Time to check in across the pond with ATA Europe.

Let's get started.

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Students, instructors, parents, grandmasters and masters of Songam taekwondo.

Welcome Back to the Ata Nation podcast.

This is episode 190.

10 episodes until our 200th.

Man, do we need to do something special for 200th?

I feel like we should.

I don't know.

Hey, guys, make sure you are subscribed on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube.

We would love to make sure that you are getting every single episode because we have all kinds of great events to talk about.

We have checking in with amazing athletes and instructors across the globe.

Lots of amazing things going on.

Today we are checking in with ATA Europe with Chief Master Schreiber, a member of the Masters Council and director over there in Europe.

Not only are we going to talk about the European Championships which are coming, a new class of tournament.

If you haven't heard about that, we'll mention that in there as well.

But then we're going to get to our athlete of the week who is international as well.

How cool, guys.

All international episode today.

So let's get right to our conversation with Chief Master Schreiber.

AGA Nation.

We are super excited to have with us member of the Masters Council.

And what's the official title for the European Director thing?

Chief Master Schreiber.

That works.

Thank you, sir.

There we go.

How's everything over there in Europe and Great Britain?

Everything's good.

It's dark and rainy.

Dark and rainy.

Well, it's very cold here.

When I'm recording this, it feels like negative 14 out, they said.

So, um, maybe you would jump in the, in the water, but the rest of us would skip it.

Yes, sir.

Well, when you go through Chief Mastership and, and you start your fast, I recommend cold water swimming.

It's a great way to forget how hungry you are.

That, hey, that is a great, you know, it's.

It's that same thing when, like, my thumb hurts, so step on my, you know, my foot so I don't think about my thumb.

Same thing.

Yeah, we'll do that.

I'll remember that when I go through Chief Master training.

Maybe.

We'll see.

Um, but I saw that you guys are starting to talk about and, and market the European Championships coming up and there's some changes and stuff.

So first, just tell us about the European Championships and what the event is, where it is and when it is.

Yes, sir.

It's May 1st through 3rd, 2026 in Portugal, just outside of Lisbon.

And it's the biggest event we do in Europe every year.

Uh, in the five years that I've been in Europe, it's grown every year.

And last year was our biggest ever.

We had over 500 participants.

Um, it's not just a tournament, but it is a big tournament.

So it's a three day event.

Two days of training, one day of competition.

Although we're also going to have team competition the day before this time because the event's gotten so big.

Um, and we also do a black belt testing and legacy certification.

We're very excited this year about our guest instructors.

We will have two, two Grandmasters visiting us this year.

Grandmaster Tammy Hartenstabber, who most of you already know, I'm sure, but if you don't, she's a legend.

She's the first female Master in the ATA and the first female Grandmaster in the ATA and a phenomenal instructor, so she'll be joining us in Europe.

And also Grandmaster Fernando Jaime from Northern California, who's the coach of Team Mexico and Team Philippines and a good friend of mine.

So excited to have both of them.

And Master Jaron Haynes is coming, who's a phenomenal instructor and I'm sure most people are familiar with him as well.

So it'll be very exciting training.

And then we have the European Championship tournament as well.

That is a stacked lineup.

So it's, it's, it's kind of laid out like a, a national event in the US where you've got some training and then you've got your tournament.

Now this.

Are both of those open to people across the, the globe or just the tournament?

I know as these international events have grown, we have more US People come to the different events.

So what's open to people in the

US Everything's open to any anywhere in the world.

So we welcome people everywhere to join us for the entire event.

There are people who come just to compete because they're chasing points and they want the experience and many of them want to actually have the European Championship title on the back of their uniforms.

And so some people just do the tournament.

But my feeling is if you're traveling all this way, you might as well do the whole thing and train with us as well.

Yeah, for sure.

I mean, get another, another awesome training opportunity in.

Get to meet some ATA members from all over the place.

You said this has continued to grow.

You're expecting numbers this year probably as well.

Yes, sir.

We expect to be over 500 again this year, and I'm sure bigger than last year.

We have a lot more interest from the US this year than we did in the last few years.

And part of that is because of the change in tournament sanction, which I know you want to talk to me about.

Yeah.

So when this went out, and I think people have started, by the time this recording comes out, they'll have started to see more about this A plus.

But the, the European Championships, though it's taking place in May.

Tell us kind of the, the thing that's a little different about when it's going to the points are.

And then this new A plus categorization.

Yes, sir.

So I'll start with the A plus category, which is a new sanction.

Those of you who are tournament competitors are familiar with aaa.

