! Take advantage of Grandmaster Lee being here, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity every time he teaches. See your instructor or the Blue Wave Web site for Grandmaster Lee's schedule.

See you at Winter Camp!

Master White

What makes Taekwondo special? Is it going to work the next day, feeling strong and energized? Is it the art of exercising both spirit and body? Is it the fast kicks that energize you as your feet hit the pads? The sparring techniques that fill you with confidence yes, you really can protect yourself? Or maybe it's the people that we get to share all this fun with? Or the instructor, Master White, who treats you with respect and who's patience reminds you that someday you will have mastered a particular move?

Ever since I started medical school, my life has significantly changed. My time became more precious and I began to realize that if I don't slow down a little, I'm going to miss out on a very good period in my life. Work is intense, and there are many times when I ask myself "Is this really what I want to be doing?" When I ask myself those questions, it usually means that I need a break, or that I'm not fulfilling a need in my life-I'm not in balance. The first two ½ years of medical school did not allow any time to pursue many things outside of class. My time outside of school was spent mostly in the books trying to pass these difficult classes. A lot of the things I enjoyed doing were really put on the back burner which made life really difficult at times. Most importantly I was definitely not in balance.

My love for sports is something that I was born with. As a child, I was a tomboy who loved playing sports and being outdoors. This part of myself was lost for awhile as I pursued other goals. I am so thankful to now be able to participate in a sport that I really enjoy. Taekwondo helps me to rediscover my competitive edge, to face life's challenges and struggles with confidence, and most importantly, to believe in myself.

- Allie Ciolino, Yellow Belt

Five months ago I decided to give Taekwondo a try. I was relatively healthy (a bit out of shape and a gimpy back), but could stand to do some exercise. Plus, I was new to the area and single and thought maybe I'd meet a nice female or two.

It is now 5 months later. So far, I've busted my back good, gotten an egg the size of Nebraska on my shin, both big toenails are about to fall off, I think I have a broken right foot, and I'm still single.

Sounds like a bust...but it isn't. I clearly remember the first night of training. Master White stood up front, said "Patrick, follow along as best you can" (words that I've since heard him say to a number of other white belts), and started class. We bowed in. I made some gutteral sounds as an oath was recited, and we stretched. So far so good. Middle punch. Nothing to it. High punch. Man, this stuff is easy! Give me someone to kick. Low punch. Got it, no problem. Then, Master White had someone take me to the back. What's up with that? I was punching just fine. I was ready to punch a bag, a person, something... Mr. Smith then proceeded to show me a few things. He showed me how to bow, Joon Bi, what was wrong with my high, middle, and low punch, etc. Turns out I had some work to do. I joined the rest of the class and we started kicking some paddles. That was cool. Then, Master White said "Ok, left leg round house." That wasn't cool. Add left leg round house to the list of things to work on. (Right leg round house was fine. It wasn't added to the list of thing to work on until sometime in November. See "both big toenails are about to fall off" above.) Before I knew it, class was over and I'd had a great time.

As the fall turned into winter and my TKD training picked up a bit, I found out that there will always be something to learn/work on. Here I am in class with 2nd and 3rd dans who are not only working on their next testing poomse, but continuing to work on MY testing poomse. Then, I started sparring. Way cool. I wasn't sure if it was something I was going to like, but once I put the gear on, I didn't want to take it off. I started going to the athlete training classes on Thursday and Saturday...they had become the highlight of my week. Kicking paddles is cool. Kicking people is SO much more fun. Having people show me how to do it better is the icing on the cake.

