My Black Belt Goals
When I pass my test, my black belt goals are:
1. Work hard on my technique, become more accurate and precise
2. Learn more about the traditions of Tae Kwon Do so I can be more respectful to the sport
3. Focus on getting my speed up, especially when it comes to spinning kicks
4. Work harder to get better on my left side
5. Be able to remember all the forms
What Kind of Black Belt will I Be?
I’d like to be the kind of black belt that with my own experience and knowledge, anyone (kid or adult) feel they can approach. I’d like to be a responsible black belt, one that can correct someone if I see they are not doing something correctly. Also give praise to someone that is doing something good, and encourage me fellow martial artists to achieve their goals. I’d like to keep learning and grow as a martial artist, work hard and have fun.
Susanne Blaberg is a great leader, competitor, and most importantly a great mother.
My mom is an amazing leader, she helps me and my sister stay on track, helping us in all sports, and school work if she knows it or not. A great leader has flexibility, and confidence my mom shows this when she gets an email about sport location changes last minute, and needing to dive me to 2 practices in a row. She knows we won't come home with a bad report card or missing a layup in basketball or an easy catch in football.
A story about my mom is when she was 16 she got cortisone shot in her foot because she sprained her ankle in a basketball game, she had to play. Susanne is an amazing mom she has driven me to over 200 practices 40 games, that’s about 120 hours of driving and counting.
Thank you Mom for helping me with everything I do.
Casper Rublowsky
For my community service project I have put together with the help of Grand Master Strongheart and Master Wells a women’s self-defense class at the do-jang. Reading and hearing on the news a lot about women getting attacked I thought it would be a great idea for women to know how to protect themselves in case of an attack. I have invited friend and acquaintances to this seminar. This will be an opportunity for them to learn the basics in self-defense.
During the seminar they will learn how to:
A) Keep themselves out of harm’s way and
B) Defend themselves during a violent encounter?
The primary focus of this seminar is to develop a woman’s ability to detect potential danger and avoid it. The secondary focus is embedding the physical skills needed to survive a physical attack.
Time: Saturday June 3rdat 2-3:30 pm
Where: Mercer Island Martial Arts, 2630 77th Ave SE, Suite 106-108 Mercer Island, WA 98040 (parking is FREE in the building)
Participants: From age 15 and up
Cost: A donation to DAWN (suggested donation $50)
What to wear: Athletic clothing, no shoes allowed
Instructor: Grand Master MeLisa Strongheart and/or Master Krista Wells
Next Steps:
· Please RSVP by Friday May 26thto susanne@rublowsky.com
· Feel free to forward this email to you friends
· For your donation, please bring a check or cash
· If you have any questions, email me at susanne@rublowsky.com
The cost for this seminar, I’m asking all the participants to donate money to DAWN. Dawn is a nonprofit organization that shelters and empowers survivors of domestic abuse in South King County and helps to keep us all safe by educating our community to respond to and prevent violence.
Best,
Susanne Blaberge
To: Grandmaster Strongheart and Master Wells
Fr: Tia Mikols
Re: Letter of Recommendation for Susanne Blaberg
________________________________________________________________________
It’s really exciting for me to write this letter for Susanne, though I am not the friend who has known her for her whole life. Mostly, I claim her as a friend who shares her enthusiasm for martial arts and good food which is practically the same as being lifelong friends.
I first met she and her family when we rented a house a block away about 6 years ago. Kamia and Casper attended the same school and had to wait at the bus stop each morning which meant parents congregated in the rain as well. Through this morning ritual we got to know our new neighborhood and a really wonderful group of people. Over the following two years Susanne and her family, who seemed very quiet at first, would gamely participate in social events ranging from your traditional dinner out to more half-baked ideas (street luge where Susanne killed the time-trials) and events that showcased her creative side (Happy Meals anyone?). Through it all I have ever known her to be warm, thoughtful, smart and admittedly an unexpected badass.
We moved away from that neighborhood but thankfully Susanne kept in touch which is really the whole reason we found this space to grow as a family. Since introducing us to MIMA I have really seen another side to Susanne. She has the rare quality of quiet leadership and determination which speaks volumes for those she interacts with. It has been a pleasure to see her progress to this point. I have no doubt that her children are talented and caring but seeing Susanne rise in her own right makes me smile. One of my favorite things about working with her during class is her readiness to help and encourage her classmates, her easy friendliness and approachability and really just watching her do her thing. She is quick on her feet and graceful and makes everything look smooth and easy.