World is World Championships, AA is Nationals, and the Pan Am event in South America, which happens in the fall.

And then you have your regional tournaments, which are A and B, and your in school tournaments, which are C. And in the 2026, 27 tournament season, there's a new sanction being introduced which is A, and this is above A, but below the AA level.

So the points will be more than you would get from a regional tournament, the less than you would get for nationals.

It's first place is 12 points, second place is eight, third place is four.

And there are only at the moment, three tournaments that will qualify as a plus tournaments.

One of them is the Hu Lee Classic, which was held in December in Little Rock and will now be an annual event in Little Rock to honor eternal Grandmaster Hu Lee.

One of them is the South African cup.

And the third one is the European Championships.

And the details about all of these rules changes will be in the rules that are released at the end of the current tournament season.

The Tournament Council didn't want to publicize the rules during the season and get people confused because they don't apply until next season.

But the rule will be that you can accumulate points from two A tournaments during a tournament season.

So out of the three current A events, you can get points from two of them.

And this was a decision by the Tournament Council to incentivize people to travel internationally for these events.

So to help the South African event and the European event grow and to make them truly international events.

So we're very excited about this and we're looking forward to having a lot more international competitors in line with that.

Oh, well.

And then the other thing I'll say about that is that because the change happens in the 2026, 2027 season, this event happening May 1st through 3rd in Portugal, points will go toward that season.

So, so even though it's happening before Worlds, the points actually go to the season that starts after Worlds, which kind

of isn't too hard to understand only in that most all of our tournament stuff ends in April anyway.

At the end of April anyway.

So this is kind of starting that new season and as it is a great opportunity to go over to Europe now with that, that means that if somebody is going to Europe, the, the age division they need to sign up for is going to be for the 26, 27 season.

Same with the ranked division they need to sign up for needs to be the 26 to 27.

So they need to talk to their instructors to make sure they understand the whole thing.

Yes, sir.

So, so anyone competing at the European Championships should, should register based on the age that they will be December 31st of 2026.

And then as far as rank issue is people who are currently red black belts.

So if you're a first degree recommended competing at the European Championships and you expect to get your black belt in the next season, your decided first degree and you want your points from Euros to go toward the black belt division, then you should be competing in the black belt division at Euros.

Perfect.

So this European Championships.

So with this qualification of an A plus, I noticed that the Pan Am champs are staying at the Double A.

Is that just because of the size of that event and then that someday the Europeans might get pushed up to the Double A as they continue to grow?

Yes, sir, that's our hope.

And the Pan Am event has been happening longer.

It's a bigger event.

There are, there are way more Songam Taekwondo practitioners in South America than there are in Europe.

And so they long ago earned AA status.

And part of the thinking of the Tournament Council when they established the A sanction was they want to promote the international events.

They want to encourage people to go to South Africa and to Europe.

But legitimately, these events just are not at the level of a Double A yet.

And so by, by giving us this sanction, it helps us grow and reach that Double A point eventually.

Very cool.

Now, you mentioned the European Champion title.

If I go to the European Championships, what?

How do I get that?

Yes, sir.

So this is for black belts only.

We do not have a TOC at the European tournament.

So the European event itself, the tournament itself is what earns you the title.

If you take first place, then you are the European champ.

If you're a black belt and that allows you to put the lettering on the back of your uniform, you can call yourself The European champ.

However, it does not earn you a place in the TOC at Worlds unless you're European.

So the Europeans who win first place at this event, they secure a place at the TOC to compete for the world champion title at Worlds.

But if you're an American and you come to Euros and take first place, you get.

You get the title.

You get the lettering on the uniform.

It doesn't earn you a spot@worlds toc because you already have several other routes to get there.

You can do it by being in the top 10 in the US you can do it by being district champ.

And so you don't need another pathway to get there.

That makes perfect sense.

Yeah, you get the.

So the earning of the title is a little like it being a district championship.

It's.

The one who wins at that event is the one who gets the title.

But that's not going to get you into the.

To the TOC if you are a US Competitor, because, you know, we have other options and you guys don't have those yet in Europe and other parts of the world, so.

Yes, sir.

And, you know, the.

I was very pleased by the attitude of all the competitors here in Europe because the tournament council came to me about a year or two ago and said, how do you feel about allowing Americans and South Americans to get the European title if they take first place at your event?

Do you feel like that title should just be reserved for Europe, Europeans, or.

And I. I approached all the.

The instructors in Europe and said, what do you think of this?

And they all said, heck, no.

