Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: The ATA Spring Nationals is over, and it's time to take things to the max.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Let's get started.
[00:00:08] Speaker C: Sir. I will live with perseverance in the spirit of taekwondo, courtesy for fellow students, integrity within myself, and to become a black belt leader.
Welcome to the ATA Nation podcast.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: Ladies and gentlemen, instructors, students, parents of song, I'm Taekwondo. Welcome back to the Ata Nation podcast. My name is senior Master Zach Hayden, and I am your host on this, the 111th episode of the ATA Nation podcast. We are streaming right along, and we have just wrapped up the ATA Spring Nationals in Dallas, Texas. And what an amazing event it is. I wanted to hit a couple of the highlights that Chief Master Stevens mentioned in a Facebook post. There were over 2100 competitors. That's not a final number. It's just an estimate. There were 199 teams for combat and sparring. There were a record number of creative and extreme compet competitors. Excuse me. And a record number for demo and sync competition. It was an amazing event. Everything is bigger in Texas, as they say. Next year, we'll be back to Texas. We're gonna be actually in Fort Worth, Texas next year, so make sure you mark your calendars for that. I don't have the dates in front of me, but I'm sure you'll be able to find out soon.
Now, if you didn't hear, the ATA nation has been really rocking the max curriculum. Atamax is just on fire. At spring nationals, there was some amazing training. Judges, training kicks, training how to create your own forms, training all kinds of really neat new things from Master Turner and Master Swalzy, both senior master candidates. I believe this year, really leveling up the Atamax curriculum. Now, along with that, the Atamax gathering two is coming this year. This. We had an interview about last year, something that you definitely want to check out. So here in a second, we're going to have a podcast interview with a gentleman who was part of the ATM X gathering, has been helping teach some of the ATMX information. So you need to look into this. Head over to atamartialarts.com dot. Stay tuned for the interview. We're going to start in just a second. But this is the second annual atamax gathering. It's going to be on May 3, fourth and fifth. It's three days of training focused on leveling up your skills. There's going to be stuff on improving your form, your weapon, your tricks, your gymnastics moves. They're going to rent out a gymnastics facility. You get to go and train there. There's going to be prizes, team sync and demo competitions, all kinds of amazing things. So definitely make sure that you go and check that out. It's going to be ATa headquarters, march or, excuse me, May 3, fourth and fifth. Definitely check it out. Let's hear from our special guest interview about the Atamax gathering.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: Special guest interview.
[00:03:33] Speaker D: Welcome back, Ata Nation. We are super excited to have with us today. Mister Jeremiah did well. How are you today, sir?
[00:03:41] Speaker B: I'm good, sir. I'm good. Excellent. How are you?
[00:03:44] Speaker D: I am. I am doing well. We wanted to have you on to talk about the ATM gathering coming up in Little Rock. But before that, can you give us a little background on how you got started in martial arts?
[00:03:58] Speaker B: Well, actually, my mom was in martial arts, like, when she was a kid, and she was in the ATA, and I think I was watching, like, karate kid one time when I was like, three years old. And then after that, they just couldn't stop me from doing stuff around the house. And so then we went to our local AtA school. And then from there, it's just. It's just been. That's history right there, so.
[00:04:23] Speaker D: And who's your instructor? What local Ata school did you end up?
[00:04:28] Speaker B: I trained with the sisters in Allen, Texas, so.
[00:04:31] Speaker D: Excellent.
That's an excellent school to be.
So now, one of the things that you're really involved with, and I watched some videos just the other day, or some awesome tricks of yours, is the Ato extremely AtA Max program.
What got you excited about doing that? Obviously, it's different than the traditional kicks and punches that we usually do. And so it wasn't what you signed up originally doing, but it looks like it's become a big thing for you. How did that happen?
[00:05:05] Speaker B: Well, I had an instructor, Miss Feliciano.
He was really good at it. And when I saw him do it, I was flabbergast. I was flabbergasted seeing people do all the crazy flips and stuff like that. So then me and my dad took an interest in it, so we really worked on it at home. And then it's just with the ATM Max program and everything, it's just skyrocketed. Since it's been a really crazy thing to start doing and what have you.
[00:05:36] Speaker D: I assume you're helping maybe teach Atamax, your local school, as well as the big events, what have you seen as some of the benefits to the Atamax program for other individuals and even for yourself?
