Downey's Taekwon-Do

There seems to be a lot of interest in Sports Psychology for the ITF Taekwon-Do Athlete. I have decided to place segments of the manual here on my Facebook pa...ge once per week (Monday’s). Something that I hope will be interesting and meaningful for students, instructors and coaches. My next segment will be on the individual’s response to the outcome of their competition. Did I lose or did they beat me? Elite competitors will understand the significance of this question. See more

440 participants at the Zoom IUC. An amazing turnout with many seasoned veterans and newcomers. No shortage of dedicated and talented umpires to judge the best of the best. May we soon meet each other again in our ring councils.

The CTFI would like to thank all of of our umpires for their support and efforts in making this event successful for our students!Without you this event would ...not be possible!!! Did you know we have 39 Umpires for this event? We are thankful to have umpires from Canada and around the world ! 9- Newfoundland & Labrador 6-Nova Scotia 5-Saskatchewan 5-Argentina 4-Alberta 3-Quebec 2-British Columbia 1-New Brunswick 1-USA 1-Ireland 1-Germany 1-Netherlands

VERY IMPORTANT! Those registered for the QIUC online in English who have not yet received the zoom access code, please contact the email: [email protected]

Today is the day, the 2021 National Taekwon-Do E-Tournament has officially started today! Good luck to all our athletes, coaches and umpires!

Umpire meeting in preparation for the upcoming CTFI Canadian National ITF Taekwon-Do championship with umpires from Canada, USA, Argentina, Germany, Netherlands, and Ireland.

Remember when we could be this close together and no masks.

First Black Belt class since the 2nd lockdown. Great to train in personagain with such a dedicated group of students.

The 2021 National Etournament registration has come to a close! With 331 competitors we are looking forward to a very successful event! Thank you to all the instructors for encouraging their students to participate during these trying times. Good luck to everyone!

We now have 40 registered umpires and over 300 competitors registered for our Canadian Taekwon-Do Federation International - CTFI E competition. Extremely grate...ful for the amazing support during these difficult times. I will soon be sending out an email regarding our zoom umpire meeting set for April 11th at 6:00pm Newfoundland time. Coincidentally, this is also the birthday of TaeKwon-Do. We will review level 1,2,and 3 scoring for individual patterns and specific scoring criteria related to judging patterns via uploaded videos. See more

Don’t forget to Register for Nationals!!! The countdown is on!!! April 1 is the deadline! What a great opportunity to keep your patterns sharp and give you a competitive edge!

Exciting news: We now have 30 umpires registered for our upcoming CTFI National E-tournament including many Class A umpires from Canada, Argentina, Germany, Net...herlands, and USA. We are thankful for the international support, and this is one of the "cool" aspects of organizing an E-tournament. Competitors will be judged by some of the top umpires in the world. If you have not registered yet please inform your instructor/coach ASAP. The deadline for registration is Thursday, April 1st. Master Scott Downey CTFI Umpire Director Member, ITF Athletes Committee

This is the fourth year Downey’s Taekwon-Do has collected donations for the Waterford Hospital. They were thrilled that we collected enough to have gifts for 13...0 patients! I want to thank our students, families and friends who donated this year. I especially want to thank my kind and thoughtful friend , Sharon Vere-Holloway, who has went over and above to help me with this project each year. Merry Christmas everyone. See more

Looks like we will be back to teaching in person again starting April 6th. Further info to come.

