Tien Lung Christmas Party:
Tentative Schedule of Events

11:00 am - Waterpark Opens
12:00-5:00 pm - Tien Lung Party at Palm Cove
1:45 pm - Demo Team & Tenet Awards!
2:15 pm - Special Visit from Santa Claus & Mrs. Claus!           (All Children under 12 will receive a gift from Santa)
3:00 pm - Black Belt Initiation!
7:00 pm - Waterpark Closes

*** PICK UP YOUR TICKETS AT THE FRONT DESK ***
starting Wednesday, November 28 until Saturday, December 1st.

Little Dragon Testing

Little Dragon testing will take place on Saturday, December 15th at 10:00 am. There will be no Little Dragons class that day, only testing for those who are scheduled to test. You will receive a call to notify you if your child is scheduled to test. Please practice the Street Proofing & Knowledge with your child. On testing day, please make sure that all required areas in the Little Dragon manual are filled out and handed in at the Check In table in the basement. If you arrive late, please notify one of the Instructors. Just a reminder: the list of Little Dragons testing will be posted on the Blue Announcement Board on the Main Floor.

White Belt Graduation

We will be having a White Belt Graduation on Saturday, December 15th during White Belt Class (from 9:00-10:00 am). Please book a meeting with the Membership Director, to ensure enough time to fill out your Qualification Code and Intent to Promote form. If you have any questions please see your Instructor or the Front Desk.

Color Belt Graduation

Just a reminder, that this month there is no color belt graduation. The next graduation will be January 12th.

Mini Dragons Winter Session
(Parents & Tots)

Once again, Tien Lung is proud to offer its very own program for Parents & Tots (Mini-Dragons!!) for 2 & 3 year olds. There will be a Saturday morning class at 9:45 am beginning on January 19th. This is a 10 week session. Each child will receive a free T-shirt and belt, and at the end of the session, be given an achievement star to go on their belt. There are only 15 spots available, so register as soon as possible. There will be sessions offered throughout the year, and the child will receive a different colour shirt and star each time! See the Front Desk to register.

Parents For Free!*

Being a parent is a lot of hard work.... but it is also very rewarding. To show our appreciation, we are offering you the entire month of December for FREE!
Take some time for yourself and see first hand the benefits that martial arts training has to offer. Come in your sweats, or buy a second month & dobok for only $29.99.

*Some restrictions apply

Christmas Break Camp

We are hosting a Christmas Break Camp! Bring the kids to the Dojang during the day while they're off school for Christmas Break. This is a great way to get extra Taekwon-Do practice and have some fun! The camp will run from Monday December 31st until Friday January 4th (No camp on Jan.1st) from 7:30 am until 5:30 pm. The cost is $120.00 per child (BBC-$95.00 MC-$85.00). If you would like your child to go for one, or two, or three days only, the cost is $40.00 per child per day (sorry, no daily BBC or MC rates available)

Mr. & Mrs. Wisniewski are conducting a Blue Stripe to Black Stripe Seminar on January 25, 26 & 27, 2008 at the North Dojang. They will be assisted by Mr. Gaudet and all of the Instructors. This seminar is open to Blue Stripes and above.
Note: This seminar is MANDATORY in order to examine for your BLACK BELT. This course will prepare members for their Black Belt exam, covering patterns, step sparring, self defense, sparring concepts, etiquette, knowledge and more! Please plan in advance, if you will be examining for Black Belt February or August 2008, or even February 2009, you will need to take this course if you haven't already done so. The more seminars you go to the better off you will be! This is a great opportunity to review your basics, even for Black Belts. Besides, what a great way to spend the weekend, surrounded by other martial art enthusiasts having a blast all weekend long!
The seminar fee is $121.90/person (BBC=$97.52 MC=$85.33).

"Loaner" Doboks

As many of you know, we have 'loaner' doboks at the dojang for those days that you happen to forget yours. However, due to an increasing problem of many of the loaners being loaned out and not being returned, we are implementing a 'Loaner Fee'. If you need to borrow a dobok, a $5.00 fee will be charged. This will allow you to borrow a dobok, and all you have to do is simply return it when your class is over. This fee will cover the cost of washing and preparing the loaner dobok for the next use. If the dobok is not returned the same day, there will be an additional $5.00 per day charged until it is returned. Fees can be paid at the time of the loan or will be added to the next month's dues.

