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MTA Presents 7th Dan to Master Scott Miranti

(June 21, 2010) During the 2010 MTA Montana State Taekwondo Championships held in Butte on June 12, the Montana Taekwondo Association presented long-time Montana Taekwondo athlete, coach, referee, and master instructor Scott Miranti with an MTA Certificate of Rank for 7th dan (7th degree black belt) in Taekwondo.

With a highly successful Taekwondo career spanning nearly 40 years that includes multiple US, Pan-American, and World Championships, Master Miranti has long been a leader in the Montana Taekwondo community and currently serves as the MTA's Executive Director. In making this inaugural MTA Dan presentation, the MTA's Black Belt Certification Committee (and the MTA's overall community of instructors) was unanimous in its desire to recognize Master Miranti's contributions and continuing leadership by presenting him with the dan. Additional endorsements for the promotion included former US Olympic Team Captain, USTU Executive Director, and Montanan Grandmaster Jay Warwick, who stated, "I absolutely endorse the promotion."

Congratulations Grandmaster Miranti!

The Montana Taekwondo Association provides access to black belt certification -- including Kukkiwon dan certification -- to its members by holding an annual black belt exam for qualified candidates who are also members of the Montana Taekwondo community. Recent promotions include Kukkiwon 4th dan promotions presented to Masters Debbie Noyes, Scott Becker, and Shane Vannatta. Congratulation to everyone who has successfully participated in the MTA's black belt certification programs over the past year.

2010 Montana Taekwondo Association Hall of Fame Inductees

(June 21, 2010) During the 2010 MTA Montana State Taekwondo Championships held June 12th in Butte, the MTA inducted two new members into the MTA Hall of Fame, Grandmaster Jay Warwick and Dr. Marvin Hash.

Dr. Hash (who passed away in 1979) was President of the Northwest Taekwondo Association for many years and was instrumental in helping establish Taekwondo in Montana by working to bring highly qualified instructors to the US (and Montana) from Korea.

Montanan and Grandmaster Jay Warwick began his martial arts training at age seven and has continued ever since. Grandmaster Warwick's Taekwondo accomplishments include:

Silver medalist in the 1985 World Games.
Two-time gold medalist in the Pan American Games.
Three-time bronze medalist in World Championships.
Bronze medal in the 1988 Olympics.
1983 USTU Athlete of the Year.
US National Team Captain from 1982 to 1988.
Eight-time National Champion and US National Team Member between 1977 and 1988.
US National Team Coach for the Pan American Games, World Cup and World Championships from 1989 to 1997.
USTU Coach of the Year in 1993.
USOC Taekwondo Coach of the Year in 1996.

Grandmaster Warwick earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Montana State University and a Master’s degree at the University of Northern Colorado, and after a number of years as a business owner, was appointed Executive Director of the United States Taekwondo Union, where he managed and directed staff to accomplish goals and objectives as set forth by the USTU Board of Governors from 1998 to 2002.

In 2003 Grandmaster Warwick left the USTU to serve as Director of Sports Partnerships for the United States Olympic Committee, where he oversees USOC relationships with eleven national governing bodies in all aspects of business including sport development, marketing and broadcasting, events, governance, and international relations.

Unfortunately, Grandmaster Warwick could not be in Butte in person, but in acknowledging his induction into the MTA Hall of Fame, he was kind enough to provide the following letter:

Dear Montana Taekwondo family,

I will begin by expressing my heartfelt gratitude and respect for the Grandmasters that I have so many great memories of, most notably GM Jae Ho Park, GM Karlo Fujiwara, GM Suk Byung Park and of course GM Shigeki Umemoto. Who would have thought that a skinny kid from Great Falls would have had the good fortune to live the wonderful Taekwondo career that I have been fortunate to enjoy. It goes without saying that without the leadership, guidance and inspiration of the aforementioned gentlemen that none of that would have been possible.

I remember GM Jae Ho Park always starting his remarks at the annual NW TKD Championships by saying “best Taekwondo tournament in the world is right here in Billings, Montana”. Well, I can tell you that after almost 40 years, and after traveling literally hundreds of thousands of miles to attend national and international events around the globe….he was right!!

