Paragon Today

Paragon is expanding rapidly. It’s newest club is located at the Green Mountain Rec. Center in Lakewood, Colorado.

Paragon Martial Arts | Green Mountain Rec. Center

Mr. David Polites, 4th Degree Black Belt
13198 West Green Mountain Drive
Wednesday nights
For more information: 303-968-5500
www.ParagonKarate.com



The club is under the instruction of Master Jody Horn and taught by 4th Degree Black Belt, Mr. David Polites. Mr. Polites is a veteran instructor an internationally certified with the American Taekwondo Association (ATA). Mr. Polites’ engaging teaching style comes from years of experience teaching in some of the ATA’s most successful schools in California and Colorado.

It’s first class was on July 7th and already it boasts 6 very talented students, a good indication that the club has a bright future.





To register for classes go to the City of Lakewood’s website at www.Lakewood.org.

For more information on Paragon Martial Arts call 303-968-550 or go to www.ParagonKarate.com.

• Master Horn, Master Bass and Chief Master Jager

Chief Master Robert Jager is an 8th Degree Black Belt, member of the ATA Master’s Council, an inductee to the ATA Hall of Fame. He is Master Hauptman’s instructor and the senior for all of Paragon.

• Master Bass being inducted by Grand Master Soon Ho Lee

Master Joel Bass, “World Championships in Little Rock has been a annual part of my martial arts career for many, many years.  However, this year was the most significant!  Going through the Master’s training and receiving the title capped off an exciting year of many challenges and great successes.  With that said, I am most thankful that I was able to go through the process of becoming a Master with my very good friend, Master Jody Horn.  Not only is Master Horn an amazing martial artist he is a good man and the experience would not have been the same without him.  I would like to thank my staff, Ms. Hornberger, Ms. Haag, Ms. Gill and Mr. Mudron for all their help with the school while I was at the master’s training.  Plus, I would like to thank all of my students who where able to watch online and those who attended the opening ceremonies (Yat Yee & Maddy Chong, Tiffany Haag, Mark & Amanda Mudron).  Of course, I must thank all of those who have helped guide and inspire my martial arts career: Master Mathis, Master Jaime, Chief Master Jager, and most of all to both Master Hauptman and Cheif Master M.K. Lee!  Lastly, I must save the biggest thank you for my wife Amy.  Without her love and support none of this would have been possible!

I am extremely proud of how the students of Paragon Martial Arts represented themselves at World Championships!  I have a sneaky feeling that those who attended this year will be bringing a few more of you next year.”

• Master Horn being inducted

• 2010 ATA Masters

• Master Horn, Master Bass, Master Albrecht and Master Chewning
• 
• Master Bass’ future office

Masters Bass and Horn are currently in Little Rock preparing for their induction to mastership by Grand Master Soon Ho Lee on Friday night.

• Master Bass and Master Horn at DIA ready to fly to Little Rock

Today was spent primarily at the H.U.Lee Gate and Garden with the ATA’s seniors fulfilling the first steps in the ceremony. They were video taped and will appear on the big screen on Friday night.

Today is also their fourth day of fasting. I talked to Master Bass at around 5:30 Arkansas time and he answered the phone, “I’m hungry!” Tonight he and Master Horn will join up with some of their fellow candidates to go bowling at a local bowling alley.

• Master Bass, Grand Master Soon Ho Lee and Master Horn

The weather was perfect for a a day in the sun wearing a few layers of thick silk (their traditional Korean master’s uniform). The official high for Little Rock today was 102 degrees.

• Master Bass and Master Horn in front of the statue of Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee

The afternoon was filled with Chief Master M.K. Lee talking about the finer points and expectations of the new masters. Master Bass and Master Horn have worked extensively with Master M.K. over the years.

• Master Horn and Master Bass at ATA World HQ.

Tomorrow is a full day of training. Starting at 6:00 a.m. with Chief Master In Ho Lee. They will start the day with weapons training, move into traditional forms and sparring and end the day with Warrior X-Fit workout followed by more training seminars. When Grand Master and his staff are training with master candidates, they fast along with them.

If you wish to send Master Horn and Master Bass a message, click the ‘submit’ button on the right or send to paragonma@tumblr.com. I will post 5 or ten of them on the blog on Thursday night for them to read before they head off to opening ceremonies of Friday. This is open to all his students, parents, family and fellow instructors in Colorado.

Five days left until Master Bass’ and Master Horn’s induction as Masters.

