Alliance blackbelts Mr Tanner LaFavor and Mr Kristofer Huck – due to their hard work and dedication to the martial arts – were selected to join a team of practitioners from across the Midwest to travel, train, and ultimately compete at the 80th Anniversary Chang Moo Kwan World Championships in Seoul, South Korea. They accompanied Master Devon Waldron on a trip spanning 15 days that included training, competition and cultural exchange.

The Alliance crew arrived at Incheon International Airport and were greeted by members of the Changmookwan who had arranged for buses to get us to our initial hotel. In the morning, now time-shifted 14 hours from our regular schedule, we were bussed three hours south past Seoul to the Taekwondowon (태권도원) in the mountains in Muju – the largest officially recognized campus in the world dedicated to martial arts. It spans over 2300 square kilometers (almost 900 square miles), and includes an international training center, sports science research labs, a dedicated Taekwondo museum, administrative offices, dormitories, and an observatory – and the T1 Arena, the world’s first and largest purpose-built Taekwondo competition arena, seating over 4,500 spectators.

The crew spent several days at the Taekwondowon, training every day. This usually included some short morning training before breakfast, as well as more focused training later in the day. The training also included time with respected grand masters including Grand Master Lee Kyu-Hyun, Grand Master Lee Sang-Ki and Grand Master Lee Jong-Kwan, with whom we trained fundamentals, hapkido and advanced poomsae (patterns). Mr Tanner and Mr Kris also successfully completed the exam for 1st Dan in hapkido; congratulations to them! We also had time to spend in the Taekwondo museum, investigate the traditional style training areas, and got to go to the observatory at the top of a nearby peak – part of the Taekwondowon campus – to take in the view.

After several days at the Taekwondowon, the crew headed back to Seoul. The night we arrived back in the city, there was a formal dinner for all of the Changmookwan dignitaries and international guests – it was a late night with lots of food, photos and speeches. The following day was the 80th Anniversary Changmookwan Championship. The Changmookwan 80th Anniversary Tournament was co-hosted with the 2026 Hanmadang in Gangnam, Seoul. With the Kukkiwon building packed to the brim with Hanmadang participants and observers, the Changmookwan event took place in a nearby gymnasium. All three representatives of Alliance competed and placed. Master Devon’s division included a 7th Dan from Singapore, a 6th Dan from Nepal, a master from Germany and another Master from the United States. Congratulations to the team for bringing home three medals from another international competition!

After the competition concluded, the international visitors got to enjoy a cultural tour, seeing some of the many points of interest around Seoul and the surround areas. The cultural tour kicked off with a visit to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, where the crew was able to look out from an observation deck across the border into North Korea. The next day the group visited the Gyeongbokgung Royal Palace, where they witnessed a changing of the guard and had time to walk the palace grounds and visit the on-site museum. Later that day, we paid a visit to the YMCA in Seoul where the founder of the Changmookwan first started teaching martial arts classes in 1946. The day closed with a visit to the Myeongdong night market, a street market where the crew enjoyed fried squid and octopus, hotteok, and also picked up some souvenirs and travel gifts.

The following day started with a visit to the famous Namsan Tower, also called the N-Seoul Tower – a defining element of Seoul’s skyline, located atop Namsan Mountain, the highest natural point in Seoul. The tower grounds are favored in South Korean pop culture as a setting in media, and for romance – thousands of couples have hung “love locks” on the fences as testaments to their commitments to one another. The crew took a cable-car up the mountain to the base of the tower, and took the elevator up to the observation deck to get their first elevated look at the 10th largest city in the world. The afternoon included stops at some other famous places in the city; notably, the Bongeunsa Temple grounds, the Starfield “Library,” and the Lotte Tower. The Lotte Tower is the 6th tallest building in the world (as of August 2026). Going to the observation deck of the Lotte Tower allowed for a spectacular view of Seoul, and we managed to arrive just before sunset. The views from the top of the tower were truly breath-taking.

Our last day in Seoul saw the conclusion of the Hanmadang – we got to watch some of the finals, pick out some last minute gifts, and enjoy the rest of the day ourselves. We had some delicious Korean food, and spend some time with friends old and new before heading back to Incheon the next morning to fly home.