It is an honor to be a co-honoree with the great Dr. Hash. He patched me up many times and always sent me back into the ring saying, don’t worry, you’re fine, just do your best!!

I would also like to take an opportunity to express thanks to my contemporaries of “the day”. Great competitors like Dan Baluka, Dennis Dallas, Sam Damon, John Friedrick, Kim Hasenkrug, Doug Quam, J.C. Penwell etc. that I enjoyed many a battle with. Of course my Bozeman teammates including Scott Miranti, Steve Capener, Morris Zahn, the Thornburgs, Milana Marsenich, Heather Tallman and many others that got up to do the 5:00 A.M. training thing with me for so many years.

In closing, I thank you again for this great, great honor, I am very humbled. It is very special to be considered a Montana Taekwondo man, and I will continue to work diligently to earn the honor.

Yours respectfully in the Taekwondo Spirit,

Jay Warwick

Congratulations to this years inductees who join Grandmasters Jae Ho Park, Karlo Fujiwara, Suk Byung Park, and Shigeki Umemoto in the MTA Hall of Fame!

Montana Taekwondo Pioneer Grandmaster Karolo Fujiwara Passes Away

(June 17, 2010) Grandmaster Karlo Fujiwara of Billings, MT passed away this morning after suffering a stroke. As President of the Northwest Taekwondo Association and as a Grandmaster within the International Dae Myung Moodo Federation, Grandmaster Fujiwara has been a leader in the Montana Taekwondo community for many decades. The Montana Taekwondo Association and its leadership and members would like to express its condolences and support to the Grandmaster's family during this very difficult time.

From the Billings Gazette upon his passing:

"Karlo Dean Fujiwara, 78, born Sept. 28, 1931, in New Rockford, N.D., was embraced by his Savior, surrounded by his family, on June 17, 2010, in Billings. He was preceded in death by father Rinney Rine; mother Lydia; brothers Paul, Clyde, Tayro, Huygene; and sisters Grace and Suye. He is survived by his beloved wife Anne; daughters Korine and Kyri; son Rinney; six grandchildren; numerous generations of nieces and nephews; and many thousands of students, whom he considered his extended family.

Karlo and Anne Fujiwara were married in 1960 and would have celebrated their 50th anniversary on June 19, 2010.

The marvelous experience of his life developed a man respected and loved by all. He devoted his life to the tenets of the martial arts which defined his life, philosophy, and dictated his actions.

Karlo was a commercial artist in the Billings area for 30 years and his artistic impact is memorialized in the famous Kampgrounds of America logo and the design of the Nile Rodeo symbol. Best known for his martial arts’ instruction, his teaching experience spanned over four decades. He touched the lives of thousands of children and adults. He instructed students at both of Billings’ colleges, as well as the YMCA, and most recently volunteered every week at the Rimrock Foundation.

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and mentor; he was loved and will be missed by all."

2010 MTA Montana State Taekwondo Championships Results

(June 12, 2010) The 2010 MTA Montana State Taekwondo Championships were held in Butte on Saturday, June 12. To see results, click here.

MTA Board of Directors Meeting Set for June 11 in Butte

(May 10, 2010) Dear MTA Members and members of the Montana Taekwondo Community:

The MTA invites you all to attend the MTA Board of Directors meeting in Butte on Friday evening June 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM. As we work to reach everyone in our Montana Taekwondo community, we ask you to bring fresh ideas and positive attitudes. See the agenda below for meeting details.

As a grass roots organization, MTA meetings are open to all MTA members as well as the general public and everyone is encouraged to participate. Please note that in order to vote on agenda items at the meeting, you must be a director on the MTA Board of Directors. All directors (i.e. school reps and the Athlete, Coach, and Referee reps) must be a current member of the MTA. Schools being represented on the Board of Directors must also be current MTA member schools. If you have not renewed for 2010 yet, please do so in advance of the meeting.

I hope that you can all be there.

Sincerely,

Dan Williams, President, Montana Taekwondo Association

AGENDA

(Subject to Change)

Board of Directors of the Montana Taekwondo Association

June 11, 2010 8:30 pm.