As they enter into 4 intense days of training, they committed to updating our ParagonToday.com blog so we can all share the experience. They will officially become Master Instructors at Opening Ceremonies of World Championships on Friday night.

Today is their third of nine days of fasting. Today is also a travel day as they head down to Little Rock, Arkansas.

Tomorrow is an early day. The entire group will be meeting at the H.U. Lee Gate and Garden for filming, training, workouts, practices and, well, more fasting. Don’t worry, I sent some bottles of water with them for lunch … and dinner … ‘oh,  and breakfast.

I know that they will be up late in their room studying tonight, as Chief Master M.K. Lee sent out a late notice of an exam for tomorrow. This will be an intense exam, and “no Master Horn, the Korean word for Cheeseburger will not be a test question.” Although, I bet a cheeseburger sounds good right now, eh?

Here are a few fun facts that make this an historic event. Their journey to mastership also marks a few firsts for Colorado — and the ATA.

• It’s the first time that two masters from the same school and instructor have achieved the title at the same time. (with the exception of spouses)
• It is the first time a Colorado “native” will earn the title
• Master Horn will be the ATA’s youngest master instructor
• They will be the first masters who trained under a Colorado instructor to achieve the title
• They will be Master Hauptman’s first and second masters
• They will be Chief Master Jager’s ninth and tenth masters
• They are the fourth and fifth masters in Colorado

I will update the blog every night this week with the latest news on their progress. Check back nightly. Master William Hauptman

• 2007 Taekwondo World Magazine

When a 3-Time World Champ and a National Champion get together to train the champions of the future it’s called “ATA Champ Camp.”  Champ Camp is a high level, intense training week for those who are in Top Ten or gearing-up for the coming tournament year. Now a few days of “down time” and off to World Championships.

Currently Paragon has 10 ATA World and National Champions. Hopefully, someone from this group will be Paragon’s next …

• “The difference between a ‘winner’ and a ‘champion?’
• A winner walks away with a trophy. A champion walks away with respect.
• Be both, but most important, be the champion in your ring!”
•                                                     Master William Hauptman

• Pictured with Master Jody Horn and Ms. Lura Roberts: Alison Clarke, Connor Mattivi, Emma Adams, Nathan Deneau, Nicholas Wolf, Andrew Wolf, Joseph Grobarcik, Joey Salazar, Grant Salazar, Greta Duvenhage. Not pictured: Micah Martin

Master Hauptman, Master Horn and Ms. Roberts got together with 170 of their ATA students from 6 Paragon Martial Arts schools around Denver to attend the opening day of the Karate Kid movie in Evergreen on Saturday, July 12th. Students from Evergreen, Stapleton, Conifer, Green Mountain, Lakewood, and Bailey made the journey to help kick off the movie. Emma Adams, Chief Instructor from Evergreen commented, “The theater has a capacity of 190 people and they were all paragon! Some kids came in costume and lots of popcorn was thrown when the evil Cheng was on the screen.”

The only hitch during the movie was when a storm caused a power surge and the movie stopped for a few minutes. Master Horn jumped out of his seat to quickly fix it. Luckily, it was during the tournament portion of the movie and Master Horn thinks he knows a thing or two about tournaments, making him qualified to fix the projector? Also in attendance were, David Polites, 4th Degree Black Belt, Ms. Krystle Willey, Head Instructor from Lakewood, Mr. Micah Martin, Head Instructor from Stapleton and Ms. Emma Adams, Chief Instructor from Evergreen.

Preperations are underway to invade the theater again for the Last Air Bender!

• High Rank Testing from 7 Paragon Martial Arts schools and clubs in Colorado

Over 60 Paragon Black Belts from 7 Colorado Paragon schools and clubs gathered at the Denver West Marriott for the organization’s 58th Black Belt Testing. 26 Paragon students earned the rank of Paragon Black Belt during the testing. Paragon martial Arts is Colorado’s largest ATA school network. Members of the American Taekwondo Association, the group has quickly grown to 9 current and future locations in the Denver front range.