Here is an article I wrote on Anxiety Management. Hope you find the information and strategies helpful, especially during such a difficult time in our history. ...Stay safe and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Anxiety Management Making Room (Expansion) for Unpleasant Feelings and Unhooking (Defusing) from Unhelpful Thoughts By: Scott Downey, M.Ed, R.Psych, Registered Psychologist (#079) _____________________________________________________________________________________ Anxiety is a normal emotion. Unfortunately, we are educated to believe that anxiety and fear are bad, that it is a sign of weakness, that successful people don’t have it and that we need to reduce it or get rid of it. All these beliefs are false. The more we try to avoid anxiety or get rid of it, the bigger it gets and the more influence it has over our lives. It prevents us from living the life we want to live and being the person we want to be. It keeps us in our comfort zone (which should be called the nothing gets done zone or the waiting zone). The only people who do not experience anxiety are those who do not have a normal brain. The more we try to get rid of it or avoid it the more we will struggle with it. The more we struggle with it the more it will interfere with us leading a rich, full and meaningful life. The more it will interfere with us taking our life in the direction we want and being the person we want to be. For example, if you are unfortunate enough to get caught in quick sand, the more you struggle, the faster you will sink. If you relax, you will stay on the surface longer and wait for someone to pull you to safety. The more you struggle with trying to keep a beach ball under water the more energy it zaps from you and the less time you spend having fun on the beach with your friends. Struggling with reality (anxiety/fear) is a waste of precious energy and time. When you feel anxiety/fear say to yourself, This is a normal feeling. This is what normal people feel when they are faced with a challenge or step outside their comfort zone. Making Room for Unpleasant Feelings (Expansion) When we are feeling anxiety /fear we need to make room for the feelings. We need to provide space for them and just let them be. Here are a few metaphors that may help you to relax, let go of your struggle with your anxiety/fear and provide space for your unpleasant feelings. #1: Wild Stallion: Think of your anxiety/fear as a wild stallion that is placed in a small holding area and they are struggling to get out. They are kicking at the rear walls and bashing their body against the sides and banging their head against the front wall. The walls are so strong that the stallion can’t break down the walls. The stallion is struggling against reality (the walls) and is wasting their time and energy. Now in your mind visualize the front doors opening up and allowing the stallion to escape into a large open field where there is plenty of space for them to run and enjoy their beautiful surroundings. The next time you feel anxiety/fear (which will not be too long, because it is normal and will occur several times each day), imagine your anxiety/fear as the stallion and let it go into the big open space. Don’t struggle with it, just let it go and let it be. #2: Jar of Butterflies: when you are anxious and feel like there are butterflies in your stomach, visualize a small jar loaded with butterflies. There is no room for the butterflies to move and fly around. They are banging into each other and they are struggling to spread their wings. Now imagine opening the lid on the jar and letting the butterflies fly out into a big open field with trees, flowers and blue sky. Notice how relaxed and calm you feel when you provide space for them and let them be. #3: Salt and water: Imagine taking a small bowel of salt and placing it in a small bowel of water (same size) and stirring it until it dissolves into the water. Now take a sip of the water. It will taste very unpleasant. Now take the same bowel of salt and take it down to a large open freshwater lake and place the salt in the water and stir it. Now take a sip. It is refreshing. The same amount of salt in a small space and the same amount of salt in a large space, will have a much different impact. Anxiety is energy, and it occurs whenever we take on a genuine challenge or when we step outside of our comfort zone. Our brains, over thousands of years have evolved for survival. The main survival mechanism is known as the fight or flight response. When this switch in our brains is turned on it increases our heart rate, and muscle tension and sends blood to the big muscles of our body (arms and legs) so that we can fight very very hard or run very very fast (flight). Since this survival mechanism has evolved over thousands of years we can’t shut it off whenever we want to. It is a normal physiological response that occurs whenever we take on a challenge or step outside our comfort zone. Think of your comfort zone as a circle and the farther you step outside this circle the stronger your fight or flight response. For some people their comfort zone is their house and whenever they step outside their house they begin to feel anxiety (fight or flight response). In the not too distant past, when most of our ancestors lived in small villages and had to leave the village (leave their comfort zone) to go out and hunt for food to survive, it would have been extremely important for their fight/flight response to kick in when needed. If not, they would have been eaten by wild animals. If they came across a wild animal and did not have weapons to defend themselves then it would have been extremely important for their fight/flight response to kick in. They would need to fight as hard as they can or run as fast as they can to survive. The ones that did survive had a stronger fight/flight response and that is why you are alive today. Your ancestor’s genes were carried on generation after generation. The ones with the weaker fight/flight response were eaten by wild animals or killed by other clans. Luckily, in today’s society, we do not need to worry about being eaten by wild animals (unless possibly you live in a hut in the jungles of Africa) or being killed by another clan (unfortunately, there are still some places on our planet where this occurs). Unfortunately, even though most of us do not need the fight/flight response as much as our ancestors did, we can’t turn off that switch in our brains whenever we feel like it. It is part of who we are as humans. It is normal. We have to accept it. It is reality. Although we can’t turn off the fight/flight switch we can at least be aware that it is a normal experience and