847 W. Park St., Butte, Montana

* * *

A. Call to Order and Roll Call (Williams)

B. Review and Approval of Minutes from the last MTA meeting Oct. 24, 2009 Missoula, MT

C. Treasures report (Saltz)

D. MTA Membership, School and Individual benefits (discussion)

a. Membership review and ideas for increasing members

b. Review of the Inclusion in the MTA of out of state members and schools

E. Relationships with National organization/s

a. Subcommittees for National organization/s

F. 2010 calendar of events

G. Referee certification (Noyes, Williams)

H. MTA Equipment & Management

I. Review of Rules of competition for MTA 2010

J. Review of MTA board of Directors

K. Any additional business brought to the Board.

L. Adjournment

2010 Paradise Valley Taekwondo Championships

(May 10, 1010) Thank you all for attending and making the Paradise Valley Taekwondo Championships 2010 a great success. Competitors travelled from Utah, Wyoming, Washington, and Montana. Congratulations to all the athletes for the high level of competition and thank you for the great sportsmanship in and out of the ring and for being so cooperative in the holding area. A big thank you also goes out to all of the volunteers and referees for all of your hard work, professionalism, and dedication in making and keeping the tournament on track. All four rings ran continuously pretty much throughout the whole day. Also a special thank you to the following:

Ruth Bartholomew for stepping in as tournament announcer in place of Master Miranti who could not make it due to medical reasons. Rick Kuntzelman as medical tech. Chris Raihl and Janice Flye for mailings, trophy assembly, concessions cooking, and assembling programs. Big Sky Blue for their awesome rendition of the National Anthem.

It was very nice to see all of the Masters and school owners in attendance:

John Paul Noyes Kalispell, MT
James Corbin Missoula, MT
Alynie Kimball Salt Lake City, UT
Bonnie Emery Cody, WY
Bill & Marie Hughes Livingston, MT
Chris Ivanoff Powell, WY
Kirt & Dru Wagner Billings, MT
Steve Rosbarsky Missoula, MT
Abby Martin Tonasket, WA
Randy Quam Belgrade, MT
Mark Austin Bozeman, MT
Bill Wake Jackson, WY

I look forward to seeing all of you next year! Results are posted here.

Dan Williams

2010 Montana State Taekwondo Championships

(May 5, 2010) The 2010 Montana State Taekwondo Championships will be held in Butte on Saturday, June 12, 2010. CLICK HERE to register and pay for this event ONLINE via the MTA's new HangAStar system.

2010 Electric City Taekwondo Championships

(April 21, 2010) The Electric City Taekwondo Championships were hosted by Master Scott Miranti and Big Sky Taekwondo of Great Falls on Saturday, April 10. This long-standing and well-attended MTA-affiliated event featured sparring, forms, and creative forms as well as a new event this year -- tag team sparring.

Click here for team and individual results. Photos will be posted as they become available.

Paradise Valley Taekwondo Championships

(March 29, 2010) A poster and Registration materials for the 2010 Paradise Valley Taekwondo Championships to be hosted by Master Dan Williams and the Livingston Martial Arts Academy can be down loaded by clicking the links below. The tournament will take place Saturday, May 1st in Livingston, MT at Park High Gymnasium

MTA to Host USA Taekwondo Qualifier

(February 26) The Missoula Taekwondo Center, Master Steve Rosbarsky, and the MTA will be hosting a USA Taekwondo qualifier on February 27th in Bonner (just outside of Missoula). The event will be followed by a competition clinic and scrimmage. For full details, click here.

Montana's 2010 US Open Results

(February 10-14, Las Vegas, NV) Montana Participants at this year's US Open included Jack and Zach Waldher, both of Big Sky Martial Arts in Kalispell and Coached by Master John Paul Noyes; as well as Kyle Hammond and Abbey Ardiana of Missoula Taekwondo Center in Missoula Coached by Master Steve Rosbarsky.

Master Noyes' report:

"This year's US Open had over 1,900 competitors representing 63 countries. There were 25 National Teams as well as numerous Olympic and World Champions entered in the competition.

Like last year, the electronic chest protectors where used. Additionally, the new WTF scoring rules (1 point for body kicks and punches, 2 points for spinning body kicks, and 3 points for head kicks) where used in all divisions. Semi finals and finals also used instant replay technology to verify questioned points or possible missed points. This athleticism was as high as we have seen at any major championship. With all the things to do in Las Vegas, we all found ourselves staying at the tournament from the time it started till it ended due to all the great fights.