[00:05:51] Speaker B: Yeah. So one big thing that I love that they're stressing, um, is that it might be Xma and it might be a little bit different, but it's still song. Song. I'm taekwondo, so like, that's a big thing that they're stressing. I know a lot of kids, they go, they do their XMA and stuff like that, and they kind of put aside the traditional part of it, which I've always been told by my instructors, mister Shuster, and them, that what makes me so much, so much better than my competition is that I'm adding in that song. I'm taekwondo in my form. And that's why biggest thing I love that they stretch stress is because that's where all your technique comes from. I mean, like, you can go do whatever you want, but the technique is always going to be the most important part. It looks better with technique and everything. I also feel that at fall nationals, when I first started, when I first started helping, that it was. It literally, like, heartwarming when one of the parents came up to me and was like, oh, I've been trying to teach my kid that for months. And I was like, and he got it in ten minutes or something like that. And it was just. It's an amazing feeling that, like, I can help kids learn things a lot faster. Like, I taught. I taught a lot of the stuff that I do a little bit by myself, but it's amazing that we can go out there and teach kids and stuff like that.
[00:07:12] Speaker D: And do you think, like, ATMX is, you know, a lot of times there's a view that it's for just teenagers or just kids. Last year, after the ATM x gathering, we had an interview with a lady who was at the gathering, and she didn't fit the traditional look and feel of ATMX.
So who's it for?
[00:07:38] Speaker B: It's for everybody. It's all ages. I mean, I went to the ATMX gathering, and you saw like 44 to 40. It was. It was amazing to see. I mean, you had parents getting out there and doing stuff, so it is really for everybody. Like, you are never, it's never too late. It's never too early to start. It's an amazing experience.
[00:08:00] Speaker D: So the max gathering is, this is its second year, big event down in Little Rock. Can you give us a little rundown of kind of what's happening at the ATMX gathering? Who's it for? Um, tell us. Uh, you know, people are like, I've heard of this thing. Maybe it's for me, maybe it's not. Um, give us the sales pitch.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Okay, sales pitch. I will tell you one. You are guaranteed to have fun. I mean, there is, there's. And that. That is the top thing you're going to be guaranteed to have fun. The atmosphere is very, uh, family atmosphere and stuff like that, of course. But you're also going to learn some stuff. You're going to. You're going to learn things that you never even thought you could do yourself. I mean, I had people like, never do a flip before in their life, come back doing at least two or three things. I mean, it was amazing. Even myself included. I was doing stuff with raffle and Danny. They taught me a lot just in that small frame.
So you're also going to be learning those high end trick, not tricks, but kicks that you can do in your creative form as well, that you can implement in there as well. So also big thing that they'll help you do is how to create a form. So maybe you don't really know how to create a form. Maybe based off your, you just know more traditional. So you don't really know how to format your form. You will learn how to create a form by the end of the Atamax program. I promise you, like, you will know which way to go, how to add, leveling, tempo, different things in that nature to make your form look good. And it was just a beautiful learning process. That's what I would say. And you learn. I love that.
[00:09:44] Speaker D: I think that's a struggle for a lot of beginners. Is that how to make a form, how to create? They understand sections. I want to do this cool little.
[00:09:57] Speaker B: Thing or I want to do this.
[00:09:58] Speaker D: Thing, but putting it together and formatting. I see. I think that's one of the topics. Also at spring nationals is working on a forum, and so I'm sure the gathering, it's just going to be even bigger. I think you guys have a big kick challenge or some kind of cool, big challenge that happens at the max gathering event, too. Is that something.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: We have something called trick battles. So trick battles are where you go out there and do creative tricks and put them all together into a little, little section, and then you get judged between who wins or who doesn't and stuff like that. And then we also have cool games. Like you have four, you have to have four kicks, put them all together, and we see who has the best. And winner gets these little tickets. These tickets will take you free pass to any tournament. Well, not any tournament. It would be a certain tournament on the list and etcetera. So we had a lot of cool, fun games. Another cool game that I liked a lot that now I use is to actually train, is that we would take one move from a form. So we took a form from I think like the 8th degree form. It was like this part right here and you had to put into an XMA line in segment real quick. And it was just an amazing way to be creative and make new things. Oh, that's really cool.