Just when I thought my fun meter was pegged, it was time to go to a tournament. Had a nice road trip to it, hung out a bit the night before, then confidently strode into the gymnasium, waiting for my first real taste of combat. And waiting. And waiting. Black belts fought. Juniors fought. Juniors fought some more. Seniors fought. I think they found some more black belts and they fought again. Finally, after about 8 hours of waiting, I had was my gear on and in the ring. Ut-oh, I'd been watching fights all day...but I couldn't remember how they started! Was I supposed to bow, go to Joon Bi, talk to my coach? I managed to do what I thought the center said to do, suddenly found my self in fighting stance, and some bald guy started trying to kick me. It was on. I don't remember much of that fight. I DO remember saying between rounds "He's kicking my butt, right Miss Hubert". She laughed and gave me some piece of advice that I promptly forgot. When I got back out there they said I was winning 2-1! Now I was digging this. I guess I dug it too much because I let him smack me 3 times that round. Fortunately I managed to get three licks in as well and it was on to the next fight. I remember the next fight much better. Mostly all the things I did wrong. I lost 2-1, but no big deal. Match games are coming up next weekend, and I'm going to be ready this time!

Taekwondo may not be for everyone. But for me, it's gotten me in better shape. It's provided me with a little more focus. It's increased my flexibility. It's filled up the past few months with some great workouts. And it's introduced me to and incredibly wonderful group of people.

So, as it turns out...my back healed up pretty well. Bumps on shins eventually go away. I'm told toenails grow back. And my foot isn't broken. Looks like I'm doing just fine.

- Patrick Kennedy, Green Stripe

This past weekend I attended Master Turgen's tournament. I had a really good time and learned a lot. I competed in poomse and sparring for me I get really nervous when I compete poomse. I tend to rush threw my form and loose my balance. To be honest I think its easier to get up on a balance beam in front of a bunch of people then to stand in front of a group of five black belts and perform poomse. I think part of me being nervous is because I know sparring next.

I get nervous before sparring but as soon as I step in the ring I am a different person. The only thing that is on my mind once I am in the ring is what is happening in side the ring. I block out everything that is going on around the ring. In between rounds I listen to what Master White tells me and then when I get back in the ring. I try to apply what he tells me. With each competition I can feel myself getting better and the improvements I have made in between.

Before this year I hadn't competed and it was very different than I had originally expected it would be. I realize that everyone that competes has a different experience's and goals. If you haven't tried to compete before I recommend that it's something you try at least once. This really helps to give you a new appreciation for the TKD. Since I have been competing I have made new goals for myself. I have made competition training one of the biggest parts of my training.

- Stacy Walters, 2nd Dan

• Always play by the rules
• Don't lose your temper
• Cheer good plays made by the other team
• Don't talk trash or tease opponents
• Win or lose, shake hands with your opponents and officials after the event
• Don't yell at teammates for making a mistake.
• Never criticize teammates, coaches or referees from the sidelines
• Admit mistakes instead of making excuses or blaming others
• Try your hardest even if you or your team is losing by a lot
• Always give 100% in practice and in games
• Don't argue with calls that go against you
• Don't show off
• Point out incorrect calls when they go in your favor
• Be humble when you win or lose
• Don't swear at officials
• Never throw your equipment
• Have fun

We are all at fault for at least one thing on this list. Sometimes it's really tough to lose graciously. Of course as an athlete or a coach you want to win. However, winning isn't everything. Sometimes you learn a lot more by losing then you ever could have by winning. Every game and every match you can learn something. It's the winning at all costs attitude that we instill in our kids that make them behave the way they do to a loss. If the game or match was played well then they should be rewarded for that. As parents, athletes and coaches, we should all keep this in mind and be the good role model.

- Lesley Hubert, 1st Dan

My daughter, Willa, and I are a bit like the Odd Couple. I play the neurotic and tidy Felix to her messy and gruff Oscar. But unlike Felix, I am the butch one, the mother who only ever wears jeans, doesn't own any make up, and thinks that high heels are meant to be whimsical garden planters. My daughter, on the other hand, insisted on pink and dresses and tutus and ballet from the time she could talk. In fact, for her second birthday party she demanded that everything be pink, from the food to the clothes of her guests. That's why I was surprised when she asked to have her sixth birthday party at the dojang. My girly girl wanted a tae kwon do birthday with kicking and punching and a dragon piñata and not a single tutu or princess crown in sight. I was so thrilled to see her inner tomboy, that I wrote a story for the party, a sort of unifying theme to explain to the kids and especially to the other parents why they were going to learn how to do a mean front kick.