that sometimes (and for some people more often) makes us feel uncomfortable in situations where we are not in danger and it is not useful. The important thing is to make friends with your anxiety. Notice what and where you feel it (stomach, neck, chest, hands, legs, etc.) and then provide space for it (see the above metaphors). Acknowledge its presence by saying Here’s anxiety or Here’s fear and say Thank you mind. Say thank you because you are acknowledging that you have a normal mind, and someday you may actually need the energy that the fight/flight response produces to protect yourself from an aggressor (fight as hard as you can or run as fast as you can); or you may want the energy that anxiety brings so that you can channel it into an activity that requires strength and stamina. Most professional athletes, stage performers, and business people give their anxiety another name: pumped, energized, revved up, juiced, wired, amped. They tend to describe the energizing aspects of anxiety. You can imagine your anxiety /fear as an unwelcomed friend. They show up even when not invited. However, rather than being rude and start a struggle with the friend, instead, be pleasant: Hello anxiety come on in and make yourself at home. Imagine yourself shaking hands with your friend. Would you like something to drink? Do you want to play a video game with me? Would you like to watch a movie with me? See your anxiety as a teammate and someone who can help you, if needed. In situations where it can be helpful (sports or a stage performance) then let it do its job and allow you to increase strength, stamina, speed and focus. Research has shown that even very high levels of anxiety does not decrease performance, it is our thoughts about anxiety that decrease performance by distracting our minds away from the activity. For example, if your mind is saying: I don’t want to feel this anxiety, I don’t want to feel this way, and I wish I could get rid of it. As you are thinking about getting rid of the anxiety it interferes with your ability to focus and engage fully in the activity, and thereby interferes with performance. Therefore, acknowledge it, accept it and be friends with it. It is not your enemy. Remember, if you are in a situation where you can use the energizing aspects of anxiety then use it to your advantage. If you are in a situation where you can’t use the energy (sitting in a classroom setting and paying attention to a lecture) then make room for it. Give it space. Make friends with it and don’t struggle with it or try to get rid of it or avoid it. Struggling with reality (the fight/flight response) is a waste of time and energy. The only way to decrease the intensity and frequency of the fight/flight response is to stay in your comfort zone and never take on a genuine challenge. However, your comfort zone then becomes the dead zone, the zombie zone, the wait until you feel more confident, more energized, more enthusiastic zone, the nothing gets done zone, the wasting your life away zone. In effect, if we are not willing to feel unpleasant feelings we will get stuck and we will not be able to take our lives in the direction we want or be the person we want to be. When you stay in your comfort zone you will still feel pain (anxiety, frustration, sadness, depression). Would you rather feel pain from stagnation or pain from growth? Either way, you will experience unpleasant feelings but in the latter you are more likely to live a rich, full, and meaningful life. Unhooking (Defusing) from Unhelpful Thoughts We have talked a lot about dealing with unpleasant feelings now we need to focus on our unhelpful thoughts. Research has shown that the normal human mind has a natural tendency to think negatively. Again, when we look at the most important aspect of early human life, it was survival. An important aspect to survival is anticipatory anxiety/fear: anticipating that something dreadful might happen in order to avoid it. For example, the reason we are alive today is because our ancestors were very good at anticipating that something bad might happen. For example, when they came across a cave they may have had the thought If I go in there, there may be a wild hungry animal just waiting for their next meal. They may have also had the image of being torn apart and eaten by a wild animal. These negative thoughts and images resulted in them avoiding the cave and staying alive. Thoughts are just words, images, or stories that our minds tell us. In and of themselves these stories, images and thoughts are not a problem. They only become a problem when we fuse with the thoughts and images and believe them to be true. We become one with our thoughts. We often get fused with our thoughts without having any awareness that we have become hooked or fused. Before we realize it we are experiencing unpleasant feelings (anxiety, fear, anger, frustration). The first step in dealing with these unhelpful thoughts is to notice it, or become aware of them (self-awareness). For example, you may have the thought, I am stupid or I am too fat, or I am too thin, or I can’t do it. The main thing is not to struggle with whether or not a thought is true or false. Your mind is very good at coming up with reasons to support a negative thought. Don’t waste your time and energy in trying to refute it. The main thing is to decide on whether or not a thought is helpful or unhelpful. If it is helpful then act on it and use it to your advantage. If a thought is not helpful then we need to unhook from it or defuse from it. Negative thoughts and images are like passing cars outside your window or when you are walking down the street. Sometimes they pass frequently (especially when you stray farther form your comfort zone), sometimes they are infrequent (when you are in your comfort zone). However, regardless of whether or not you are in or outside your comfort zone, there are always passing cars (unhelpful thoughts) and they will always be there because you have a normal healthy brain that has evolved to behave this way. Once we are aware that we are having an unhelpful thought we need to name it. For example, if you are having the thought that you are stupid you could say something like this to yourself: Aha! Here is the Fears, Flaws, and Failures Radio Station again, coming in loud and clear. Thank you mind, because that is what the normal human mind does. You could simplify it by saying, Radio Triple F with the F standing for (fears, flaws, and failures). Now that you have noticed it (self-awareness) and named it (Radio triple F) you have likely neutralized it or made it less significant. You have defused it. If just saying Radio Triple F is not sufficient in helping