We want to compete against the best people in the world.

We want them to come out here, and if they beat us, they deserve to be European champ.

I love that.

That is a.

A testament to the ATA life skills and the ATA attitude that we have as a whole family.

You know, when you want to raise everybody up and be fair about it, that.

That's fantastic.

If somebody's looking at like, hey, you know, I could go to Portugal and have a good time and go to this.

What are you going to say to those guys to encourage them to make plans to attend?

It's fun.

We have a great time here.

It's.

I mean, Lisbon's a beautiful city.

Portugal is a really fun country.

Food's great.

The entertainment's great.

In addition to the training and the legacy in black belt testing and the tournament, we do a big party one night at the event.

So it's a big, big social event for all participants and their families.

So it's a good Chance for everyone to relax and get to know each other.

So it's a great way to get to know your ata family outside of the U.S. i love it.

I keep telling my wife our kids are 4 and 6 and I'm like, just a little bit longer.

And we're going all over the world to these at events, so we'll be out there in Europe in no time.

Yes, sir.

Well, that's.

My kids now are 11 and 15.

And one of the fun things for me the last five years being in Europe is I've tried to take them every time I go teach anywhere in Europe.

And so they've gotten to Sweden, Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland, Portugal, and it's a great bonding experience for me with them.

They help them feel much more a part of the global ATA.

Unfortunately, my 15 year old has hit adolescence with a fury and is no longer willing to travel with me.

Well, I hear that is kind of a tough age, so I'm gonna.

I'm kind of try to hit them in the between before they get to that age, but a little older than they are now when they still like me and want to go places with me.

So.

Hey, thank you for the info today.

I'm really excited about this European championships.

Want to encourage ata nation out there.

I know we have a lot of international listeners and watchers.

You guys want to make sure you sign up.

But in the US you want to go to Europe and experience ata nation outside of the U.S. get your registration tickets.

Are they ata easy signup?

Do they go there to register?

No, it's.

It's through our websites, ata eurocamp.com so ata e u r o c a m p dot com.

If you go to atamatialarts.com on the event calendar, there's a link to it.

Okay, so make sure you go to that event calendar on atamartialarts.com.

it'll take you to the site to get registered and get all the info about that that.

We really appreciate your time today, sir.

Thanks so much.

All right.

Thank you, sir.

Great talking to you.

Well, we've gone across the pond to Europe.

Let's head down south to South America and talk to our athlete of the week.

Here we go.

Ata nation.

We're super excited to have with us another awesome athlete of the week.

Can you introduce yourself for us, ma'?

Am?

Hi, t Nation.

I'm Ms. Pana Gulas.

I am a third degree black belt.

I'm from Sao Paulo, Brazil and I'm so happy to be here.

Brazil, how exciting.

What you.

You said You've got some stuff going on there today.

Did you say that you've got like a remodel of.

Of your martial arts school?

Yeah, we changed locations here in Sao Paulo.

So we are in the middle of the refurbish of the new location.

Oh, so it's a little busy here today.

Hey, you got to get the work done, right?

I mean, it's gotta happen.

Yes, sir.

So, hey, how did you get involved in martial arts?

So I joined martial arts in the same school that I was working till last year.

And I was 6 years old.

My mom just saw a beautiful woman wearing our uniform and she thought it was beautiful, so she asked where she was.

She was training and it was with master plans.

And I went there for my first class.

I cried a lot because I was the only girl.

I never went back to ballet class anymore.

So I just stayed in Taekwondo.

And that's.

That's how it started.

You don't get to kick people in ballet.

It's just not as cool.

Yeah, it was.

It was so boring.

Very cool.

So, and now you.

You're teaching Taekwondo.

How.

How was that journey to being an instructor?

So basically on Tech World all day.

So we decided to learn all of the color belt forms and test for our first color.

Because here in Brazil normally have to to know all the color mode forms.

We can test for the red and black color.

Yes, ma'.

Am.

So we just.

We did it and then we came back.

I was 17.

I told my master, I really want to help you in class.

And he was so thrilled.

He was happy.

And he accepted me.

So I started working alongside him.

I helped him.

So sorry.

That's okay.

So I do like two periods, so in the morning I do architecture, and by 2pm I start taekwondo.

That's awesome.

Yeah, I love that.

Very cool.

Then someday you will.

You'll design the coolest Taekwondo school.

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do here.

I choose the.

The things.

Nice.

Good deal.

I love it.

Hey, so are you a big competitor?

Do you like to go to the tournaments?

And.

And I do.

I do.

This is actually my.

