2024 National Seminar UPDATE – NEW EVENT DATES


The Lewis Institute National Seminar, Color-Belt & Black-Belt Testing has been rescheduled for the weekend of Friday & Saturday May 17th & 18th 2024 in Paducah, Kentucky U.S.A. This had to be moved because there is going to be a lunar eclipse that will be directly over Paducah, Kentucky in April. Due to this rare event hotel cost are much higher than normal. 


12/3/2023 – Posted by GM Lewis, Seminar Director 



2024 National Seminar Dates Confirmed


The Lewis Institute National Seminar, Color-Belt & Black-Belt Testing is scheduled for April 5th & 6th 2024 in Paducah, Kentucky U.S.A. 


07/17/2023 – Posted by GM Lewis, Seminar Director 



National Seminar & Testing: April 7th & 8th 2023

 
Lewis Institute National Seminar, Color Belt and Black Belt testing will take place at the McCraken County High School in Paducah, Kentucky, USA. This event will include special guest, Grand Master Tae Zee Park, Preseident and Founder of Tae Park Tae Kwon Do. As well as Grand Master Richard Warren, President of World Class Tae Kwon Do. More details will follow so please check back soon. 
 
Sincerely & Respectfully,
Grand Master Dennis Lewis
President Of Lewis Institute
Mid-South TKD Association
Vice-President Of WCTKD
National Seminar Director
 

12/12/2022 – Posted by GM Lewis

 

National Seminar & Testing: April 8th & 9th 2022 – CANCELED

Message from Junior Grand Master Lewis:

 

I looked at the recent map for the state of Kentucky today and unfortunately the entire state continues to stay in the RED with the exception of only 1 county. I also talked to my liaison contact  in Paducah at The McCraken County High School and they told me that it was like a revolving door up there. The cases are up and down. With that said after giving this a tremendous amount of consideration and thought I have decided to CANCEL The Upcoming Lewis Institute/ Tae Park National Seminar, Color-Belt, & Black-Belt Testing scheduled for April 8th & 9th 2022. I realize that at this present time people are reluctant to travel through several states. Once again my main concern is everyone’s safety. Hopefully we can get back to our huge live events very soon.
 

I have already asked the school for and I am planning on April 7th & 8th 2023 for the next Lewis Institute Seminar in Paducah, Kentucky. At that time I will celebrate my 35th Anniversary of PIONEERING, TEACHING, AND SPREADING TAE PARK TAE KWON DO IN THIS PART OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I am looking forward to it and once again hopefully we can get back to some form of normalcy very soon. 
 
 
Sincerely & Respectfully,
Junior Grand Master Dennis Lewis
Lewis Institute/Tae Park
National & International Seminar Director
 
Master Terry Warmath
Co-Seminar Director
 

02/09/2022 – Posted by JGM Lewis

 

National Seminar, Color-Belt & Black-Belt Testing: April 8th & 9th 2022.

Once again Lewis Institute/ Tae Park Tae Kwon Do will host The Annual Lewis Institute National—International Seminar, Color-Belt & Black-Belt Testing. This event will take place APRIL 8TH & 9TH, 2022. This event will be held at The McCraken County High School in Paducah, Kentucky U.S.A.
 
Special Guest will be Grand Master Tae Zee Park—President And Founder Of Tae Park Tae Kwon Do Of The United States Of America. Also present will be Grand Master Richard Warren——-Vice-President Of Tae Park Tae Kwon Do And President Of World Class Tae Kwon Do. Also present will be a host of Junior Grand Masters, Senior Masters, And Masters present at this great event.
 
Everyone from All Tae Park Tae Kwon Do Locations from around the country is invited. I will send more information very soon. Take care everyone and please have a very safe and enjoyable Holiday Season with family & friends.
 
Sincerely & Respectfully,
Junior Grand Master Dennis Lewis
Lewis Institute/Tae Park
National & International Seminar Director
 
Master Terry Warmath
Co-Seminar Director
 

12/05/2021 – Posted by JGM Lewis

 

2020 National Seminar Cancelled

 

Due to the severity of the Corona virus Outbreak Grand Master Park has instructed me to CANCEL The Lewis Institute/Tae Park National Seminar for this year in Paducah, Kentucky. Grand Master Park is very concerned about everyone’s safety especially with people attending from all over the country.

 

I realize that we were all looking forward to this great event but Grand Master Park feels that SAFETY AND EVERYONE’S WELL BEING IS FIRST. He cares about all of us and he does not want to take any unnecessary risks. 

 

I would like to personally thank everyone for all of your support and lets look forward to next year 2021 to once again  continue this great event. Hopefully next year the virus will have calmed down and we will go back to business as usual.

 

03/09/20 – Junior Grand Master Lewis

 

 

 

Lewis Institute National Seminar Information Update

 

Click here to print of the registration documents for the upcoming seminar

 

Hotel Information:

 

Once again we will be using The Drury Inn located at 3975 Hinkleville Road, Paducah, Kentucky 42001 right next to Outback Steakhouse. Hotel registration is now open. Reservations can be made online, go to www.druryhotels.com or by calling 1-800-325-0720 or call the hotel direct at 270-443-3313. Please speak with your instructor to get our group number in order to get our special rate. The cutoff date to receive these rooms at the special rate is March 8th, 2020. The hotel is filling up so please go ahead and make your reservations. Please pass this information on to your students.