you to unhook from the thought and believe in it less, then you can try the following strategies: #1: Silly voices: You could say the following in a silly voice (pick your favorite cartoon character or use a silly voice that you like to use) and say the following in a silly voice: I am having the thought that I am stupid. Thank you mind. You may even notice yourself smiling after you use the silly voice, if you do, perfect. You have unhooked yourself from the unhelpful thought. #2: Sing your thought to the tune of Happy Birthday. For example, I am having the thought, I am having the thought, I am having the thought, that I am stupid. Keep singing the thought to yourself until it becomes less significant and then focus your mind back to the task at hand. #3: Computer Screen: Imagine your thoughts as words on a computer screen. You can have the words in one line across the screen; place each word one under the other down the screen; change the font style of the words; change the color of the words, etc. The above strategies are an attempt to neutralize our thoughts and help us be aware that our thoughts are nothing more than words and pictures. They are nothing that we need to fight with, cling to, or run from. I have given you three ways of neutralizing thoughts. However, there are hundreds of ways you can use this strategy. Here are some more examples. Play around with them and see if they work for you and see if you can come up with your own (use one of the positive aspects of your mind: creativity). You could visualize a thought as a caption on a birthday card, a slogan on a T-shirt, or graffiti on a wall. You could write it down, draw it, paint it, or imagine yourself painting it on a canvas. You could imagine it as credits on a movie screen or like in the opening of Star Wars movies. Place your thoughts on clouds and watch them pass by or on suitcases on a conveyor belt in the airport. You could imagine them as text messages or in the bubble captions for a cartoon character. In effect, you can do anything that helps you to step back and see your thoughts for what they really are, just words, pictures and stories that your mind tells you. They will come and go like passing cars. Notice it, name it, and neutralize it. Remember, the normal human brain has evolved over thousands of years for survival. Therefore: (1) The normal human brain will make you feel unpleasant feelings (anxiety, fear, frustration, anger). If you are in a situation where you can use it then use its energy to help you perform better. If you are in a situation where you can’t use the energy then make room for it. Don’t waste your time and energy in trying to avoid or get rid of unpleasant feelings. (2) The normal human brain will produce unhelpful thoughts. Deal with these by using one or more of the unhooking (defusing) strategies: Thank you mind; Silly Voices; Sing thought to the tune of Happy Birthday; Computer Screen; Leaves on a Stream; and Black Conveyor Belt. The importance of Mindful Breathing and Mindfulness (engaging fully with all your senses in whatever you are doing). Mindful Breathing: Mindful breathing Just one Breath is a mindful activity that involves focusing on your breathing. As you breathe in say to yourself, Just this one breath. As you breathe out say, just this one exhale. You can even shorten it to breathe in, breath out Remember even Zen Masters (those that practice mindfulness daily for years) can’t avoid distracting thoughts for even more than a few seconds. Let the thoughts come and go, like passing cars. Once you notice you have become distracted just re-focus and start again. Mindful breathing is a skill and you will get better at it with practice. Mindfulness: The more time you spend being mindful or totally engaged in what you are doing the calmer, happier, and healthier you will be. In Asia they use the word meditation rather than mindfulness. With mindfulness you are totally engaged (focused) on what you are doing in the here and now. You will be distracted by thoughts. They will come and go. Just let them come and let them go. Even Zen Masters; those who have had extensive practice with avoiding distracting thoughts, struggle with avoiding thoughts after just a few seconds. However, they are very good at noticing when they are distracted by their thoughts and quickly get back on track again. With practice you too will get better at noticing when you are distracted and then get back on track. However, like the Zen Masters, you will most certainly get distracted again and again. That is what the normal brain does. You can engage in mindfulness when doing any type of activity including making a simple cup of tea and drinking it. The main thing is to use all 5 senses (hearing, seeing, smell, taste and touch). As you pour the water into the kettle listen to the sound of the water as it fills the container and notice the difference in the sound of the water as the container fills to different levels. Listen to the sound of the boiling water as it bubbles. Feel the teabag between your fingers and notice its texture. Smell the teabag to see if you can notice a particular sent. Listen to the sound of the water as you pour the hot water into the cup. See if you can notice a difference in the smell of the tea as you add milk. Notice the texture of the sugar. Is it fine or are their clumps in the sugar. Listen to the sound of the spoon as it stirs the milk and sugar. As you drink the tea notice the flavor (s) in your mouth. Notice the temperature of the tea. You can engage mindfully in any activity that you wish. When I leave my office each day I make sure to engage fully in the experience of being outside. I look at the sky to see if there are any blue patches (openings) in the clouds. I look for the texture or shadings in the clouds. As I pass over the bridge to go to the parking area I listen to the water flow down the stream and the ducks quacking. I listen to the cars that are passing by and the different sounds that their engines make. I listen for any sounds off into the distance. I smell the fresh air and breathe it deeply into my lungs. I feel the wind on my face and hands and observe the direction of the wind. I feel the movement of my arms and legs as I walk and hear the sound of my jacket as my arms move back and forth. You can choose any activity: taking a shower, brushing your teeth, cooking a meal, going for a walk in the park, stroking your pet, etc. Remember, the more time you spend being mindful the calmer, happier and healthier you will be. I hope that you have found this information informative and helpful especially during this unprecedented time in our history. Stay safe and best of luck in 2021.

