There has been a recent spate of movies about the life of Wing Chun Grandmaster Ip Man. The most recent one to be released on DVD is "The Legend Is Born ... Ip Man." One of my favorite scenes in the movie has the young Ip Man in a medicine shop and he meets the shop manager. The manager is Leung Bik, a Wing Chun grandmaster from Foshan and from another line of Grandmasters than the one Ip Man is training under. Master Bik spars with the young Ip Man and asks at the end if his Wing Chun is authentic. They spar and Master Bik uses several techniques not normally used in Wing Chun. Ip Man tells his that his (Bik's) Wing Chun is NOT authentic. Master Bik responds by saying "Whatever comes from my hands is Wing Chun."
Master Bik (played by Ip Man's real life son Ip Chun) has incorporated techniques from other martial arts into his Wing Chun. When he learns them they are no longer techniques from other martial arts, they are part of his Wing Chun.
I get it now. I trained in the military. I studied Judo on Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. In Utah and in Germany, while I was a colored belt, I get to train with Shotokan and kung fu stylists. Over the course of time, I got my black belt and other instructors would invite me to spar and work out together. I would show them things I knew and they showed me many things I had never seen before. I learned and added those things to my taekwondo.
I believe there is no one martial art that is superior to any other martial art. All the arts are interconnected in some way. If I learn an aikido throw it is no longer only an aikido throw, I have made it a taekwondo throw. Taekwondo is my base art. Whatever I learn, from wherever I learn it, becomes part of my taekwondo. Therefore, "Whatever comes from my hands (and feet) is taekwondo."
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Honor
To honor someone is to give them the respect that is due to them because of who they are or because of their position. In fact, in the martial arts, the concepts of honor and respect are closely tied together. Giving honor and respect to those who are worthy of it is part of the discipline of the martial arts.
This honor can be shown in a variety of ways. The most well known in the martial arts is the bow. We bow to our instructors who have gone ahead of us. The guide us on the pathway of self discovery and discipline in the martial arts. The black belts who have endured and reached that expert level. The higher ranking students in the class because they are further on the pathway than we are. These are all worthy of respect.
The use of proper titles. Grandmaster (7th dan and above) or Master (4th dan and above) are two such. Mister when the one we are honoring is a man and Mrs. or Ms. when it is a woman. Sir or Ma'am are never out of place in the dojang.
But there are other ways too. Being on time for class, properly dressed out with the necessary equipment are other ways. Keeping ourselves clean and our fingernails and toenails trimmed so as to minimize injuries. Muting our pagers and cell phones to we don't interrupt class. Asking permission before leaving the training floor are other things we can do show respect to our instructors and our school. Bowing on and off the training floor. All these are things we can do to show honor to those who train us and see us grow in the art we love.
Neglecting these things is the pathway to disrespect, laziness, and indifference. It is a great sin to insult your instructor or Grandmaster. It is also disrespectful to ignore his commands and lessons and to train in a lazy manner or worse, to not care at all. The way you train is the way you fight and if you are slothful and lazy in training and reject the discipline of the art, then there is little hope you will be victorious over an opponent. If you train like you don't care then you will fight like you don't care.
Honor and respect are not just words we memorize in the student handbook, they are philosophies for living. They teach us better ways of interacting with the people around us. They are an integral part of who we are as martial artists. It starts in the dojang but carries over into all of life.
Being honored begins with giving honor. Are you growing into a honorable person? May it be so of all of us.
This honor can be shown in a variety of ways. The most well known in the martial arts is the bow. We bow to our instructors who have gone ahead of us. The guide us on the pathway of self discovery and discipline in the martial arts. The black belts who have endured and reached that expert level. The higher ranking students in the class because they are further on the pathway than we are. These are all worthy of respect.
The use of proper titles. Grandmaster (7th dan and above) or Master (4th dan and above) are two such. Mister when the one we are honoring is a man and Mrs. or Ms. when it is a woman. Sir or Ma'am are never out of place in the dojang.
But there are other ways too. Being on time for class, properly dressed out with the necessary equipment are other ways. Keeping ourselves clean and our fingernails and toenails trimmed so as to minimize injuries. Muting our pagers and cell phones to we don't interrupt class. Asking permission before leaving the training floor are other things we can do show respect to our instructors and our school. Bowing on and off the training floor. All these are things we can do to show honor to those who train us and see us grow in the art we love.
