Master's Blog

Welcome to my weblog (which most people call a blog). The opinions expressed herein are my own personal thoughts and opinions. Check back often for my musings and updates on our school, our programs, and my life.

Make sure you check out our programs and news and events. Feel free to e-mail me your comments on my entries or use our contact form.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Where do Martial Arts come from?
A very enthusiastic parent was talking to me recently, He tried to have me verify his convictions that the chinese are the original Martial Artist. There are some people who will argue that Martial Arts originated in India while still others argue that it was in Japan or Korea . If you look up the meaning of Martial Arts in the Dictionary you will come up with the basic translation the Arts of War. Now I am not an anthropologist or a bachelor of science nor Martial Arts Historian. Mine is one mans attempt at trying to make sense of it all, Drawing on my 11 years of military service and the lessons learned in that time. I have come to the conclusion that one day very long time ago some where on planet earth a cave man emerged from his cave to find a saber tooth tiger or some comparable predator trying to make a quick meal of him so he ran back inside grabbed a piece of wood and defended himself. as the beast ran away he just stood there looking at the wood and thinking...what i am trying to say is that self defense is as old as mankind . And that since the first man walked the earth he has had a need for self defense. that no one country or place can take credit for answering one of mankinds most basic needs the need to stay alive.DO.
posted at 11:40AM	comments

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

The battles we lose
It is often that I hear people tell me how they once tried martial arts. But that it was to hard, or that they quit because the teacher was to strict. At other times I hear people say that they did not finish school because it was to hard, or the teachers were to strict; or that they lost a good paying job because it was too demanding and the boss was too strict. Or even worse that they got divorced because their spouse was not an easy person. And married life to demanding. My message to you is this: That man is the only animal on earth with the capability to decide its future. This capability is a gift from god. A gift that only man was given. So when you fail to reach out and achieve. Not only have you failed yourself but you have failed god by not making use of his gift to you.Regret is the worse feeling you can experience. knowing that you could have done or said something in a certain way but did not. Remember most of the battles we lose, we lose because we gave up to quick and that maybe we could have won that battle if we only would have hung in there a little bit longer. DO
posted at 01:02PM	comments

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Theres always another mountain
Achieving excellence in taekwon-do is easier said than done. Lets say an individual works very hard and becomes the best fighter. At some point he will notice that he is only the best fighter. And that even though he is on top of the mountain as the best fighter there is someone else on top of another mountain that is just as important. The best form mountain. So the fighter now has to train hard to climb that forms mountain as well and when he finally reaches that pinacle he will notice that there is a mountain for each self defense. And breaking and so on. my message to you is. Do not get so overconfident in the skills you have acquired or in your accomplishments. Because you may be very good at one or two of the taekwon-do aspects. But no one and I mean no one has ever been the best in all aspects of our art. That TAEKWON-DO is a lifetime endeavor and that your work is never really over and because in taekwon-do as well as in life. There will always be another mountain to climb. DO
posted at 12:51PM	comments

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

When will it stop?
A childs first martial arts tournament experience is a scary endeavor at best. At least from the childs stand point. The age old question of "am i good enough" comes into play immediatly. Getting a student ready for competition first requires that the student have at least some degree of confidence both in his teachers judgement, and above all in himself. Now finally we get him into the tournament and along come the judges.(I will use the plural in this case because there are many of these individuals) many of them are just there to exhibit themselves and show everybody there how important they think they are. Others want to impose their ideologies on everyone else. In the process of doing this they make horrible calls or just incompetent ones. They cheat in favor of their students with out regard to the fact that the child they just cheated will be affected by their decision. I want to clarify that not all judges are like that and once in a while you come across a person who believes in fairness and knows what is at stake. If we don't correct this. Are those children going to hang around and become tomorrows teachers? And have they thought of how counter productive it is for the sport?. My message to all teachers/judges/promoters is: "IT'S GOOD TO BE IMPORTANT. BUT ITS MORE IMPORTANT TO BE GOOD"
posted at 10:23AM	comments

Saturday, November 11, 2006

The Path
Every day people walk into my school and every day i hear another reason why people seek instruction in taekwon-do . Some come because they need the exercise or weight control benefits it provides. Others are attracted to the glamour of competition and trophies. Some want to learn self control and discipline while still others want to learn the self defense aspect of my system. As you can see there are a wide variety of reasons why they come to my school. but there is only one martial art. The word DO in TAEKWON-DO means path or way and the do has been the same since the begining of organized martial arts. It is the path we all follow regardless of our purpose for training in the arts.if its was not for DO we would never see the different people that train for different reasons training in the same dojang all at once. I exhort all my students from beginer to master to practice respect. Patience and compassion. This is the path to develope the spiritual aspect of our art. An aspect that is more important and lasting than the physical. DO
posted at 01:26PM	comments

Friday, November 10, 2006

I know the truth
I often hear all sorts of compliments from other teachers and people who see our group perform. They usually mention how good of a job I have done with them. In reality it is my students who should be praised for the fine job they have done. at listening to me and learning. Because even if I was the best teacher in the world. If I had a group of people with zero interest in learning. I would not fare that well. So when an outsider compliments me on my teaching success. Its me who gets the credit. But its my students who get the props. I have been blessed with the finest group of young men and women that any taekwon-do master may ever have the honor of leading.DO
posted at 09:53PM	comments