 

02/18/20 – Junior Grand Master Lewis

 

 

Lewis Institute National Seminar April 10th & 11th 2020

Lewis Institute Tae Park Mid-South TKD Association is proud to present the 18th annual national / international seminar, color-belt & black-belt testing. This event will be held on April 10th & 11th 2020 at the Mccraken County High School in Paducah, Kentucky USA.

 

Along with our very distinguished special guest Grand Master Tae Zee Park and Grand Master Richard Warren there will also be a host of several grand masters, junior grand masters, senior masters, and masters present at this great event.

 

02/15/20 – Junior Grand Master Lewis

 

 

2019 National Tae Park Tae Kwon Do Seminar

 

Lewis Institute Tae Park National Seminar Color-Belt & Black-Belt Testing will take place on Friday & Saturday APRIL 5TH & 6TH 2019 in Paducah, Kentucky U.S.A. at The McCraken County High School. This years focus will be on taking Tae Park Tae Kwon Do into the next decade. More information will be available as the event draws near but we look forward to seeing you there! In the mean time we will see you at the tournament in November.

 

Posted 9/19/18 – Junior Grand Master Lewis

 

2018 Is Another Historic Year for Tae Park Taekwondo!! 

 

2011 marked the visit from the late Grand Master Woon Kyu Uhm at our November ‘Tae Park World Class Championships’ and this year Lewis Institute Mid-South  hosted a groundbreaking event, a Grand Master testing, setting a new standard for taekwondo in the U. S.!!

 

Thursday evening the first ever Grand Masters testing was held in Paducah KY!  Guest Master Han of New Jersey, Grand Master Kim of California and Grand Master Kim of Brazil were present for the 2+hour testing.  In the end it was a ‘pass’ for new Grand Master Lynn Bernard and Grand Master Mark D. Good.  Job well done.

 

Friday, after a day of educational courses led by assorted Master Instructors of Tae Park TKD, a Masters testing for new 5 Dans was held concurrently with the black belt testing for Lewis Institute!  WOW, it just keeps growing!  Our special guests from the Grand Masters testing attended along with several Senior Masters of Tae Park TKD as Master Betty Henderson, Master Lemon Williams II and Master Larry Feuerstein were promoted to 5 Dan.  Another job well done.

 

Saturday offered more special classes in addition to a color belt testing.  The finale event was a party hosted by Lewis Institute and Mid-South TKD where everyone enjoyed discussions over the last 3 days events. We are all so very proud of new Grand Master Instructors, Master Instructors and Black Belts as well as all the students who traveled from Michigan, New York, Tennessee and Alabama to make this one of the most memorable and exciting weekends to date.

 

Posted 4/26/18 – Junior Grand Master Lewis

 

2018 National Tae Park Tae Kwon Do Seminar

 

Lewis Institute of Tae Park Mid-South Tae Kwon Do Association is proud to again host the National Seminar, Color and Black Belt testing. This event will take place on April 6th and 7th, 2018 at the McCraken County High School in Paducah, Kentucky. Special Guest will include, 9th Dan, Grand Master Tae Zee Park President and Founder of Tae Park Tae Kwon Do. Also 8th Dan, Grand Master Richard Warren, Vice President of Tae Park Tae Kwon Do and President of World Class Tae Kwon Do. In addition there will be many more Junior Grand Masters, Senior Master and Master instructors coming together to share their knowledge of this art.

 

Please make sure to book you hotel rooms asap. The select hotel is the Drury Inn, located at 3975 Hinkleville Rd., Paducah, Kentucky 42001. The Drury Inn offers a complementary breakfast and free drinks and evening snacks. Individual call-in reservations can be made by reserving online, go to www.druryhotels.com or reservations may also be made by calling 1-800-325-0720 or directly at 270-443-3313. Please make sure that you tell them that you are with THE LEWIS INSTITUTE TAE KWON DO GROUP to receive this special rate.

 

Posted 11/27/2017 – Junior Grand Master Lewis

 

Lewis Institute Tae Park Mid-South TKD Association; Tae Park National Seminar, Color-Belt & Black Test: April 7th & 8th 2017

 

The event will once again take place at The McCraken County High School in Paducah, Kentucky. Our Very Special Guest will be Grand Master Tae Zee Park President & Founder Of Tae Park Tae Kwon Do Of The United States Of America. Also as Special Guest will be Grand Master Richard Warren Vice-President Of Tae Park TKD and President of WCTKD. Also there will be a host of students, Instructors, Master Instructors, Senior Master Instructors, Junior Grand Master Instructors, and Grand Masters present at this great event.

 

Once again we will be using The Drury Inn in Paducah, Kentucky as our hotel for the seminar. Reservations can be made by reserving online, go to www.druryhotels.com, then enter Group Number 2276976. Reservations may also be made by calling 1-800-325-0720 and refer to the Group Number 2276976.