As she tests for her black belt I feel that she will draw from her best qualities to move forward and honor the tradition. I wish her the best of luck but I kinda feel she doesn’t really need it. Thanks for the opportunity to support her, I am honored to do so.
Warm Regards,
Tia
My Living Heroes
1. Chef Marcus Samuelsson (Kassahun Tsegie) was born 1971 in Ethiopia. Due to the Ethiopian civil war in 1974, Marcus and his sister were adopted by Ann Marie and Lennart Samuelsson from Gothenburg, Sweden. His maternal grandmother in Sweden opened up Marcus’ interest in cooking. He studied at the Culinary Institute in Gothenburg and he apprenticed in three restaurants, one in Switzerland, one in Austria before he apprentice at Restaurant Aquavit. At 24 Marcus became the executive chef of Restaurant Aquavit.
Even though the start of his life was tragic, he was determined to make something of himself. By working hard, never lose focus and believe in yourself, Marcus has gone from being a refugee to one of the world’s most famous chefs.
In 1999 I had the pleasure of eating at Restaurant Aquavit, and it was one of my best meals I have ever had. The different flavors from around the world, mixed in with fresh locally sourced ingredients and unusual combinations (black pepper ice cream) made this dinner spectacular. This is why Marcus Samuelsson is one of my living heroes.
Source: “Yes, Chef” by Marcus Samuelsson and Veronica Chambers, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Samuelsson
2. In 1999 Nick Swinmurn founded Zappos.com. After minimal gross sales in 1999, in 2000 Zappos had a revenue of $1.6 million. The growth and the success for the company continued, and by 2007 Zappos hit $840 million in gross sales. At this time Zappos expanded their products with handbags, eyewear, clothing, watches and kids’ merchandise. In 2009 Zappos was acquired by Amazon, the deal was closed in November of 2009 and a reported $1.2 billion. Nick Swinurn left Zappos in 2006.
I made my first purchase from Zappos.com in 2009. Having small feet, I have always had trouble finding shoes in my size, but with Zappos.com I could always find shoes that fit me. Besides having a great collection of products, what I like most with Zappos.com is their free shipping and free return, and that you have 365 days to return. That’s why Nick Swinmurn is one of my living heroes.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zappos, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Swinmurn
3. Ellen Lee DeGeneres was born on January 26, 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana. She started her stand-up comedy career by being the emcee at Clyde’s Comedy Club in New Orleans. Her big break came after an appearance on the Jonny Carson show in 1986. From 1994-1998 she starred in the successful sitcom “Ellen”. During her sitcom she came out as a gay women, and later during the season her character “Ellen Morgan” also came out. Due to low ratings ABC shortly thereafter cancelled the show.
I really admire Ellen DeGeneres for her bravery of coming out during that time. I believe she has done a lot to Americans to open up their acceptance and respect for gay people. She’s funny and an “every day” person, she just happened to be gay. The sad part about our society according to me is that gay people “has to come out”.
Through her talk-show she has managed to help people in need, rebuild people’s homes, given out hundreds of cars, the list goes on and on. Her way of showing everyday people kindness is a tremendous virtue she has, and that’s why Ellen DeGeneres is one of my living heroes.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_DeGeneres
4. Anne-Charlotte Blåberg (aka my mama) adopted me and my two sisters from Seoul, South Korea in the late 60’s early 70’s. I came to Sweden in 1971 and I was 13 month old. At the time I weighed 11 lbs (my daughter Maya was 11 lbs when she was 2 weeks old), so my first 3 months in Sweden I spent in the hospital. After I was strong enough to come home, my mama had to feed my every other hour and she had to carefully pinch my legs and arms to get me to develop muscles. I quickly gained weight and strengths and could soon eat and walk myself.
Not only is she my mama, but without her adopting me and nursing me back to life, I wouldn’t be here today. She and my father (he passed away in 1998) gave me and my sisters a fantastic upbringing in a small town outside Stockholm, Sweden. She is the reason why I’m who I’m and she will always be my hero.
5. At the end of 1897 Tekla Swedlund had visited US and had experienced basketball. As a PE teacher he introduced basketball to his community and it was well received. During WWII due to refugees from Latvia the game became popular in Sweden. In 1945 the first team was founded and soon after that more and more teams were developing. In 1956 Erik Bremer started Alvik Basket team.
I grew up playing basketball with Alvik Basket, and as a young girl basketball was my life. I started when I was 10 and I played all the way through high-school. Basketball taught me respect, responsibility, organization and team-work, which I believe are important skills to have in your everyday life as well as with sports. I still use these skills today.
Source: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket
