One-Month of Unlimited Classes with Uniform (Does Not Apply to KickStart Program)
Discover the Many Benefits of Martial Arts Training
New Book!: TAEKWONDO: A Path to Excellence
By Master Doug Cook
Available at Booksellers Worldwide
Welcome to the official web site of the CHOSUN
TAEKWONDO ACADEMY. This space is dedicated to announcing news,
upcoming
events, informative seminars, and for describing
the composition of our dojang. Please take a few moments to roam the
various lanes of our location. While navigating these pages, you
will discover many valuable resources in the form of technical data,
information regarding promotion, a pathway to our blog and a photo
gallery containing memories captured through the lens of our many loyal
students. We also invite you to sample our comprehensive, pure-form
traditional taekwondo curriculum first hand by visiting our school. But
most
importantly, become involved through our $29 One-Month Basic Training Course and
realize the virtues imbued by
the practice of traditional taekwondo. Our students are never required
to sign membership contracts and classes are unlimited so you can
attend as often as you like. It is our sincere hope that this
site will
provide you with information concerning our school's philosophy, while
enhancing your educational experience in
general. Please visit often and share your thoughts via email or by
participating in our blog. Kamsahamnida!
CHOSUNTAEKWONDOACADEMY
STUDENTS
VISIT KOREA
WARWICK – At one time or another almost every
martial artist dreams of visiting the country from which their chosen
discipline has evolved. To the karateka, that region is Japan; to the kungfu
practitioner, it is China.
But, to the taekwondoist, it is a peninsula rich in greenery with mountains
masked in swirling mists that rush to meet the sky. This enchanted nation is
called Korea:
Land of the Morning Calm. Couple this desire with the opportunity to train
alongside revered icons in the martial arts community and you are presented
with a winning formula for a highly rewarding adventure. Few people are given
the opportunity to genuinely realize this dream. Yet, that is exactly what
twenty-one students from the Chosun Taekwondo Academy, a local martial arts and
hatha yoga center headquartered at 62 Main Street in Warwick, did this July
when they visited Korea – the homeland of taekwondo. The Chosun group was lead on
their journey by head instructor and 5th degree black belt, Master
Doug Cook. Accompanying the group was martial arts pioneer Grandmaster Richard
Chun, 9th degree black belt and president of the United States
Taekwondo Association.
The
fourteen-hour flight from New York
to Seoul acted
as a prelude to an intense seven days of physical, cultural, and academic
training. The detailed itinerary included instruction by world-famous
grandmasters at the Kumgang Taekwondo Center, the World Taekwondo Instructor
Academy, Gulgosa Temple, the Moo Duk Kwan/Namchang Dojang and the Kukkiwon - center
of taekwondo operations worldwide. Each day presented a diverse and challenging
training opportunity. While at the Moo Duk Kwan/Namchang Dojang, or Institute
of Martial Virtue, an outstanding demonstration of martial arts skill by
Grandmaster Shin Chul Kang’s team was followed by a series of kicking drills incorporating
the Chosun students ranging in age from 8 to 72 years old. Similarly, Master Byeong
Cheol An of the Kumgang Taekwondo Center, a face familiar to the Chosun
students from previous training excursions, featured strenuous exercises in
self-defense and sparring. Another significant component of the educational
journey included a day of instruction at the World Taekwondo Instructor Academy
in the tiny village of Yangsu-ri, surrounded by rice paddies, where the Chosun
students practiced the most current iteration of poomsae – the choreographed,
dance-like formal exercises unique to taekwondo – taught by Grandmaster Gyoo
Hyun Lee, a sanctioned standard bearer of the art. Yet for many, training at the
Kukkiwon represented the highlight of their training. There, Grandmaster Jong
Beom Park again concentrated on poomsae practice.
In
an effort to provide a balanced program that supported both the um and yang, or
soft and hard components of taekwondo, the participants traveled to Kyongju,
the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom located in the southeast portion of
the country. There they sampled Korea’s rich, cultural heritage firsthand. Sights
of interest included Bulguksa Temple, Tong-Il Jeon Shrine and the National
Museum of Korea.
Yet, in what
can only be compared to a scene borrowed from the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon, a singularly memorable event of the excursion required the Chosun
students to endure a steep climb through rain and cloud-like mists to Gulgosa
Temple perched high atop the mountains overlooking the Great Kyongju Plain.
There, the Chosun students studied Sunmudo, or Traditional Korean Zen Martial
Arts, followed by a monastic meal with the resident Buddhist monks.
Master Doug
Cook, owner and head instructor of the Chosun Taekwondo Academy, stated, “It is
an honor to provide our students with traditional training of this caliber
mixed with the cultural exposure a trip of this nature offers. The students who
accompanied Grandmaster Chun and I returned with a less provincial view of
taekwondo along with a palette of experiences they will recall fondly for the
rest of their lives. This was our school’s fifth training tour of Korea and I
am already planning another excursion for 2013. I urge anyone interested in the
martial arts to join us.”
Students participating
in the 2010 Chosun Taekwondo Academy Training & Cultural Tour included: Robert
Adams, Virginia Makkay, Erica Linthorst, Pamela Pyke, Harold Pyke, Eleanor
Pyke, Jake Garrett, Nancy Garrett, Linda Taylor, Sebastian Tune, Thomas
Hamling, Chase Hamling, Mary Sudul, Daniela Roche, Patricia Cook, Jeffrey
Thompson, Donald Parker, Christopher Jeruzal and Michelle Kropp, as well as
Grandmaster Richard Chun and Master Doug Cook.
Aside from
offering authentic taekwondo instruction, the academy, which is celebrating its
thirteenth-anniversary and will be hosting its annual Open House from 11am to
2pm on Saturday, September 11th, also features classes in hatha yoga and tai
chi, all taught by qualified, adult instructors. For more information on the
programs offered at the ChosunTaekwondoAcademy
call (845) 986-2288, or visit their website at www.chosuntkd.com.
Call 845-986-2288 or Email us at info@chosuntkd.com for details