MuSool Academy's Shelby Creech one of the Guest of Honors at TaeKwonDo Academy's Grand Opening

MuSool’s Academy’s Shelby Creech was one of the guests of honors at Indian River TaeKwonDo’s Grand opening in Vero Beach on September 26th. TaeKwonDo Master Chung Park and Tony Chung from Ft. Lauderdale and Kung Fu Master Kevin Ritter from Jenson, FL rounded out the special guest speakers at the event.

Master Jeff Langlois is the owner and operator of Indian River TaeKwonDo and well respected in the Martial Arts community. MuSool Academy wishes him great luck at his new location.

MuSool Takes Part in Cypress Creeks Open House

MuSool Master Shelby Creech, Instructor Allana Kuack-Creech and Fred Godawa represented MuSool Academy at the 2nd annual Business Partner Expo at Cypress Creek Elementary open house on September 24th. The Expo was a great way for MuSool Academy to get its name out to the community and help build MuSool Academy’s student base.
MuSool Academy has been a long time supporter business partner of Cypress Creek donating time and money to the school. Majority of the students at MuSool Academy are students of Cypress Creek as well.

Expert Analysts to Resolve World Championships Disputes

Greater fairness and transparency will be a major factor at the 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Championships next month following the appointment of nine top-level former taekwondo athletes and coaches to analyze instant video replays in case of disputes.

This will be the first time instant video replay has been used at the World Championships. The Competition Supervisory Board of nine who will adjudicate after viewing a replay have extensive hands-on experience at the highest level of competition. They include Olympic medalists and a world champion.

The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) is taking the step as part of a wide-ranging reform of the Competition Rules to ensure fairer, more transparent and more exciting competition. Competitors will also wear electronic body protectors which register points scored.

WTF President Chungwon Choue said: “It is expected that the reshuffle in the Competition Supervisory Board will contribute to fairer judging, as newly appointed members capitalize on their field experience accumulated as athletes and coaches.”

Among the nine experts are four taekwondo masters who have won the highest accolades:
- Pascal Gentil, France, bronze medalist at the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games.
- Hadi Saei Bonehkohal, Iran, gold medalist at the Athens and Beijing Olympic Games.
- Kook-Hyun Jeong, Korea, four-time world champion.
- Herbert Perez, United States, gold medalist at the Barcelona Olympic Games and
currently Chairman of WTF Training, Education and Development Committee.
The board also includes five WTF Council members.
-Mario Mandel Vaisman, Chile, International Referee, President of the Chile Taekwondo Federation
-Driss El-Hilali, Morocco, President of Moroccan Taekwondo Federation
-Seong Cheon Hong, Philippines
-Dae Won Moon, Mexico, Chairman of the WTF Technical Committee
-Jesus Castellanos Pueblas, President of the Spanish Taekwondo Association

Previously, the board has comprised seven members; this has been increased to nine to avoid a board member analyzing video of an athlete from the same country.

"This a good step forward for the WTF to bring a new generation of taekwondo experts and accomplished athletes into the judging and review process at major events," said USA Taekwondo CEO David Askinas. "Having Herb Perez as one of the competition supervisors ensures that the WTF will achieve new levels in fairness at its competitions."

The World Championships will take place from 14-18 October in Copenhagen, Denmark.

TaeKwonDo Color Belt Testing Date Announced

MuSool Academy Port Orange will be hosting a color belt testing on October 10th. Students that wish to test will need to prove that they have what it takes to move up to the next belt level before permission slips are handed out. High belts should be attending the Tuesday/Thursday high belt class to make sure that they have their belt techniques sharpened. Low belts can attend any class Monday through Friday to obtain their skills. High belts should also attend some of the low belt classes to keep their basic taekwondo skills in tuned.

The MuSool Masters and Instructors will be handing out testing permissions forms to be signed by teachers and parents the week prior to the testing. Testing cost will be $55.00 for under green belts and $65.00 for over green belts. Study hard.

MuSool Academy Students Compete at National Team Trials

MuSool Academy qualified three players for the AAU National Team Trials in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on September 11 – 13th. Jackie Lauricella, Jason Midyette and Gus Ben-Hamo all qualified in July by placing at the AAU National and Jr. National Championships.

The AAU Team Trials is a round robin event where the top four finishers from nationals and last years team member all battle it out for a spot on this year’s team.

Jason Midyette became an Alternate for the team after winning two matches but losing to the first place winner twice. If the first place winner is unable to go the International event then Midyette will go in his place.

Jackie Lauricella fell ill the day of the event but still had a strong showing. She did not make the team but still represented MuSool Academy well.

Gus Ben-Hamo was unable to compete at the team trials due to an injury he received three weeks prior to the competition.

MuSool Black Belts to Compete at upcoming AAU Team Trials

MuSool Black Belt Gus Ben-Hamo at the AAU Florida Qualifier
Three MuSool Black Belt Team Members from the MuSool TaeKwonDo Team will be attending the AAU National Team Trials September 11th – 13th in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Jason Midyette and Gus Ben-Hamo will be competing in the Jr. Males 14 to 17 year old black belt division on Saturday, September 12th while Jackie Lauricella will be competing in the Women’s 18 to 34 year old black belt division on Sunday, September 13th.

All three players had to place in the top 4 in their division to be invited to these team trials. If they place first they will be on the AAU National Team and will compete in the German Open in March 2010.

MuSool Masters Promoted in HapKiDo

After an hour and a half test Grandmaster Ron Berry promoted Master’s Shelby Creech and Brian Stanton to 4th Dan HapKiDo Black Belts on Saturday, August 29th. The testing took place at MuSool Academy Port Orange and covered all aspects of Traditional HapKiDo including a 30 minute oral test on history of HapKiDo and its founder.