 

Cut-Off Date: Reservations, either call in or via rooming list, received after Thursday, March 16th 2017 will be provided on a space-available basis at prevailing rates. The physical address of The Drury Inn Paducah is:
3975 Hinkleville Road Paducah, KY 42001. The telephone number is 270-443-3313.

 

The following are some examples of the various topics that will be covered at the seminar.

 

Basic TKD Techniques In Street Clothes
Basic TKD History
Advanced TKD Waist Power Used For Striking, Punching, etc
Advanced TKD Self-Defense And Belt Defense

 

Posted 2/17/17 – Junior Grand Master Lewis

 

Paducah Sun Newspaper
Sunday, April 10, 2016

 

[RYAN HERMENS |  Taekwondo seminar Students prepare for a taekwondo exercise in the gym at McCracken County High School on Saturday. Some 170 students and about 40 instructors from throughout the country  met for a national taekwondo seminar on Friday and Saturday.

 

Patience, respect, self confidence and protection are just a few of the many characteristics that teachers and students of traditional taekwondo say the practice has instilled in them.

 

Junior Grand Master Dennis Lewis leads taekwondo schools throughout the south, including the Lewis Institute in Paducah and the Warmath Institute in Mayfield. They’re a part of a larger association under Grand Master Tae Zee Park, a national and world champion who is a ninth-degree black belt, the highest level. The group has been holding an annual seminar for more than 20 years, but this was their first time in Paducah, and they plan to return, said Lewis, a seventh-degree black belt who’s practiced for 40 years.

 

On Friday, 17 students tested with grand masters and earned their black belts. Grand Master Rick Warren, an eighth-degree black belt from Chicago, explained that while there are various forms of taekwondo, the practice as taught under Grand Master Tae Zee Park is based on traditional taekwondo, which has a 2,000 year history, he said.

 

Despite the long history of the practice, Warren said there are still people who assume it’s focused on fighting. “There are a lot of misconceptions about taekwondo and martial arts, that it means bad guys are fighting all the time,” he said. “No. What we’re doing is channeling this traditional technique to help people live better lives and make a difference in their communities.

 

What motivates people to get involved with taekwondo is unique to each practitioner. Warren said he started as a kid because he was bullied. Lewis got involved because he thought it seemed cool when it turned out to change his life in ways he’d never expected, he said. Many go into the practice after their kids start classes. Others get involved for self-defense, to improve their health or for other reasons.

 

The practice involves far more lessons than simply mastering certain physical forms, the instructors emphasized. At the institute in Union City, Tennessee, Lewis said the leaders check on how their students are performing in school. The Lewis Institute also has a youth group in which students work together to help charities.”You’ve got to be active within your community,” Lewis said. “That’s part of being a good traditional taekwondo practitioner.”

 

One of those youths, 13-year-old Micah Haley of Mayfield, is the youth group president. He said the group this year is working to donate goods, food and other items to the Ronald McDonald House. “This is such a great charity. We do a lot of community service. We’re focused on giving back to our community,” Haley said.

 

His mom, Melissa Haley, said kids learn respect and patience through taekwondo, which can make it easy to identify a practicing student. “I can tell a difference between a child without martial arts and taekwondo, and a child with taekwondo. It’s amazing,” she said. “It’s yes ma’am, no ma’am, can I help, can I carry that?”

 

Master Instructor Betty Henderson, who instructs in Milan, Tennessee, made her 9-year-old student, Rydge Lytle of Humboldt, Tennessee, an assistant instructor last week because he’d earned the responsibility, she said. Lytle earned his black belt last year, which he said was a “crazy” experience. He said his favorite part of the seminar in Paducah was learning more self-defense techniques.

 

“In certain situations this could save your life,” he said. “It can protect you.” The Lewis Institute of Tae Park Tae Kwon Do meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. at the Paducah Athletic Club.

 

Posted 4/10/2016 – Junior Grand Master Lewis

 

To check out the promotion video for next years seminar in Tennessee, click on the link below.

 

 

 

Seminar Update
April 8th-9th 2016 in Paducah, Ky

 

The following is a sample of the topics that will be covered at this great event. These along with other topics that will be taught by Grand Master Park or Grand Master Warren, Junior Grand Master, Senior Masters, and Masters. Don’t miss out.

 

 

 

Advanced TKD Waist Power Used For Striking, Punching, etc.
Advanced 2 & 3 Step Sparring
Advanced Actual 2 on 1 Fighting Techniques & Standing Roundhouse Kick
Basic TKD History
Basic TKD Focus Used When Doing Forms
Jumping Front Kick

 

The cost of the seminar package is $70 per student which includes 5 authorized and approved Tae Park Tae Kwon Do Boards and a Certificate of Participation included with the cost. The boards can be picked up at the seminar.

 

Please mail checks , seminar applications, and medical forms by March 11th 2016. Please consult your instructor for the mailing address.

 

Posted 2/3/2016 – Junior Grand Master Lewis