• NEW PARAGON BLACK BELTS: Cathy Clark, Jeff Radcliff, Christy Williamsen, Jack Winters, Seth Endsely, Kai Rebollo, Paige Radcliff, Maddy Chong, Helena Kragel, Matthew Kragel, Andrea Schuetter, Anne Shrum, Kyle Butler, Cooper Brooks, Riley Costello, Wyatt Gomes, Jesse Boyne, Rachel Elander, Preston Troxel, Isaac Martin, Maggie Boyne, Sean Mueller, Jeremiah Martin, Hannah Martin, Anthony Cooper, Bryan Muir

 

New 2nd Degree Decided Black Belts
Davis Stockholm & Connor Mattivi

New 2nd Degree Recommended Black Belts
Eli Born, Wesley Boyne, Laura Gill, Tiffany Haag, Micah Martin, Kimo Rebollo, Tavin Reinhardt

New 3rd Degree Black Belt

Nathan Deneau

DEMONTRATIONS!

The Paragon Testers were honored by two visiting schools and teams who performed. Both were exceptional demonstrations of XMA skills. Extreme Martial Arts (XMA) is a fast growing sport that combines the power the martial arts and flash of acrobatics.

• Action Family Martial Arts, Team X-Out

• Daniel Perez, Team Captain, Aeroforme
• View Video

PARAGON LEADERSHIP TEAM WORKOUT

Te success of any organization is it’s leadership. Over 40 Paragon leaders got together before the testing to discuss the organization’s teaching methods and future. Taught by Master William Hauptman, Master Joel Bass, Master Jody Horn and Ms. Lura Roberts, the workout was a high level instructional seminar.

• Ms. Roberts leading a part of the group through some cutting edge instructional material

• Master Joel Bass and the Fort Collins Paragon leadership team accept the H.U. Lee Standard of Excellence Award. Paragon’s highest honor for the school or club that has the most growth since the last leadership workout. With 28 new students in the last few months, Fort Collins Paragon continues to grow quickly in the Fort Collins market. They are opening a new Paragon Martial Arts location in Loveland in July of 2010.
  
  

ACTION

Mostly the evening was filled with action! A Paragon parent and professional architectural photographer, Mr. Mark Mattivi caught these images throughout the evening. You can view Mark’s professional work at www.MarkMattiviPhoto.com

PARAGON MARTIAL ARTS
303-674-5900 Evegreen
303-838-8533 Conifer
303-838-8533 Bailey
303-928-0043 Stapleton
970-744-8862 Fort Collins
303-986-5500 Lakewood
303-968-5500 Green Mountain Rec. Center
www.ParagonKarate.com

Grand Ballroom Denver West Marriott
Friday, June 4, 2010

Schedule of Events:
3:15 Paragon Core Leadership Workout
4:00 All Paragon Leadership Workout
6:00 High Rank Testing

• Over 50 Paragon Leadership Members To Train
• 26 New Paragon Black Belts to be promoted
• Over 20 Paragon 2nd, 3rd & 4th Degrees Testing for Higher Rank
• Breathtaking XMA Demo by X-Out, Action Martial Arts Demo Team
  and Jeff Peterson

After months of discussions, workouts, interviews and training, Paragon Martial Arts is proud to welcome 4th Degree Black Belt, Mr. David Polites to the Paragon family. Mr. Polites is a well seasoned instructor with ATA teaching experience in California and Colorado.  After careful considersation on who was best qualified to guide him to both school ownership and rank advancement, Mr. Polites choose Paragon Martial Arts as his school and Master Bass as his instructor.

“I started Tae Kwon Do when I was 6 years old.  I’ve been with it my entire life.  At about year 17 of my career, I decided my evangelist mentality towards Tae Kwon Do had grown enough to eventually open a school of my own.  As my intentions were solid in that direction I took the ATA’s Basic Business Seminar shortly after attaining my black collar.” says Mr. Polites of his ATA career.

He continued when asked of his goals in Paragon, “My goals for school ownership are to spread the physical and mental training of Paragon Martial Arts.  I’m not after a massive school.  I’m after running and teaching a moderate sized school creating exceptional individuals.  My plan is to set the bar to a challenging level and have people push themselves to areas they have never thought possible.”

In closing, David added, “I have NEVER been truly WOWed over a TKD program. Paragon stands alone!”

Master William Hauptman commented on the addition of Mr. Polites, “As a rule we have a very strict policy to never accept transfer students unless they are highly motivated, free to transfer and stand above the crowd. Mr. Polites is one of a very few that has earned this honor. I believe he has the quality, drive and character required to wear the Paragon Patch. He will work closely with Master Bass, Master Horn, Ms. Robert and me to continue the high standards for Paragon. I believe he’s Colorado’s next instructor to watch!”

