Building Better Communities One Student at a Time
For Parents and families
Thank you for supporting your children in studying Soo Bahk Do®, and being a part of Portland Soo Bahk Do®. This page is intended to keep you up to date on the experiences of the students, what students are learning, what concepts are being emphasized, upcoming events, and ways to build on your training at home.
August 2024
2024 has been a very active year. We have a diverse group of young and mature students who have challenged themselves to grow in the art and grow personally. The Grand Master's theme this year is "Growing from the Inside Out." Consider the opportunities we have to strengthen our own foundation and become a better "picture" of a good person as we move in the world. Many students have taken advantage of growth opportunities offered through their Soo Bahk Do connection. We have had students participate in the 2024 Regional Tournament and Festival, the 2024 Virtual Nationals (forms and board breaking), the Region 10 Summer Camp, the U.S. Soo Bahk Do National Festival in Myrtle Beach S.C. (congratulations to Smith SBN for 1st Place in the senior masters hyung (forms) division), and the Region 10 Richard O'Donovan Scholarship Contest (congratulations to Mary Frison for her award winning essay). Students are developing themselves as leaders; Sarah Holliday Smith earned her Jo Kyo certification (Assistant Instructor). Jesse Pyeatt and Nicholas Williams have also stepped up to join the instructor track. Mr. Williams has also been teaching some community SBD classes. We will be hosting the Fall Dan Shim Sa (test) in October. There will also be a free community SBD clinic on October 12 during the Dan Shim Sa weekend. Our own Jesse Pyeatt will be testing for his E Dan rank in the Moo Duk Kwan.
December 2021
We are finishing our first six months at our new location and the students have achieved many accomplishment under challenging circumstances. We had great participation in the 2nd Virtual National Festival (Hyung and board breaking) (15 students) and the 1st Virtual International Hyung Competition (12 students). We will recognize our International competition participants and conduct our final gup exam for 2021 on Dec 23rd. Check out our 2022 schedule and plan to participate in the upcoming regional and national events in April, August, and November.
June 2021
We are happy to announce that we have found a new location for in person classes starting on June 1st. Join us at our new space at 1606 NE 37th Ave. Portland.
Recently our students participated in the Region 10 Virtual Hyung Tournament and the Moo Duk Kwan Young Warriors Showcase. Congratulations to Angelie Fitz Cortez, Mr. Robins Fitz Estaquio, Mr. Durrell Kinsey Bey (3rd Place Region 10), and Nevaeh Shaw (1st Place Region 10, 2nd Place Young Warriors) for your courage to demonstrate the art.
April 2021
Welcome to the 5 families (10 students) who started training during the past year despite our physical site being closed.
We were in our Freemont UMC site for 6 months before having the move to on line classes over the past year. Creating and maintaining a regular habit of moving, working on basic techniques, maintaining flexibility, joining on Zoom classes, and reviewing videos to help with your personal training are effective ways to keep progressing. Look out for more on line events and safe options to train in person- especially as the weather and conditions improve.
Angelie Fitz-Cortez is our second Cho Dan Candidate and will be testing on May 1. She has trained for a year from home, with only a few in person classes during to last month for final preparations. Her dedication is an excellent example Yong Gi and In Neh during challenging times.
September 2019
2019 has been an exciting year. We started offering training for families, adults, and youth in January (at the Woodlawn MIC). On October 1st, we will be moving to our Fremont UMC Center and continuing our programs for people of all ages and abilities. See our updated schedule with new times for our different programs/classes
Jeremiah Childs became our first student to reach Cho Dan level. We held a promotion ceremony for him on June 30th at Wilshire Park.
Five of our student participated in the U. S. Soo Bahk Do National Festival in July (held in Portland OR).
Portland Soo Bahk Do will be hosting the Regional Dan test for the first time on October 18-19. In addition to the test, there will be clinics on Saturday morning, a dinner on Saturday evening, and a youth bowling event on Saturday night. Plan to attend.
January - June 2017
We had a great first half of 2017. Over 240 students have participated in Soo Bahk Do classes since we began on January 20, 2015. We had a large number of students attend the Camas Tune-Up Festival in February, and five students who ventured up the LaConner WA for the 2017 Region 10 Tournament and Festival in March. Jeremiah, Malcolm, Isaiah, Olivia, and Gracie represented Portland Soo Bahk Do, met new friends, trained hard, did a bit of roller skating and swimming, and earned medals for their forms and sparring efforts.
We held our first kick-a-thon fundraiser in February to help earn money for summer camp and other Soo Bahk Do events. The students did nearly 3,500 kicks and raised over $400.
During our March test, we had 14 students earn a new rank. Jeremiah became our first student to earn Red Belt (3rd Gup). We had four students earn their Green Belt (6th Gup)- Isaiah, Olivia, Gracie, and Angelie. Salome earned her Orange Belt (8th Gup), and Yestin, Saeed, Asad, and Ivy made their first step in their Soo Bahk Do journey to 9th Gup (Blue Stripe).