Trips like this help to elevate the entire school; the training and experience adds to the richness and expertise of the Alliance community. Thanks to all of the student, parents, alumni and other supporters – we could not have made this work without that support. As always, our gratitude goes out to Grand Master Eric Greenquist for his many years of dedication and instruction, and Great Grand Master Yun Moo Young Yun for the legacy he left us after a lifetime of tirelessly promoting traditional Korean martial arts.

UPDATE: Over the whole duration of the trip, a documentary team from TV Chosun was recording photo and video with the intent of chronicling this historic occasion and sharing this international story with a wider audience. The documentary aired on television in South Korea on September 6th, 2026. The documentary was uploaded to YouTube and can now be found here: 태권도 로드 – The Origin.

Due to time and information constraints, the following summary is the best record available for this event:

Mr Tanner Lafavor: Pattern – 2nd, Breaking – 1st, Sparring – 1st

Mr Kristofer Huck: Pattern – 2nd, Weapons – 1st, Sparring – 1st

Mr Braxton Standaert: Pattern – 4th, Weapons – 1st, Breaking 1st, Sparring – 2nd

Ms Reese Spadgenske: Pattern – 2nd, Weapons – 2nd, Breaking – 4th

Mr Carter Delabarre: Pattern – 3rd, Breaking – 3rd

Mr Zachary Ziegler: Pattern – 3rd; Team Pattern (with Ms Elliot) – 4th, Weapons – 3rd, Breaking – 4th, Sparring – 3rd

Mr Elijah VanVoorhis: Pattern – 1st, Breaking – 1st

Mr Nathan VanVoorhis: Pattern – 2nd, Breaking – 1st, Sparring – 1st

Mr Luke Hartl: Sparring – 3rd

Ms Emmalee Hartl: Sparring – 2nd

Ms Elliot Ziegler: Pattern – 4th, Team Pattern (with Mr Zach) – 4th, Breaking – 1st, Sparring – 4th

Mr Camden Standaert: Pattern – 3nd, Breaking – 1st, Sparring – 1st

Alliance would like to thank the Detroit Lakes Martial Arts Academy for hosting the tournament. We would also like to congratulate the entire team on all the hard work, and thank the parents, instructors, and coaches who have supported them. As always, our gratitude goes out to Grandmaster Eric Greenquist for his many years of dedication and instruction, and Great Grandmaster Moo Young Yun for his tireless efforts in the promotion of Korean martial arts.

Alliance took home a total of thirty-seven awards, including fourteen first place finishes, ten second place finishes, eight third place finishes, five fourth place honorable mention finishes, five additional non-standard contest wins and the men’s championship belt.

In the blackbelt forms divisions Alliance fielded seven competitors. In the highest ranking division Master Devon Waldron competed with Jitae for the first time; in a tight run-off with Master Morgan Solberg, Master Devon claimed the first place spot in a split decision. Under the master level, Mr Tanner LaFavor took first place with a powerful Keumgang; Mr Justin Lafavor also performed Keumgang and landed in third place. Mr Kristofer Huck managed to earn a fourth place finish despite a couple errors due to his energy and execution of Koryo. In the junior blackbelt divisions, Ms Reese Spadgenske took first place with Keumgang, and Mr Carter DelaBarre placed second with Koryo. In weapons pattern competition, Mr Tanner earned a first place finish with a well-rehearsed Hapkido staff pattern, with Mr Kris coming in fourth in the same division. In the junior division, Ms Reese clinched first with Mr Carter in fourth.

In the underbelt forms divisions, Alliance took the top three spots in a large, competitive advanced teens division; Ms Bethany Just took first, Mr Zachary Ziegler came in second and Mr Gavin Brunelle-Durand came in third. In a younger advanced division, Mr Nathan VanVoorhis locked down the first place position while Mr Luke Hartl took second. In a younger division, Mr Maxon Frederick came in third. At the intermediate levels, Mr Harris Papalichev and Ms Emmalie Hartl both earned fourth place honorable mention finishes.