[00:11:22] Speaker D: I love that. My time, I steal that one as well. So if somebody is considering, you know, they're like, hey, I'm not a, you know, I'm not one of the top guys. I'm not whatnot. Maybe this a T Max gathering is not really for me. What would you tell to that person?
[00:11:41] Speaker B: I say try it. I say, always try something before you can. You can't really, can't really doubt something before you try it. I always say that that would be my biggest thing. And to be good at anything, you have to put the work in. Like you can come to ATMX program and it will give you that basics. But when you get home, you got to take it and you start to train. You got to train it, you got to work on it every day. It's just something that you have to really put effort into and what you put in will what you get out. I mean, they will say that a lot because you have to go out there and put yourself out there sometimes. Sometimes you have to go out there and do the extra rep or something like that. And if you stay on the side or on the side or whatever and, you know, kind of scare off, then you're not going to get as much as you could out of the program. You have to put your full effort into. The more you put in, the more you get out. So that's, that's the biggest thing about ATM Max. So I stress that a lot to people who say they're not really into it. Put your effort into it first and you, you'll see, you'll see, you'll see growth. I promise. I promise.
[00:12:43] Speaker D: Yeah, that's, I mean, and it's so much about that confidence building, that performance aspect. You gotta, you gotta get out on the floor to be able to grow and achieve those goals, so. Well, that's awesome. I'm sure you're gonna be there in Texas for the spring nationals. Are you doing some assisting and teaching some of the atm stuff?
[00:13:07] Speaker B: Yes, sir. I'll be there on Thursday, I believe, for the ATM X kicking program and the form making thing.
I'll also be doing team sYnc, so watch out for that.
[00:13:19] Speaker D: Oh, nice. Excellent. We love to see that team sync competitions, those continue to grow and. Pretty awesome. So, Mister Didwell, I really appreciate your time today. I know it's early Texas and you got things you got to get to doing.
We appreciate it. Any last words for atnation out there today?
[00:13:41] Speaker B: Stay grinding. Stay working. That's all I gotta say. Stay working. Always.
[00:13:45] Speaker D: I love that. Always working. Thank you so much for your time today.
[00:13:49] Speaker B: Sir, yes sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity.
[00:13:52] Speaker C: Here's what's going on in AtA Nation.
[00:14:00] Speaker A: We want to thank Mister Tidwell for his time and that interview. Make sure that you are checking out the ATM X gathering. This is going to continue to grow. These events are going to just get better and better. The training that is coming out for the ATM X curriculum is just getting better and better. So don't be left behind. Make sure that you're checking out this event. Head over to atamartial arts.com and go to the program section in there. You can go down to atamax and check out the gathering. Now we want to remind you that it is not too early to sign up for you gets it. World championships. The event schedule is out. Registration is out. You can get started checking out the ATA world championships. We are celebrating 55 years of AtA nation. So head over to atamartialarts.com events and make sure you check out all of the stuff coming. We will have a full episode going over the different trainings, the different options, the different things that you can take part in. It is two tournaments. It is the tournament of champions. That is the end of 2023 2024 season and then the Super 20 tournament which begins the 2024 2025 season. So get over there, check out the events, look at the schedule, book your hotels, get your flights. I just purchased my flight. I've got my hotel. I just started looking at the schedule and I'm like, I don't know what I want to take. There's so many great options. It's amazing. So head over there, get started now, reserving your spots and your times and your flights and luggage and all that stuff. So you don't want to miss out on what is the greatest family reunion.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: Every year that's going to wrap it.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: Up for us today. Ata nation. I've got an exciting rat camp going on at my school so I have to get back to work. I hope you guys are out there taking action.
[00:16:07] Speaker C: Thanks for listening to another episode of the ATA Nation podcast. Be sure to subscribe and share with your ATa family.
[00:16:24] Speaker A: How did you guys like spring nationals? I missed it. But I was super excited to see all the amazing 55 year anniversary information that the logo on the side of the hotel was amazing, seeing all the graphics and whatnot. Super cool. So we've got some awesome 55 year anniversary stuff coming up we'll be talking about on the podcast as well, those kind of things. So make sure that you are getting signed up for worlds, guys. Worlds. It's coming. Don't miss it. We'll talk soon.
