What was eventual to become Rising Phoenix Taekwondo Fellowship started out as a martial arts competition team
chartered in the fall of 2004. It brought together predominantly three martial arts programs on campus: the morning
Taekwondo classes taught by Sergeant Art Koch, the evening Taekwondo classes taught by Master Jay Mustapich, and
the Karate program taught by Renshi Phil Sauer. The organization was entitled Yamashita System Tournament Team
because the majority of its competitors came from the karate program, which was affiliated with Yamashita. The first
year saw members attend four karate tournaments sponsored by the Wisconsin Professional Karate Association
(WPKA.); however, in little over a year, the WPKA was disassembled, and with a failing interested in competition,
Yamashita System Tournament Team was put to rest.
A new organization was formed, The Martial Arts Society. This organization consisted of many former members of
Yamashita System Tournament Team and was lead by the same instructor, Master J. Michael Olds. The program
focused on developing a complete understanding of the martial arts. Classes were taught by those present, each
senior member allotted a portion of time to instruct on their expertise. It was an attempt at a dynamic cross training
experience, but ultimately, it lacked direction. Advanced students came seeking more structure, and beginning
students quickly become lost in the lack of any real curriculum.
Yet again, the doors were closed. It was around this time that Master J. Michael Olds started teaching a few students,
privately on the grassy knoll outside the dorms and in the Klotsche Center racquetball courts. From this small group,
Rising Phoenix Taekwondo Fellowship was born in the spring of 2007. Rising Phoenix Taekwondo Fellowship was
meant to combine the competitive appeal of Yamashita System Tournament Team with the cross training elements of
The Martial Arts Society into a dynamic experience bound together in friendship and the traditions and fundamentals of
Taekwondo.
chartered in the fall of 2004. It brought together predominantly three martial arts programs on campus: the morning
Taekwondo classes taught by Sergeant Art Koch, the evening Taekwondo classes taught by Master Jay Mustapich, and
the Karate program taught by Renshi Phil Sauer. The organization was entitled Yamashita System Tournament Team
because the majority of its competitors came from the karate program, which was affiliated with Yamashita. The first
year saw members attend four karate tournaments sponsored by the Wisconsin Professional Karate Association
(WPKA.); however, in little over a year, the WPKA was disassembled, and with a failing interested in competition,
Yamashita System Tournament Team was put to rest.
A new organization was formed, The Martial Arts Society. This organization consisted of many former members of
Yamashita System Tournament Team and was lead by the same instructor, Master J. Michael Olds. The program
focused on developing a complete understanding of the martial arts. Classes were taught by those present, each
senior member allotted a portion of time to instruct on their expertise. It was an attempt at a dynamic cross training
experience, but ultimately, it lacked direction. Advanced students came seeking more structure, and beginning
students quickly become lost in the lack of any real curriculum.
Yet again, the doors were closed. It was around this time that Master J. Michael Olds started teaching a few students,
privately on the grassy knoll outside the dorms and in the Klotsche Center racquetball courts. From this small group,
Rising Phoenix Taekwondo Fellowship was born in the spring of 2007. Rising Phoenix Taekwondo Fellowship was
meant to combine the competitive appeal of Yamashita System Tournament Team with the cross training elements of
The Martial Arts Society into a dynamic experience bound together in friendship and the traditions and fundamentals of
Taekwondo.
| The History of the Fellowship |