All juniors breaking and underbelt breaking was up next.  In a stiff jr blackbelt division, Ms Reese earned a second place finish. In the advanced breaking division, Mr Zach Ziegler earned the first place spot in his teen division. In two separate divisions, Mr Nathan and Mr Luke both earned second place finishes. In a younger division, Mr Max came away with third place. At the intermediate level, Ms Emmalie took second in a young division, with Mr Gavin earning third place in the teen division.

Mr Tanner Lafavor competed again in the the Jay Halvorson Memorial breaking event, which awards a single trophy to the competitor breaking the most stacked boards with a single knifehand strike. Alliance blackbelts have claimed this award eight times. In a more decisive showing that last year, Mr Tanner again slammed through his boards to narrowly edge our Master Johnathan Pisk in the second round of breaking to win the award for the second year in a row.

In a few fun, non-standard events unique to the Greenquist Invitational, competitors participate in jump-rope and belt tying competitions. Each division was large and only one award was presented to the top competitor. Mr Tanner won the award for the 18+ jump rope contest, Mr Kris earned the under 18 pushup competition award, Mr Carter won the award for the under 18 jump rope competition, and Mr Nathan took the top spot for the award in the preteen jump rope competition.

In the advanced underbelt sparring divisions, Mr Zach Ziegler fought a series of three opponents taller than him; the match for first and second went into overtime and resulted in his only sparring loss to date, relegating him to second place. In a younger division, Mr Nathan VanVoorhis gunned through several opponents to take the first place position. In one of his best sparring performances to date, Mr Luke Hartl dealt with some tough competition and came out with third place after a win in his final match. In a younger division, Mr Max showcases his continued improvement in technique and awareness to eliminate his competition and take home his first advanced sparring gold medal. In the intermediate divisions, Mr Harris picked up his pace and outscored his competition to claim a first place win. In a younger division, Ms Emmalie likewise had an aggressive performance that earned her the first place spot. In a rough teen division, Mr Gavin came away with third place.

The jr blackbelt divisions, were substantially different than last year, with only Mr Carter competing. Showing how much improvement he has made in the last year, our Alliance fighter controlled the ring and took his points for a clean gold medal finish.

Mr Kristofer Huck was prepared to fight in the under 18 blackbelt division, but there were no other fighters willing to challenge him.

Alliance fielded two adult blackbelt fighters; the LaFavor brothers both fought again this year. Defending his title for the second time, Mr Justin LaFavor was seeded to face the overall winner of the men’s division. Mr Tanner Lafavor had a slow start, getting warmed up during his first match and conceding some points, but he found his rhythm by the second round and squeezed out a win. His next match was a clear demonstration of his skill level, as he faced an experienced Master and scored multiple times without conceding a single point. After frustrating his final opponent for the second year in a row, he moved on to the challenge round to again face his brother for the belt. In another close match, the brothers exchanged blows across two rounds. Late in the second round, the younger LaFavor brother crept past the defender in points, and finished out the round to take the title from his brother and claim another Greenquist fighting title for Alliance!

Alliance would like to thank the Greenquist Academy for all the work they put in to host the tournament. We would also like to congratulate the entire team on all the hard work, and thank the parents, instructors and coaches who have supported them. As always, our gratitude goes out to Grandmaster Eric Greenquist for his many years of dedication and instruction, and Great Grandmaster Moo Young Yun for his tireless efforts in the promotion of Korean martial arts.

Alliance took home a total of thirty-seven awards, including fourteen first place finishes, eight second place finishes, seven third place finishes, and seven fourth place honorable mention finishes.

In the blackbelt forms divisions under eighteen, Alliance blackbelt and team leader Mr Kristofer Huck took third in a sizeable division. In a separate junior blackbelt division, Mr Carter DelaBarre took first and Mr Braxton Standaert took second.

In underbelt forms, fourteen juniors competed.  In an advanced division, Ms Bethany Just took first. In a separate division, Mr Luke Hartl took first with teammate Mr Ellis Price winning a fourth place honorable mention. At the intermediate level, Mr Harris Papalichev took first, with Ms Annabelle Griffin taking third and Mr Thatcher Kerzman taking fourth, in a fifth grade division. In younger divisions, Mr Rojohn Elassus and Ms Elliot Ziegler took second in their respective age groups, and Mr Judah Kerzman took third. In the beginner divisions, Mr Camden Standaert earned a third place finish.