Jack Waldher fought a Canadian on Thursday, winning his first match 3-1. He lost his second match to another US player 8-1 in the 12-13 year old Bantam weight division.

Zach Waldher (15 years old) fought in both the 14-17 Bantam weight and the Senior Fin weight divisions. Zach dominated against Brazil in his first match winning 12-1. His second fight against Australia went into overtime where Australia scored in the final seconds for the win. Zach's fight against Australia was a nail biter he was able to stay 1 point ahead most of the match. It was only in the final 2 seconds that Australia tied it up. Zach was also featured on the web broadcast of the US Open where he was recognized for his amazing timing and spin hook kick.

Zach would take a day off to rest the fight on Sunday in the Senior Fin weight division. Zach would fight one of Mexico's top players, Luis Mariscal. Zach was able to score one point in the first round and held Mariscal off till the last few seconds of the final round where Mariscal threw a thunderous double kick hitting Zach in the back of the head, Zach went down still focused but Coach Noyes ended the fight recognizing the impact and that this made the score 3-1 Mariscal. This was Zach first time fighting in a senior division and did a great job."

Master Rosbarsky's report:

"Abbey Ardiana lost her opening match with Mexico 5-3 in the 14-17 Welter Weight division. It was a hard fought match and lessons were learned for how to handle the senior divisions. Her opening bout in seniors was against USA. Abbey dominated this match 18-3. Her overall ring and fight knowledge is incredible for someone 14 years old. The way she knows the clock, deductions, ring, and timing is a testament to how many tournaments she's been to and how hard she trains.

Abbey's second match was against Emilia Morrow from the USA. She is a National Medalist, and US Open Junior Champion. At nineteen she is well seasoned. In the first seconds of the match she got up on Abbey 2-0. Being a full head taller, she simple opened the distance and picked points off for the remainder of the match. Emilia continued on to win the silver medal. Abbey stayed and watched Australia and Chinese Taipei fight Emilia and saw how tenacity and purpose makes such a big difference. Abbey is a rare athlete and we are so proud of her and exited for her bright future.

Kyle Hammond fought in the Senior Bantam weight division and lost his opening bout to Australia. Kyle was heavy and nervous but struggled to keep his 2-0 lead until the final round. One head kick changed the outcome of the fight. Kyle is an amazing athlete in Taekwondo and soccer. Standing in the ring contributes to the athlete's performance in ways that cann't be found anywhere else. This is one more step for Kyle in Taekwondo and life.

2010 Bozeman Taekwondo Championships set for Saturday, February 20th!

Master Brandon Saltz and Taekwondo West of Bozeman will be hosting the 2010 Bozeman Taekwondo Championships on Saturday, February 20th.

The event will be taking place at Sacajawea Middle School, 3525 S 3^rd Avenue in Bozeman with competition set to start at 9:30 AM. Check-in will begin at 8:00 AM and referees need to arrive no later than 9:00 AM for the referee meeting. To download the tournament packet, click one of the links below:

See you all there!

Montana Taekwondo Association and HangAStar Partner to Provide Online Membership and Event Registration

(January 22, 2010) As many MTA members are aware, HangAStar provides the technology used by USA Taekwondo to manage their online memberships and event registration. The Montana Taekwondo Association now has the same capabilities via their custom membership and event management system built for the MTA by HangAStar.

MTA Past President John Paul Noyes and former MTA Executive Director Scott Becker have been working with HangAStar for nearly a year to create the system, which has been custom built to specifically meet the needs of the MTA. As the first system of its kind created expressly for Taekwondo, it is hoped it will serve as a model for other state Taekwondo associations and martial arts organizations across the country.

The new system will allow members to join the MTA online and then access and manage their unique MTA profile from their computers (similar to the systems used by USA Taekwondo and AAU Taekwondo). The MTA will be able to communicated directly with members via the system, which will allow us to do a better job of keeping members up to date on MTA news and in promoting MTA events and activities.

MTA members who are also school owners or club directors will also be able to register their clubs online. The MTA will also be using the new system to manage MTA tournaments, seminars, clinics, and other events.