What follows is that story, a celebration of the strength of children and, more importantly, the ability of my little princess to also become a warrior.

"Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a land of green mountains, and blue lakes, there lived a dragon. This dragon's name was Silla and she was as nice and as kind a dragon as anyone has ever known. Silla was also very beautiful. Her body was covered in shimmering red scales and her large wings were as purple as a violet. And her purple eyes sparkled always sparkled with laughter.

Everyone loved Silla, but the children loved her most of all. Each time they saw her flying overhead, her large purple wings moving her through the air as if she were as light as a feather, they would wave and shout and make such a racket that Silla would land next to them. Then the children would beg her to tell them stories and roast marshmallows with her fire.

Life was good to Silla for many, many thousands of years. Silla ruled the land and the land prospered and the people were happy. Until one day something terrible happened. To the North and the East lived some people who did not have a dragon and so they came to steal Silla. When they arrived at Silla's cave, she was not there. But then the bad people saw all her treasures-piles of gold and red, red rubies and green emeralds and blue sapphires and most precious of all, strings and strings of lustrous pink dragon pearls. The bad people stole all Silla's treasures and took them away. When Silla arrived home and saw her treasures stolen she began to cry. The laughter left her eyes and the fire left her belly. She could no longer play with the children or roast their marshmallows. Instead, she lay down in her empty, treasureless cave and slept.

The children gathered together to figure out how to help their Silla. They organized themselves into groups and called themselves the Hwarang. They dedicated themselves to being like Silla, their beloved dragon. They promised to be kind, just, courteous, intelligent and faithful. They studied books and they studied fighting. They vowed that they would bring Silla's treasures back. These children became the best fighters in all the land. They could break boards with their bare fists, kick and spin so fast that there must have been magic involved, and even defeat people much, much bigger than them.

And so the children went in search of Silla's treasure. With their skills as Hwarang fighters, they easily defeated the bad guys and brought the treasure home. When Silla saw the treasure, her purple eyes sparkled and the fire came back into her belly. Silla declared that from that day forward, whenever a child of the Hwarang turned six, an image of her should be made for the children. Silla herself fills the image with treasures. All the children need to do to get the treasure is to learn the ways of the Hwarang, to learn the ways of the foot and the fist, or as they say in the language of Silla, to learn Tae Kwon Do. The End."

- Laurie Essig, Green Belt

Hi my name is Sara Sayles. I am seven years old. I have been doing Taekwondo for almost 2 years now. I just started training at the Burlington Blue Wave with my dad, Mr. Sayles. Before joining the Blue Wave I trained under my dad and did several tournaments. I really enjoy everyone at the Burlington Gym. Master White has taught me alot, he is really good! I am working on learning my poomse and kibons, but I really like to spar!

I like training with Ms. Hubert and Ms. Walters...they are real good role models for me....Sorry Dad! My goals are to train hard and learn everything I need to know to get my next belt, go to tournaments, and hopefully make it to the Jr. Olympics this year. I am really excited about attending the Blue Wave Winter Camp too!

- Sara Sayles, Green Belt

Hello, My name is Todd Sayles. I am new to the Blue Wave, although I have been in Taekwondo for over 15 years. I began training down in Florida for several years before coming to Vermont. I recently ran a dojang out of my towns recreation dept (Bristol, VT) with about 20 students. During that time I also attended Master White's Athlete Training Program (ATP) on a regular basis at his Burlington Gym along with my daughter, Sara, and a few others from my dojang.

After about a year of attending the ATP program, my town TKD program came to an end. I was so impressed with the training I had received from Master White, not to mention the great comraderie and support from everyone at the Burlington Blue Wave, that myself, my daughter and a handful of others joined up. There is nothing more exciting than training with others that share your passion for TKD.