Neglecting these things is the pathway to disrespect, laziness, and indifference. It is a great sin to insult your instructor or Grandmaster. It is also disrespectful to ignore his commands and lessons and to train in a lazy manner or worse, to not care at all. The way you train is the way you fight and if you are slothful and lazy in training and reject the discipline of the art, then there is little hope you will be victorious over an opponent. If you train like you don't care then you will fight like you don't care.
Honor and respect are not just words we memorize in the student handbook, they are philosophies for living. They teach us better ways of interacting with the people around us. They are an integral part of who we are as martial artists. It starts in the dojang but carries over into all of life.
Being honored begins with giving honor. Are you growing into a honorable person? May it be so of all of us.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Our Student Oath
When I was a young belt just starting off I was training in the tae kwon do class on Hill Air Force Base (AFB) in Utah. My instructor was Mr. Harold Cherry. He was thin and small built but he hit you like a brick. At the end of every class he would have us all kneel to clear our minds of anger and violence before we left the class and we would raise our right fists into the air and recite our student oath. It went like this ...
I am a student of tae kwon do.
I will respect my instructors and seniors.
I will never misuse tae kwon do.
I will be a champion of freedom and justice.
I will help to build a more peaceful world.
That was back in 1979. I have never, not once, forgotten the words to this oath. It is the same oath Lionheart students will be reciting at the end of every one of our classes. Peace through preparation. Never violence without a cause.
I am a student of tae kwon do.
I will respect my instructors and seniors.
I will never misuse tae kwon do.
I will be a champion of freedom and justice.
I will help to build a more peaceful world.
That was back in 1979. I have never, not once, forgotten the words to this oath. It is the same oath Lionheart students will be reciting at the end of every one of our classes. Peace through preparation. Never violence without a cause.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
A Higher Martial Art
When I was younger I used to workout with a kung fu stylist and he told me they had a saying at his kwoon (kung fu studio). They would say "The hands that kill must be the hands that heal." By that they meant that if you are an expert at your art you must also be able to heal or treat wounds. So, all the instructors at his school were required to be certified in first aid and CPR. I have never forgotten that.
The martial arts, whichever one you study, are about more than fighting. Any one can learn to fight. But without the discipline of the arts (as we call them) such people tend to become bullies.
Learning a martial art, especially when one reaches the expert level, has responsibilities. It is just as important to know how to treat a broken limb as it is to know how to inflict a broken limb on your opponent.
To teach a martial art an instructor has to love his (of her) art but also you must love your students. That means knowing how to take care of them if they are injured in practice. This is not only a good business practice but also good human practice.
"The hands that kill are the hands that heal."
The martial arts, whichever one you study, are about more than fighting. Any one can learn to fight. But without the discipline of the arts (as we call them) such people tend to become bullies.
Learning a martial art, especially when one reaches the expert level, has responsibilities. It is just as important to know how to treat a broken limb as it is to know how to inflict a broken limb on your opponent.
To teach a martial art an instructor has to love his (of her) art but also you must love your students. That means knowing how to take care of them if they are injured in practice. This is not only a good business practice but also good human practice.
"The hands that kill are the hands that heal."
Monday, January 2, 2012
Still Kicking in 2012
Recently Grandmaster Osborn Jr. and Masters Gillis and Luttrell organized the Next Level Sport Karate Christmas banquet. It was a very nice affair at one of the local restaurants in town. As I sat there I realized that (except for 2 people) all my good friends in Springfield were in that room. I was so humbled to realize that this group had taken me under their wings and made me a part of their family. The kindness and generosity they have shown me is far above anything I deserve. I love those folks.
I let a lot of things drop by the wayside in 2011. Truth is ... I got lazy. Well, I am stopping that. This year will see the official opening of the Lionheart dojang. I will finish the Lionheart student handbook. I have 2 students right now. One is a white belt, the other is an orange belt. By this year's end, one will be a green belt and the other one will be a blue belt. And of course, with the opening of the dojang, I ought to have many more students before year's end.
So this blog is back in business. Keep an eye out for future posts and for news about me, my students and the Lionheart dojang. God bless you all in this new year.
I let a lot of things drop by the wayside in 2011. Truth is ... I got lazy. Well, I am stopping that. This year will see the official opening of the Lionheart dojang. I will finish the Lionheart student handbook. I have 2 students right now. One is a white belt, the other is an orange belt. By this year's end, one will be a green belt and the other one will be a blue belt. And of course, with the opening of the dojang, I ought to have many more students before year's end.
So this blog is back in business. Keep an eye out for future posts and for news about me, my students and the Lionheart dojang. God bless you all in this new year.
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