A timely gift from one of my students on the 20th anniversary of General Choi Hong Hi coming to St. John’s, Newfoundland to conduct an International Instructors Course. The gift displays the ingraved lyrics of the song The Ode To General Choi that I wrote as a gift for the General.

Looking forward to getting back to the dojang soon.

The way it used to be.

Meet Master Cathy Downey! Master Downey is a 7th Degree Black Belt and has been practicing Taekwon-Do since 1993! She teaches at Downey's Taekwon-Do in St. Joh...n's, Newfoundland. She serves on a number of Taekwon-Do Boards and Committee's. Taekwon-Do is lucky to have her. Have a look at some of her notable positions and experiences: Chair, CTFI Women's Committee Vice President East, CTFI Vice President, ITFNL Class A Umpire for Six World Championships Certified International Instructor

A little punchin and kickin.

A fun game during our last Black Belt class of 2020.

Congratulations to our 8 students who successfully passed their test for Red Belt during this unprecedented time in our 30 year history of teaching Taekwon-Do.

We are excited to be back to teaching Taekwon-Do starting Tuesday,September 8th. This will be our 30th anniversary. If you did not receive an email Downey’s Taekwon-Do return to class protocol please contact us by email at Scott.downey@nl. Rogers.com or call us at 753-4248.

We would like to inform our students that we will be starting classes again in September. Further information and updates will be posted soon. Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

A reminder that we have a Little Dragons free zoom class today at 12:30am.

Blue belt to red belt/black stripe free zoom class tonight at 7:30pm. Same link,ID and password. Email master Downey at [email protected] if you have not received the info.

A reminder that free zoom classes continue for this week and next week until May 30th. If you did not receive an email please email Master Downey at [email protected]

Free zoom classes will continue for the month of May. You should have received an Email with the class schedule and link. Please email master Downey at [email protected] if you did not receive an email. See you soon.

Free Zoom Class Little Dragons Saturday,May 9th 12:30-1:30 If you do not receive an Email with the zoom link please email Master Downey at [email protected] ... Looking forward to seeing the little dragons on Saturday.

Black Belt Zoom class at 7:30 pm TonightBlack Belt Zoom class at 7:30 pm Tonight

Master Cathy Downey teaching in our virtual Dojang. Happy to see our students again tonight. More information on classes for May and June including on-line grading coming soon.

Free zoom classes for students in our regular program. If you do not receive an email from us this evening please contact us at [email protected]

Zoom class: We will be reviewing Kwang-gae Po-Un Gae-Beck... Thursday, April 30th at 7:30 pm. If you are a Downey’s Taekwon-Do black belt and do not receive an email with zoom class ID and pass word then please email Master Downey at [email protected]

Another zoom class for Red and Black belts. Next week we will have a class for yellow to blue belt. Stay tuned. Great to see our students. Stay safe.

We will be conducting a Zoom class for Red and Black Belts on Tuesday, April 28 th 7:30-8:30pm. Mr. James will send you an email with the ID and password. We will also be adding classes for other ranks. Stay tuned and stay safe.

#Taekwon-Do Adapted