Stevens Taekwondo Academy News

SPASH Teacher Named Black Belt of the Year

Jill Reed, second degree black belt, was honored Sunday at the YMCA as the Stevens Taekwondo Academy Outstanding Black Belt of 2005.

Reed, who teaches math at SPASH, was nominated for the award by fellow black belts, who cited the enthusiasm and dedication she displays, her assistance in teaching YMCA classes, university classes and classes at Stevens Taekwondo Academy, A New Way of Life and her continuing work at skills improvement.

Reed, 44, has also encouraged many in her family to train in taekwondo: her daughter Bethany is also a second degree black belt, her brother Kevin Konopacky and his children Krysti and Kolby are deputy black belts, and young Kohner Konopacky is also training.

"It's a fantastic activity for families," Reed says. "I think everyone should try it."

The eleventh annual award, a memorial to black belt M. J. Attoe, who died in a 1994 car accident, was presented by Joyce Kavalauskas, Attoe's mother.

Reed's name joins ten others on the memorial plaque on the YMCA wall. Several other students earned black belts at the testing. Charles Zoromski advanced to second degree black belt after performing the keumgang form and breaking a two-inch board with a spinning side kick.

SuZ King, sisters Stefanie and Morgan Wolosek and Daniel Naipat earned their first degree black belts after performing koryo and four taegeuk forms, advanced sparring and kick combinations and oral examination by the black belts. King smashed a board with a spinning hook kick. Naipat and Stefanie Wolosek used flying sidekicks and Morgan Wolosek a back spinning hook kick to break their boards.

Morgan Carlton and Elizabeth Wolosek joined the black belt ranks as deputy black belts. They demonstrated advanced sparring and kicks, performed five taegeuk forms and each broke a board with a working step back spinning side kick.

Trophies for excellence in testing were awarded to three high green belt students. Meghan Skrepinski won first place, Kyoko Torii second place and John Vann third place, from more than fifty color belts testing on Sunday.

The testing was judged for the first time by a panel of six taekwondo masters consisting of Grandmaster Dwight Stevens, Grandmaster Robert Stevens of Denver, Henk Boese of Eau Claire, Bill Dragolovich, Mark Henkel and Scott Lewandowski of Hartland. Eight other taekwondo masters of fourth degree black belt or higher assisted in running the testing.