This Fee will be in effect December 1st, 2007

On the same note, there will no longer be any loaner belts available. If you have forgotten your belt, simply attend your class and train as usual, but without your belt. For students who repeatedly forget their belt or dobok, and have been given a warning by their instructor, they will not be allowed to participate in the game at the end of class.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to email Mr. Laton.

Smoking in the Facilities

It has come to our attention that there has been someone smoking in our facility. We want to make everyone aware that at Tien Lung we have a zero tolerance in regards to this issue. Anyone reported or caught will have their membership terminated, without any reservation. This facility has children of all ages, and does not approve of any kind of smoking in any form. We want all of our members to be able to enjoy a smoke free environment.

Gymnastics in the Warm Up Area

Another thing that has been brought to our attention is that we have had numerous children doing gymnastics in the Warm-up Area. This Warm-up Area is for "warming up" not for gymnastics. This is an unsupervised area and we want to ensure that everyone is using the space in a safe manner. Please be respectful of others using the area.

Director Of Student Development

At this point in time, we would like to say good-bye to Ms. Westgate, who was the Director of Student Development. Her work is appreciated, and we will miss her. If you have any questions relating to your training, classes, graduations, instruction, TLP program, please forward them to our new Director of Student Development, Mr. Greg Laton. He will be at the dojang most evenings.

WE NEED MORE T.L.P. MEMBERS!!!

We are always on the lookout for FUTURE Instructors! If you are interested in becoming a Tien Lung Instructor, this program is open to all Red Belts (ages 10 and up), just see Mr. Laton for an information package. This program runs all year and you can sign-up and anytime. New members are always welcome!

Daily Dragons

Daily Dragons will be closed from December 24th to 28th, and also Tuesday, January 1st for New Years Day. Remember, you will need to notify the Front Desk if are coming to the Christmas Camp.

Competitive Class

The last Color Belt competitive class will be December 13th, and the last Black Celt competitive class will be December 14th. All competitive classes will resume on January 8th.

1. Attendance. Regular attendance 2 days/week is required to progress (some may require more than this)
2. Medical issues: Blindness, hearing loss, missing limbs or digits, fused joints, joint problems, diabetes, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, gum disease (floss!), etc.
3. Practice. 15 minutes is not a large time commitment and goes a long way to help your body & muscles learn the physical techniques - your body learns slower than your mind does usually. (Watch favourite TV shows - practice during the commercials)
4. Learning disabilities. ADD, ADHD, FAS, Dyslexia, Autism, slow learners, bipolar, depression, and other cognitive issues (and the severity: mild, moderate, severe) will impact your ability and timeframe to focus, comprehend and absorb the material.
5. Illness, Injuries and absences. Vacations and time away from class whether intentional or not will affect your ability to progress. Make up missed lessons (whatever the reason).
6. Your physical condition. Being "over fat" not "over weight" (having too much fat is unhealthy weight) causes many health related problems: stamina, not being able to keep up with the class pace, out of breath climbing a flight of stairs, excessive wear on the joints, tendons and muscles, susceptibility to develop health problems. Any exercise at least 30 minutes everyday is beneficial for many reasons.
7. Healthy Diet (high carbohydrate, fatty diets with lots of refined sugar affect digestion, energy levels, weight, etc.)
8. Stretch. Increases flexibility (& speed), reduces chances for injury, eases performance, Good for overall health.
9. Unrealistic goals. Trying to keep up with "Mr. and Mrs. Jones and their kids" in class is not healthy - undue stress.
10. Asking instructors questions to help you solve problems when they arise instead of letting frustration build.
11. Other activities. How many other activities do you do? Are you trying to do too much? Develop skill & confidence by focusing on one main activity that provides you the most benefits. Then compliment it (if you feel you must) with 1 or 2 other hobby type activities that do not have as many benefits.
12. Sleep. 8 hours/day - aids in recovery of developing muscles, reduce fatigue and cortisol levels.
13. Instructor's knowledge of the above or lack thereof (if you chose it not important to inform us), affects our ability to provide instruction that may help you learn the material better and help reduce student frustration.
14. Attending extra classes (breaking, sparring, demo team)
15. Attending extra curricular club activities - developing friendships helps makes classes more enjoyable
16. Private lessons help when having difficulties - Masters Club members receive a free private lesson every month.
17. Attending extra programs (competitive, leadership, staff, school apprenticeship)