• Master Joel Bass awarding Mr. Polites his Paragon Patch after months of training.

Ms. Lura Roberts, owner of Conifer Paragon Martial Arts is visiting South America for the month of May. Her fist visit was to Machu Picchu in Peru. Ms. Roberts says of the experience atop the Lost City of the Incas, “I’ve been to 14 countries and seen amazing things like Saint Petersburg, the Swiss Alps and the Great Wall of China. But I have to say I think Machu Picchu is the most magnificent thing I’ve even seen.”  The journey to the top of Machu Picchu was a full day’s hike, very dangerous and adventurous. Recent storms had washed away some roads and closed some of the avenues to the top, “but a small group of us made the journey.”

Ms. Roberts added this about the experience, “I encountered a lot of treacherous animals including all sorts of rain forest monkeys … but after many years of training with Mr. Horn and Mr. Bass, I felt strangely well prepared and rather at home with them.”

• (Posted by Master William Hauptman. Who also fabricated the second quote to see if any of Mr. Horn and Mr. Bass’ students read the blog.)

Machu Picchu (Machu Pikchu – “Old Mountain”, pronounced  is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often referred to as “The Lost City of the Incas”, it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World.

Paragon Martial Arts had six members, Joel Bass, Jody Horn, Lura Roberts, Emma Adams, Allison Clark, & Andrew Wolf, attend the National Black Belt Camp in Iowa.  The black belt camp only, which had over 190 black belts attending, was hosted by eight degree black belts Chief Master Jager and Chief Master Hoover.  Of the 190 black belts attending camp, twenty plus where 5^th degrees with nine 6th degrees and two 8th degrees.  As most of you know, Chief Master Jager is our most senior instructor and everyone in Paragon Martial Arts can trace their instructor line back to Master Jager.

The camp started on Friday evening and ended on Saturday night with a banquet dinner and awards ceremony.  As staff members, Mr. Bass, Mr. Horn, & Ms. Roberts work alongside other Masters teaching classes from sparring to practical self-defense.  However, Emma Adams, Allison Clark & Andrew Wolf, worked the hardest by participating in every class offered at the camp.  Of course these three leaders in Paragon shined in every class and represented Paragon Martial Arts extremely well.

The Colorado crew would like to express our thanks and gratitude towards Master Jager and Master Hoover for having us at camp.  We all came home with many new ideas for our own schools and are looking forward to sharing our experiences at the camp.  The best thing about our martial arts community is that we are all family and the National camp in Iowa is no exception.  I know we are all looking forward to the next time we can get together with our extended family to train, learn and have another great time.

Submitted by Joel Bass

Paragon Martial Arts – Fort Collins, CO

Over 100 Paragon students demonstrated their
skills at the Evergreen location of Paragon Martial Arts at a Paragon Tournament on Saturday, February 7th. Students from Mr. Bass’ school in Fort Collins, Mr. Horn’s school in Evergreen, Ms. Roberts’ schools in Conifer and Bailey, Ms. Willey’s school in Lakewood and Mr. Martin’s school in Stapleton demonstrated forms, weapons, and sparring for the competition.

“It was very exciting day,” commented Mr. Horn, owner of Evergreen Paragon. “Everyone seemed to be on their game.” Mr. Horn is not stranger to competition with a state Olympic title and three ATA World Champion titles.

“Fort Collins dominated the day,” joked Mr. Joel Bass, Chief Instructor and owner of Fort Collins Paragon, “Fort Collins has earned a place in the Paragon system, and that puts them as some of the best martial artists in Colorado. I was proud of all the competitors on Saturday and especially proud of my Fort Collins champions.”

Ms. Roberts joined Mr. Bass and Mr. Horn in her excitement for the day saying that she was especially proud of the the excellent weapons competition. Ms. Roberts herself being a national weapons champion.

“The day was successful because of the excellent judging of the organization’s leadership teams that came together to make the rings exciting and efficient,” added Ms. Emma Adams, Chief Instructor of Evergreen Paragon, “I put a lot of trust in one of my young instructors, Ms. Alison Clarke, who did a lot of the coordination and set the tone of the day. She stepped up as a leader today and we all owe her a big thank you.”


For more information about classes please click on the locations tab and find get started today or call 1-866-PMA-COLORADO.

*Awesome Students in pictures: Hailey and Hannah Hornberger, Conrad Bernstein, Wells Gwin, Gabby Day, Walker Dougherty