In underbelt breaking, Mr Luke Hartl Mr Zachary Ziegler and Ms Bethany Just took first, third and fourth in three different advanced age divisions. At the intermediate level, Mr Thatcher earned a third place finish with Ms Annabelle in fourth. In the beginner ring, Mr Camden earned first place in his age group.

In the advanced underbelt sparring divisions, both Mr Zach and Mr Maxon Frederick dominated their respective rings, each coming away with a first place win. In the intermediate rings, brothers Thatcher and Judah earned very respectable second and third place finishes in their rings. Mr Rojohn, in his first tournament appearance, fought his way to a second place finish. Ms Annabelle earned a fourth place honorable mention, as did Ms Emmalie Hartl in a younger division. In the beginner ring, Mr Camden also came away with a fourth place honorable mention.

In a rare exhibition, the sparring side of Kumdo was included in this competition. Alliance fielded one new Kumdo student in an exhibition match with Master Bobby Cisco of the Bozeman Taekwondo Academy. They had a fun series of exchanges that was an excellent learning opportunity for Mr Carter.

Blackbelt breaking was the second to last event of the day. The junior blackbelt boys were up first, with Mr Braxton coming out on top in the first place spot, with Mr Carter earning fourth. The adult blackbelt divisions consisted of breaking sequences of up to ten boards and five stations each. In a close contest in which Mr Kristofer Huck debuted his flash kick breaking technique, he finished in second place, narrowly edged out by Master Bobby Cisco.

In the adult blackbelt fighting rings, Alliance’s team leader for the event competed in the under eighteen men’s division. Mr Kris showed tenacity and energy as he comfortably lead the score sheet in both rounds and claimed a clear victory to land in first place.

Alliance would like to thank Washburn Taekwondo and Master Ken Sorenson for hosting the tournament. We would also like to congratulate the entire team on all the hard work, and thank the parents, instructors and coaches who have supported them. As always, our gratitude goes out to Grandmaster Eric Greenquist for his many years of dedication and instruction, and Great Grandmaster Moo Young Yun for his tireless efforts in the promotion of Korean martial arts.

This year the conditions were a little scrapy but we made the best of it. We also enjoyed games, hot springs, good food and good company.  The crew also spent some time enjoying Bozeman amenities and hospitality thanks to the generosity and facilitation of Master Bobby Cisco and the team at Bozeman Taekwondo Academy.

On the slopes, the levels of experience were varied, with beginners all the way to experts. The beginners made great progress and had a lot of fun, and the more intermediate riders got some great practice leveling up their skills in less accommodating conditions that last year. Beyond just snow sports however, fellowship and team building is the core goal of this trip and in that endeavor Alliance was again successful.

The Alliance 2026 Snow Trip was a memorable event for all those who participated.  The crew had lots of fun and will look forward to continuing the tradition in the future.

To achieve the rank of 6^th Dan, the candidate must master new degrees of precision and must have shown that in the time since achieving the rank of 5^th Dan that they have been a worthy custodian of the martial arts.  Master degrees in martial arts are analogous with academic master degrees in that the holder of such a degree is considered to be highly knowledgeable and proficient in the subject area, and has put a lot of time and effort into achieving the degree.  In the case of a Chang Moo Kwan 6^th Dan master degree, it represents an additional six or more years of teaching and training beyond the time already put into achieving the 5^th Dan master degree.  Master Devon Waldron has been training in martial arts for over twenty-seven years, and achieved his 5^th Dan master degree in 2018.

The exam was administered by 9^th degree Grand Master Eric Greenquist as chief examiner.  The exam included multiple patterns, hand to hand fighting techniques, board and brick breaking, candle techniques, sword techniques and academic material.