Currently, I am training hard to compete at US Nationals in Detroit this upcoming May. Master White pushes us hard which has paid off immensely! I have lost about 25 lbs since training with the Burlington Gym! I am looking forward to the upcoming tournaments and especially the Blue Wave Winter Camp so I can meet more Blue Wavers. See you soon!

- Mr. Sayles, 2nd Dan

Before I started Tae Kwon Do two years ago, I had never participated in any sport at all since my season of humiliation in the ninth grade. At the age of 30, I felt as uncoordinated as they come. My son and husband were excited about martial arts and would not take no for an answer from me. This was to be a family affair and my husband insisted my back problems would surely fade as I became stronger. My initial incentive to begin this sport was to be pain free and experience greater family togetherness. What I got was so much more.

Our instructor made notice of my extremely weak ankles and told me this was where I should start. I did 250 to 350 ankle raises per day on my own time. The classes involved a cardiovascular workout I had never experienced in my entire life. I happen to be one of those women who, by nature, is not aggressive and was never taught to be. Learning to kick and punch, and being urged to yell loudly while doing it, was indeed a foreign experience for me. I was quickly becoming stronger and empowered. Within the first three months I could not get enough of this art. In studying some of the philosophies that support Tae Kwon Do, I came upon the word comfort. This word means to sit or stand with strength. You cannot have comfort if you do not have strength. Within six months my back pain was gone, I had lost 15 lbs and felt stronger and more comfortable with myself at the age of 30 than ever before.

Getting started was hard. I was uncoordinated. It took me much longer than some to pick up the stances and forms that Tae Kwon Do involves. I found there is no limit to the patience of the instructors and students who participate in this sport. Never having been athletic, body awareness was brand new for me. My brain knew what was expected of me in class but my body was not listening. I could have quit and let humiliation rule. But I did not.

Tae Kwon Do is not just a sport. Tae Kwon Do is a philosophy. Tae Kwon Do said to me, loud and clear, "Who cares what you look like on the road to self improvement." I realized the only people who would dare laugh are those who have never tried anything new. Anyone who has tried something new, which is everyone in Tae Kwon Do, realize you must crawl before you can walk, walk before you can run, and run before you can fly.

What comes to mind is seeing a fawn that has just been born. Right after the little thing is born, he gets up on those toothpick legs and stumbles and falls. Watching, you feel sorry for it. It is comical to see. It is cute and vulnerable. But, soon enough, it is walking and running so gracefully and with such strength we forget the troubles it had at first and just stand in awe of its beauty. Not once did that fawn ever feel sorry for itself or worry about who was looking. That fawn, instinctively, knew what it had to do, and it did it.

Humans are curious creatures because we put our brains before our instincts. We worry what others will think. We feel humiliation and opt to give up rather than strive. We feel sorry for ourselves because we cannot take off flying right from the start. We are sometimes our own worst enemy. I had let self-doubt rule me for a long time. Through Tae Kwon Do, my philosophy became, "Why not use myself to my fullest potential to make this world a little better before my time is up?"

Tae Kwon Do teaches us how to focus on the four most important things that encompass a healthy productive individual. This is, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual strength. These four are equally important and are all a human needs to succeed and to help others. We can compare these to the four legs of that little fawn, each leg gets stronger with every step. That is life. That is nature. That is why I am a martial artist. The sport of Tae Kwon Do has been a gift, not only for me - for my entire family. What started out to be a recreational activity for our family has become a way of life and we are grateful.

- Lynn-Marie Monty, Yellow Belt

Gosh, Forms are complex creatures, aren't they. My dear first instructors literally scared me into learning my Forms, and not just so that I knew them, but knew them really well. This certainly served me when I became an instructor myself, but boy the time and anxiety around learning them still haunts me today.

