2006 Year in Review

2006 Year in Review

2006 was one of the best years that we've had at Korean Academy for some time. Sometimes, we're working out so hard every day that we forget to take a look back and see how far we've come. Here is a look back at some of the highlights of the last year.

10. Belt Tests – This year we conducted the 101st-104th promotion tests, and awarded a total of 119 new belt ranks. Notable moments included Nicholas's flying side kick in the park, RJ's spinning combinations on BOB, and Genesis attacking the wrong people in 3 on 1 sparring. New Black Belts- We awarded eight black belts this year. Nicholas Reutter promoted to 1st degree black belt, Vincent Tio, Malia Tio, Zak Kirk, Liz Brewer, RJ Thomas, and Ron Roe promoted to 2nd degree black belt, and Master Emelio Tio promoted to 4th Degree black belt. Cameron Gillespie and Chris Brown also tested this year at UATKD before coming over. This was a good year, and we'll most likely double it in 2007!

9. Demos – We performed many demonstrations this year including two performances at Buckley, a performance at the State Capitol, one at Big Bear Ice Arena, one at the Aurora cultural festival, and Master Bill helped out at a demo in New York. Early next year is our largest performance ever, at the Denver Nuggets game!

8. Tournaments – This year KAT sent people to 11 different tournaments including the CO State Championships, Attitude for Gold Tournament, Castle Rock Tournament, AAU Qualifiers, MSCD MMA Tournament, Tiger Kim's Tournament, Regional Qualifiers, USAT Senior Nationals, AAU Junior Nationals, the US Open, and the World Military Championships in Korea. We also hosted a number of scrimmages. Next year, our specialized competition training will kick into high gear and our results should be even better!

7. Summer Camp – This year we held our first summer camp. It was a great success. Students were able to work on their requirements for hours at a time, and each day we also had a picnic in the park and competed for colored beads. Each day focused on one of the five tenants of Taekwondo. Next year's camp looks to be even better!

6. Farewell to Balance Boba – KAT had to close our boba shop due to poor sales and repeated financial losses. We are all sad to see it go. However, now the school is healthier and I am able to focus all of my time doing what I love the best- running the KAT school!

5. KAT's 1st Grappling Tournament – This year we competed in our first ever grappling tournament. It was so amazing to watch everything come together as KAT students defeated people from grappling and MMA schools. Although we ended up being only one point away from winning the entire tournament, we definitely earned a lot of respect for our program. Our grappling skills keep increasing, and it's only a matter of time before we take home the first place trophy.

4. Better internal systems – 2006 also saw us invest in better internal systems so that the business of the school is run much more efficiently. These systems help us give everyone from prospective students to black belts better customer service and ensure that we can focus more time on teaching and less on business.

3. New Instructors – We were very lucky in 2006 to get more masters here at KAT. Master Matt Bailey earned the WCAP designation from the Air Force so that he was able to come back here and train full time. We also got Master Yosvany Perez, a fantastic teacher and competitor. And although he is leaving soon, Master Emelio Tio promoted to his forth dan. It really is unprecedented in our school history (or that of any other school) to have so much teaching ability in our place. Now, Master Emelio will be opening the KAT Texas branch in Joshua, TX.

2. Expanding Programs and Locations – We explored many new locations this year, although most of them didn't work out. We did get a great program going at Big Bear Ice Arena, under Edwin Montero. They are going steadily, and the student quality is great. We also started the Little Tigers program at KAT this year to be able to teach pre-school age children. The first Little Tigers are now yellow belts, and have above-average basics and great enthusiasm! Our new schedule also provides more time for the Adult Medium class. We are now able to teach many of the parents of KAT students and other people who are here for a great workout and great progress!

1. Students from UATKD – The highlight of the year, of course, has to be the infusion of new students we received from the former UATKD. Although it was a very traumatic time for them, the two schools blended together almost seamlessly. There are a few people that we still need to get caught up and current, but others have already become indispensable here at KAT. In truth, the transfer went far better than anyone expected that it could. The reason is because of the dedication, determination, and open-mindedness of the transferring students themselves. Our future together looks bright indeed!

A new year is a time for looking back on what you've achieved, and also looking forward to the future. In 2005, we grew our student base by 30%, and in 2006, it grew by nearly 70%. The beginning of 2007 looks better than ever for our school. It's always difficult to provide the best training for a range of people from 3 year old beginners to 20 year olds seeking a spot on the national team to 50+ year olds who give inspiration to everyone. While we'll always work to improve, I think we've finally got things working really well.



Thank you all for your time, energy, and dedication! It's all the students and parents who have allowed us to achieve so much this past year.