Master Devon Waldron completed his exam successfully and has been promoted to Chang Moo Kwan 6^th Dan.  Please join us in congratulating Master Devon Waldron!  필승

Due to time and information constraints, the following summary is the best record available for this event:

Mr Tanner Lafavor: Pattern – 2nd, Weapons – 4th, Breaking – 4th, Sparring – 2nd; very close matchup for 1st place with Mr Cameron Kerns

Mr Braxton Standaert: Weapons – 1st, Breaking – 1st, Sparring – 2nd; showdown with Mr Brennan Hill for 1st place again

Mr Mason Hager: Pattern – 1st, Breaking – 2nd; injury in breaking caused him to miss the sparring event

Mr Carter Delabarre: Pattern – 2nd, Breaking – 4th, Sparring – 4th

Mr Zachary Ziegler: Pattern – 2nd; Team Pattern (with Ms Elliot) – 2nd, Breaking – 2nd, Sparring – 1st; Mr Zach earned a “root beer award” for scoring with a high-level technique

Mr Luke Hartl: Pattern – 3rd, Breaking – 4th, Sparring – 2nd

Mr Gavin Brunelle: Pattern – 1st, Breaking – 4th, Sparring – 1st

Ms Emmalee Hartl: Pattern – 2nd, Breaking – 1st

Ms Elliot Ziegler: Pattern – 1st, Team Pattern (with Mr Zach) – 2nd, Breaking – 1st, Sparring – 1st

Mr Harris Papalichev: Pattern – 2nd, Breaking – 3rd, Sparring – 3rd

Alliance would like to thank the Detroit Lakes Martial Arts Academy for hosting the tournament. We would also like to congratulate the entire team on all the hard work, and thank the parents, instructors, and coaches who have supported them. As always, our gratitude goes out to Grandmaster Eric Greenquist for his many years of dedication and instruction, and Great Grandmaster Moo Young Yun for his tireless efforts in the promotion of Korean martial arts.

Alliance took home a total of thirty-nine awards, including twelve first place finishes, ten second place finishes, six third place finishes, five fourth place honorable mention finishes, five additional non-standard contest wins and the men’s championship belt.

In the blackbelt forms divisions Master Tammy showed finesse and polish with Pyongwan and secured second place in the Master’s division. Under the master level, Mr Justin Lafavor took first with a snappy and powerful performance of Koryo. In the junior blackbelt divisions, Mr Carter Delabarre placed second for the second time with his second performance of Koryo. In weapons pattern competition, Mr Tanner Lafavor earned a first place finish with a well-rehearsed Hapkido staff pattern.

In the underbelt forms divisions, Mr Zach Ziegler won first place in the advanced division for his age group. At the intermediate levels, Mr Ellis Price and Mr Luke Hartl took home second and third place finishes, while Mr Maxon Frederick earned a third place finish in a separate division. At the beginner levels, Ms Emmalie Hartl secured a first place finish; the Kerzman brothers Thatcher and Judah, in their second tournament appearance, both won first place in different age groups; Ms Elliot Ziegler took home second place, and Mr Camden Standaert received a fourth place honorable mention.

All juniors breaking and underbelt breaking was up next.  In a stiff jr blackbelt boys division, Alliance juniors captain Mr Braxton Standaert took second in a confusing scoring situation where he objectively should have earned higher marks based on the criteria. In the advanced breaking division, Mr Zach Ziegler was awarded a fourth place honorable mention. At the intermediate level Mr Luke took third; in a separate division Mr Maxon earned second and Ms Annabelle came away with fourth. At the beginner levels, Ms Emmalie took first in a young division, with Mr Camden earning a fourth place finish; in two separate older divisions, Mr Thatcher and Mr Judah won first and second place respectively.

Mr Tanner Lafavor competed this year for the first time in the Jay Halvorson Memorial breaking event, which awards a single trophy to the competitor breaking the most stacked boards with a single knifehand strike, which Alliance blackbelts have claimed seven times in the last fifteen years. In the first round of breaking, Mr Tanner Lafavor slammed through six boards without issue. After the six board round, he and two other challengers went head to head in a seven board competition. After Mr Tanner and one other competitor broke all seven boards, the moved to eight. In a surprising conclusion, both competitors broke six of eight boards at the eight board round for the first ever tied finish in the history of the Jay Halvorson Memorial breaking event. Tournament host Grand Master Eric Greenquist awarded a shared first place spot to Mr Tanner Lafavor of Alliance and Master Rob Bergerson of Sydney, MT.