I think it's my fourth year trying the Pan Am title.

Nice.

And it will probably be my third year trying to work.

Excellent.

What's your.

What's your go to event?

What's your favorite.

Com competition?

I think it's just so.

It's so cool to meet all my friends again from all over South America.

And I love when people from America come to see us too.

So I. I like that it's a big, like, really chaotic event and everyone's having fun.

It's big.

I love it.

That's great.

I know there's.

I mean, there's just more and more guys from the US coming down there and participating, which is super cool.

Do you.

Are you like.

Are you more on the, the.

The sparring side of things?

Traditional forms, weapons.

What do you.

I love weapons.

I do the saunets and they're my.

Nice.

But this year I'm starting to get a little bit more into sparring.

Okay, cool.

So, yeah, I have forms and weapons are my go to.

I love it.

But I'm starting to get more into sparring.

Combat is a little.

A little.

Not for me.

Not for you.

You like to use your foot to kick people instead of your.

Yeah, that's true.

That's.

Hey.

And actually, I. I was in the US Last month.

No, last month I was in Memphis.

I. I was there.

Yeah, you were at the judging.

Did you go to the.

The team training there?

Yeah.

Nice.

Yeah, I was there.

I didn't train, but I was there

watching, checking it out.

Taking notes.

Yes, always in my notes.

Smart.

Smart.

So cool.

So you said you, You've been to the World Championships.

Are you planning on coming again this year?

I will.

I'll be there in that.

Excellent.

So do you go into the.

The top 10, try to earn any titles there?

Yes, sir.

I am classified in form.

Excellent.

Because I think I'll go.

I think the girl in my ring here in Brazil won't both take her place.

Good deal.

Good deal.

Awesome.

How we.

I think it's so cool to.

To talk to international people about the, you know, being athletes of the week, but just see how things are going for you guys in Brazil.

What's it, you know, for, let's say an ATA guy here coming to the, To Brazil and check out, like, what's it like to be in the ATA in another country?

It's.

It's a good question.

Just because I was.

I was talking to the presiding grandmaster when I was in Memphis, and that's a lot.

What I talked about with him, because we do.

We go to a lot to continue in ATA here in South America.

So it's crazy because sometimes we love it more than people from America just because we need to go through so much to continue and to go to tournaments, to go to tournaments outside South America.

So I don't know the extensive family here, all the people from South America, but we love to be welcome in the United States too.

That's awesome.

One of these days, I'm gonna bring my family down to Pan Am another couple of years.

It'll be so much fun.

I can't wait.

Hey, so for you, what does it mean to be an athlete that goes beyond the belt?

Yeah.

So I was, when I, when I was a kid, I, I.

If you.

If I told myself that I was going to be a competitor, I wouldn't believe it because I was.

I had so many problems with communication and with self esteem.

So for me, that's it.

Like the, the self esteem that I need to bring into the method.

That's what I try and the confidence, that's what I try to.

To use it outside the Met and also bringing with me the winning type of mentality so that I need to continue training, I need to continue doing stuff or else nothing will just appear magically.

So for me, it's.

It's like that.

I love that.

What a great.

I mean, you know, to think about, you know, that building that confidence, you know, that competitive nature, even in other things.

So we can keep striving to be better.

I love it.

Fantastic.

Well, hey, ma'.

Am.

Congratulations on being an athlete of the week and congratulations on this awesome new location.

It's looking fantastic.

So much.

And we'll see at World Championships.

Yes, of course.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

It was nice talking to you.

How cool to be part of this international family.

At A Nation is everywhere.

And it's just super cool to have two different parts of At A Nation represented on today's episode.

I hope you enjoyed that.

I hope you're subscribed.

I hope you're getting the notifications on YouTube.

And don't forget about all the amazing upcoming events coming up.

We've got Spring Nationals.

It'll be here before you know it.

In St. Louis.

I'm stoked about that.

Don't tell Chief Master Skiles that I haven't signed up for my training yet.

I am planning on doing it.

I've gotten a little bit behind.

You need to take action.

Like I need to take action and get registered for the training today because we don't want Chief Master Skyles coming after us.

And of course register for your competition.

All the other stuff there at Spring Nationals.

Did you see, did you see that?

ATA put out the dates for Spring Nationals, Worlds and Fall Nationals for not just 2026, not just 2027, but also most of 2028 as well.

Amazing.

Mark your calendars.

Don't want to miss these events, guys.

So much.

Awesome.

Just crazy, awesome things.

Going on in at Nation.

Thank you for tuning in today.

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