Click here to go to the MTA's HangAStar system and sign up. If you have any questions, please contact Master Noyes or Mr. Becker.

Montana Recognized in this year's AAU Taekwondo Awards

(January 4, 2010) This past week, the National AAU Taekwondo Program distributed its Annual Awards in three different categories. The first set of awards is presented annually to the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medal winning districts based on total registrations for the year. The 2008/2009 winners top Districts were...

Gold goes to the Gulf District (Houston TX area) under the direction of Master David McClosky with 1537 registered AAU athletes. This is truly remarkable given that the Gulf District is but one of five in the state of Texas . The Gulf District historically finishes 1st or 2nd each and every year.

The Silver Medal winner in 2009 was our Maryland District under the supervision of Master Scott Fiorillo. The Maryland District finished 2009 with 1,087 registered athletes.

Rounding out the top three spots as our Bronze Medal winner was the Pacific District (San Francisco, CA area) under the guidance of Professor Bill Dewart. Pacific finished the year with 759 AAU athletes.

"These three AAU Districts continue to achieve top performance and help set the example for all other Districts to follow when it comes to recruitment and programming as well as coaches and officials certification training," says National Sport Chair, Mike Friello. "Our goal is to the raise the level of productivity of the next ten Districts to this kind of performance."

Recognizing that not all districts have the potential to be the biggest, the AAU Taekwondo Program also distributes similar awards to the Top Three Growth Districts based on their percentage growth in registered athletes over the prior year. The only pre-condition being that they must have registered at least 100 AAU athletes in the prior year.

The Gold Medal Growth District in 2009 was the Puerto Rican District which operates under their District Sports Director Master Luis Pena Merced.

“We couldn't be more pleased than we are with the progress Master Pena has demonstrated in Puerto Rico this past year,” said Mr. Friello. “In only its 2nd year of activity, Puerto Rico increased AAU Taekwondo membership an outstanding 183.78%! And not only is Puerto Rico bringing us a good number of athletes but great athletes to boot having qualified over 20 at the AAU Nationals in Fort Lauderdale last summer for Team Trails. Puerto Rico hit the ground running and has not looked back. We're expecting even bigger things in 2010.”

Another bright star on the horizon, the Montana AAU Taekwondo District laid claim to the Silver Medal spot in the Growth category. Headed up by Master John Paul Noyes, the Montana District grew a whopping 111.94% in 2009, also in only its 2nd year of AAU Taekwondo activity.

Finishing off the top spots among our growth awards, the Bronze Medal was claimed by Master Angel Aranzamedi and the Colorado AAU District with yet another 100%+ growth (105.17%!).

This is the first time that all three Growth Awards were given out to Districts with more than 100% growth over the prior year. Quite an accomplishment in what many considered to be a recession year. It is this kind of grassroots work by all six Districts, their local leadership, and active members that helped AAU Taekwondo maintain its number one position in registered athletes in the Olympic Taekwondo community with 14,587.

Rounding out the Annual Awards is the presentation of the David Revenes Award for outstanding service and leadership by an individual to the AAU Taekwondo Program. It was David Revenes (of the Amateur Athletic Union) together with Dr. Ken Min who first introduced Olympic style Taekwondo to the American public. Dr. Min served as the first National Sport Chair Chairman from 1974-1978.

This year's winner of this most prestigious award is Mr. John Bechthold of Waukesha, WI. John stepped up and took over the Regional Director position when our former Region 7 Director had to step down due to health concerns. John has grown the region by recruiting a new Iowa District Director, bringing many new members and clubs to the AAU Taekwondo program. In the past several years John has made himself an invaluable asset at our National Championships having taken it upon himself to become our “homegrown” expert with DeltaPool – the tournament management system used throughout all of Europe's “A” rated events. And if that wasn't enough, John has been working very closely with both our National Chief Referee, Chuong Pham, and Officials Program Administrator, Ms. Pat Weseman, to continually upgrade the more technological aspects or our training programs. Together, these three will be unveiling an entirely new official's training program in the fall of 2010.

Congratulations to all of this year's winners on a job well done. For more information about these awards and past year's winners, please visit aautaekwondo.org.