During our June test, we had 5 students earn a new rank. Yestin, Saeed, and Asad reached Orange Belt (8th Gup), and Emily and James earned their first promotion to 9th Gup.
Portland Soo Bahk Do performed their first outdoor demonstration at the Good in the Hood Festival in June. Yestin, Angelie, Gracie, Olivia, Isaiah, Paladin, Paden, and Jeremiah performed a group demonstration and individual board breaks for an enthusiastic crowd of family, friends, and community members.
We have 11 students and parents heading off to summer camp in July. Nearly all will have their first chance to meet Grand Master H. C. Hwang.
2016
2016 was a big year for students. Jessie, Jeremiah, Noah, Rahma, Iesha, Paden, Paladin, and Malcolm all earned their Green Belts this year. Angelie and Isaiah both reached Orange Belt. A total of 9 students earned their first Soo Bahk Do rank. A total of 21 students tested for promotion during the year, including 15 who tested in December.
More students attended regional Soo Bahk Do events this year. Gracie, Olivia, and Angelie (and their mothers) joined Jeremiah at the Region 10 Summer camp in Ellensburg WA. Our guest instructor was Sa Bom Nim Guzman from Mexico. Jeremiah represented Portland Soo Bahk Do at the Regional tournament, and both Jeremiah and Isaiah earned medals at the Oregon Moo Duk Kwan Tournament in September.
We were fortunate to have Sa Bom Nim Robert Shipley III (my instructor) join us for a training session and Korean history lesson in March. Students were able to see and experience history and tradition by spending time with the nearest living person in their lineage to the founder of the art, and a pioneer of Soo Bahk Do in the United States.
April - December 2015
Jeremiah attended the 2015 Region 10 Summer camp and had the opportunity to meet Grand Master H. C. Hwang. Jeremiah also represented Portland Soo Bahk Do in our first demonstration at the African American Wellness Village in October.
We finished the year with 190 students taking one or more Soo Bahk Do classes, and 18 students testing for rank promotion.
February 17 - March 6, 2015
Two of our students were able to attend the Camas "Tune-Up" Festival on February 21st and did an excellent job in representing Portland Soo Bahk Do. They each received a medal for their performance in forms, kicking, sparring applications, and free sparring. Congratulations Jessie and Josiah.
We are working on preparing for our first test (Shim Sa) on March 12th at 5:00. Students have worksheets for studying the new information and vocabulary (including Korean). We will be focusing on good discipline and respect, ceremony, basic techniques with a good stance, the first half of the first basic form (Ki Cho Hyung Il Bu), and sparring combinations. Please see the test requirements and application in the "Program" tab.
February 10 - February 12, 2015
We worked on jumping side kick, turning, and the beginning of the first basic form (Ki Cho Hyung Il Bu). Discipline, respect, and being ready are important to do these techniques well.
The 2015 Camas "Tune-Up" Festival is on February 21 (9:00 to 2:30). This is a great opportunity for your child to receive additional instruction from other masters, meet other youth in the area learning same art, see people at different levels of training (a good picture), and have fun (we make a better world by having good human relations). The cost is $35 and includes lunch. Your child should have received a registration form and information. If the festival fee is a barrier, please contact me.
January 20 - February 5, 2015
Our emphasis has been on discipline, respect, and being ready. Of course, these foundations will continue throughout their training.
Discipline- Take control of your own body and actions. Discipline yourself to do the right thing in all situations. Focus on yourself, not others (your example is what speaks)
Respect- Treat the people, things, and places around you like you care. We say "Yes Sir" and "Yes Ma'am" to our seniors and elders. Stand straight and listen closely when people are talking to you or providing direction.
Without discipline and respect you are not ready to learn Soo Bahk Do techniques.
Be Ready- We call this Choong Be Philosophy (ready philosophy)- If you are not in line or where you are supposed to be, then you are not ready. We show our readiness by the way we stand, our eye focus, and our attention. It is difficult to be successful if you move or act before you prepare/get ready.
We learned the bowing ceremony for entering and leaving the training area, and beginning and ending the class (in Korean). We learned the core foundation of good stances- attention, ready stance, sitting (legs crossed, back straight, hands on knees), front stance (front leg bent, back leg straight, body up straight, feet shoulders wide), and horse stance.
We learned basic blocking movements (squeeze the spring; release)- low block, high block, middle block.
We learned basic punching/attack movements (pull the bow and arrow / rubber band; release)- center punch, side punch.
We learned two kicks- front kick, and side kick (4 counts to each kick; count 1 and 3 are the same; front kick is done with the ball of the foot; side is done with the heel- toes down.