In a few fun, non-standard events unique to the Greenquist Invitational, competitors participate in jump-rope and belt tying competitions. Each division was large and only one award was presented to the top competitor. In their respective divisions and rings, Ms Annabelle Griffin won the award for belt tying, Mr Braxton Standaert won the award for jump rope, and in group including all ranks of adult blackbelt competitors Mr Justin Lafavor won both the men’s jumprope and men’s belt tying awards.

In the advanced underbelt sparring divisions, Mr Zach Ziegler continued his streak as an up-and-coming advanced fighter, taking home another first place win for his collection. In the intermediate divisions, Mr Luke Hartl battled his way to a second place finish and Mr Maxon claimed third place in a separate division. Out of the beginner divisions, Alliance saw four competitors medal; Mr Judah claimed first place in his division, Ms Emmalie took second in a younger division, Ms Elliot took second in her division and Mr Camden took third in his division.

In the jr blackbelt divisions, our Alliance fighters showed their mettle. In the boys division, Mr Braxton Standaert won his first match with style and a clear margin of victory. Mr Carter won his first match, and the two Alliance fighters faced off for chance to fight for first; Mr Carter was unable to continue due to a bloody nose (from humidity, not contact) and Mr Braxton – who was ahead on points – went on to the first place match. Despite being up by four points toward the end of the match, the fight was stopped in a questionable call for contact and the win given to his opponent, relegating him to a second place finish despite his winning performance. Mr Carter finished in third.

Alliance fielded two adult blackbelt fighters; the Lafavor brothers both fought this year, with both young men fighting in the 18+ division for the first time. As the defending champion, Mr Justin Lafavor was seeded to defend his place as the champion against the overall winner of the men’s division. Mr Tanner Lafavor put the screws to his opponents, defeating three opponents – all higher rank including one fourth-degree master – to take first place and challenge his brother for the belt. In a nail-biting match, the brothers exchanged blows across two rounds, neither conceding points to the other and pushing the match into a third round. Late in the final round, elder brother Justin capitalized on a small error and caught his younger sibling with a roundhouse to the head that Mr Tanner couldn’t quite slip; Mr Tanner wasn’t able to equalize before time, and Mr Justin came away from the match as the belt-winner and champion for the second year in a row!

Alliance would like to thank the Greenquist Academy for all the work they put in to host the tournament. We would also like to congratulate the entire team on all the hard work, and thank the parents, instructors and coaches who have supported them. As always, our gratitude goes out to Grandmaster Eric Greenquist for his many years of dedication and instruction, and Great Grandmaster Moo Young Yun for his tireless efforts in the promotion of Korean martial arts.

We are not totally unpacked and we are working on storage options for some of our things, but we will be able to hold classes without any interruption to our schedule. We will also still plan to offer our spring sparring sessions in the coming weeks and will do our best to get the schedule for those workshop finalized shortly.

Thank you so much to all of our community members who volunteered their time and effort to helping get the move done this past weekend. Your help is greatly appreciated and really demonstrates that Alliance is a functional community and not just a business like so many other martial arts schools. It’s because of all the help that Alliance will be able to continue classes without interruption, and to make the best of our new space. Thank you!

This year the weather was AMAZING and we had plenty of snow on our steep and rocky playground. We also enjoyed games, hot springs and a movie in the evenings.  The crew also spent some time enjoying Bozeman amenities and hospitality thanks to the generosity and facilitation of Master Bobby Cisco and the team at Bozeman Taekwondo Academy. Special thanks goes out to Llulisa Mendez for her extra effort in helping to host us this year.

On the slopes, the levels of experience were intermediate and up with our smaller band of riders. A few members of the crew were shred veterans comfortable with all sorts of terrain, so a handful of us had fun running the chutes off of the ridge at Bridger Bowl and the Lone Peak at Big Sky. The more intermediate riders got some incredible lessons on how to ride powder – and how fun it could be!  Beyond just snow sports however, fellowship and team building is the core goal of this trip and in that endeavor Alliance was again successful.

The Alliance 2025 Snow Trip was a memorable event for all those who participated.  The crew had lots of fun and will look forward to continuing the tradition in the future.