I often recall the rigorous schedule I set for myself to practice my Forms. At the time I was training for competition...seven days a week in the gym for three to four hours, and still set time aside for my Forms. I knew probably ten or twelve in the ITF system, so I would assign two Forms for each day, White and yellow stripe Form for Monday and so on. With the stern voices of my instructors imbedded in my brain I approached this monastic practice as a Musician or Dancer would. Each Form (white belt as well as higher ranking forms) got equal attention. I would break down the movements into individual techniques, then two moves together, then phrases, then "okay let's work this section just for power", then finally the whole choreographed Form in it's entirety. My motivation was simply to not be caught off guard in class.

It's been seven or so years since I practiced forms like that, and sadly I'm not sure I could perform my ITF Forms now without some serious study of my CD ROM collection.

I'm faced with a new challenge now, though. the difficult task of going back to the beginning, and learning the Teageuk system. I know (just know, and not well) up to Taegeuk 5, and gosh it's difficult to find motivation. Perhaps it's because I now have a two year old daughter who occupies most of my energy, perhaps it's because I'm only in the gym once a week, or perhaps it's because my instructor, Master White, doesn't scare me; but boy it sure is nostalgic to be practicing in our kitchen and have my daughter bellow from her highchair..."Don't forget your backfist."

- Calvin Ann White, 3rd Dan

As a loyal Connecticut Chung Do Kwan member, I will never forget my roots in CT. However, since September, I have been training under Master White at the Burlington Blue Wave gym. As a freshman at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, VT, I have been lucky enough to have a near-by taekwondo school to train at. Training has been going great. I am very fortunate to be able to train with a Chung Do Kwan school, and a school that I know many of the students. Although the pooms back in CT refuse to accept the fact that I have been training at a Blue Wave school, most others have been very supportive. I rarely hear digs against CT anymore in the Burlington gym and people in CT are happy, as am I, that I get to continue my training. I love working with the people at the Burlington gym, they are all very supportive and hard-working. Without the help from Mr. Smith and Ms. Hubert, I would have no transportation back from class, and I appreciate their help greatly.

As Winter Camp approaches, my anxiety about the weekend grows. I will always be a CT student at heart, no matter where I train. I know that it is impossible to have a Blue Wave event without the feeling of superiority over the CT students, but I ask that for this weekend, maybe we can just put that aside and focus hard on our training.

- Emily Steinberg, 2nd Dan CT Chung Do Kwan

Time: October 2000, place: Milton, VT. My oldest son, Paul, had begun taking classes at the Milton Blue Wave under the tutelage of Mr. Ken Robie. As an interested parent, I went to the classes and watched. Having known, Mr. Robie outside of the dojang, he kept asking me, "So, Mike, when are you joining the adult class?" My general response would be one day, yeah maybe or just a ha ha. But then, I realized that I had recently turned 40 and was not in the greatest of shape. So, in December, I decided to give it a shot. I got a dobak and the rest is history. So now, a year and 2 months later, I am now a blue belt and I LOVE IT! I attended winter camp 2001 and will also be attending this year. What TKD has done for me is show me that we can push our bodies to the limit no matter your age. I am the oldest student in our class but it makes me feel good when I know I can do a lot more things physically than a lot of guys my age, (41). So, my message to parents of kids who are Blue Wave students is not to just drop them off at the dojang, but to try it out. Believe me, if I can do it, so can you! My goal is to become a black belt. I find TKD to be a great stress reliever from the pressures that life can bring. Not to mention, it's something that I can do together with my son, which makes it special. I have lost weight, gained flexibility and can even do more push-ups than a year ago! I have to keep at so I don't lose my momentum. I also started attending classes at the Burlington Dojang with Master White and it is great to be there. One of the main reasons that TKD has affected my life is to the effort and dedication of the Blue Wave family, specifically, Mr. Robie and Master White. So, to all those folks hitting the big 4 0 soon! Don't let it hold you back! Cum sa hum mi da!

- Mike Ortega, Blue Belt