One of the best things we did as a family was get involved with karate.  It started out with our trying to find an acceptable activity for our bundle of energy boy.  Flick was one of those natural athletes.  He was blessed with enough energy to keep several grown men running daily marathons.  We discovered early that if  he didn't burn off some of his excess energy in a positive way, that there was going to be big trouble in the days ahead.  At some point we, his parents, were convinced he was going to be a terrorist.  T-ball wasn't enough. 

When he started to watch and like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we started to think it could be a good thing for him to burn off some energy and learn some discipline.  We would have to be careful.  We didn't want him to use his powers for evil.  Some research was in order.  We started asking around about some of the local karate schools.  There were two up the street from where we lived.  X was going to check them out.

The first school had both children's and adult classes.  It was closer to where we lived, and pretty cheap.  It was large and busy.  X observed a children's class.  He talked to some of the parents, some of the students, and talked to the teacher.  It seemed like a really popular karate school, and they taught the most popular form of karate.  The kind you see in the Olympics.  X came home and gave me the rundown on what they offered. 

He had to make an appointment at the second school.   I was busy running my business so he was going to do the research and then report his findings when he returned home.  He was so excited when he returned that the first thing he said was, "I think I found the best school.  I think we should all sign up."  My first thoughts were, "That's crazy."  I just wanted to know why he thought this place was better than the rest.  He said simply, "organization."  Then he mentioned that the place was owned and run by a woman.  I think he knew that would get my attention.  He went on to explain that the children's class was very disciplined.  There were between 15 and 20 kids between the ages of five and 12, who sat quietly, worked as a group, they were polite and respectful to each other and the teachers.   They were learning and having fun, and they couldn't wait till their next class to do it all again.   They had literature that outlined the larger international organization.  It explained who the owner/instructor was, where she came from, her training, and education.  They outlined the organization's philosophy,  and what you could expect to gain from them.

I was curious.  I trusted X to find a good place for our son.  I was skeptical that this was an appropriate family activity.  I, personally, didn't want to learn how to kick and punch other people.  This was not who I was.  I was 30 years old, X was 38.  I was out of shape, X wasn't.  I was busy day and night growing a business, X was helping and branching out in his own business.  My list was longer on the side of why I didn't want to do this.  X 's enthusiasm made me curious enough to check out the school. 

I watched an adult class.  I asked lots of questions.  I knew some of the people in class.  They explained why they did it.  Good workout.  Learning about a different culture.  Improved focus and discipline.  Overcoming fear and doubt.  Self defense.  Just plain fun.  They were disciplined and graceful.  I figured, what the heck, I could give it a shot for six months.  If I didn't like it, I would quit.  Plus I couldn't let my five year old get the upper hand in the discipline department, and I could help him learn some of the mental aspects.

This was a defensive art.  There was no contact in class or at tournaments.  Maybe that was one of the reasons I stayed.  In the first three months we were learning the basic "forms".  These were a set of choreographed movements.  We learned the basic kicks, blocks, punches, and stances.  As we progressed, we learned the Korean terms for the movements, and eventually some Chinese terms.  The beginning of the journey was very physical 

Classes were an hour and we went faithfully three times a week.  It was an opportunity to disconnect from the stresses of working and raising children.  You had to pay attention and focus on what was happening.  You had to think and visualize the scenarios of defending against an attack.  Then you had to learn the mentality to avoid places and situations where you might be attacked.  You had to be aware of what was going on around you.  There were rules, and hierarchy, and traditions.  We started and ended each class with a short meditation.  I found myself using what I learned every day at work and at home.  Not so much the movements, but the philosophy.

Two of the first "rules" we learned were the Ten Articles of Faith, and the Eight Key Concepts.

The Ten Articles of Faith on Mental Training

• Be loyal to your country; sacrifice yourself for your duty to your country and your people. This is based on the spirit of the Hwa Rang Do


• Be obedient to your parents; children should be dutiful to your parents and parents should be charitable to their children


• Be loving between husband and wife; love and affection between the sexes develops mankind's happiness and harmony in life


• Be cooperative between brothers; hold together with cooperation and concord


• Be respectful to your elders; protect the rights of the weak with courtesy and modesty


• Be faithful between teacher and student; learn the truth through practice of duty and affection


• Be faithful between friends; be peaceful and happy with harmony and faith towards each other, regardless of race, and towards all mankind


• Face combat only in justice and with honor; be able to distinguish between good and bad with fairness and rightfulness


• Never retreat in battle; Sacrifice for justice with capability and bravery


• Always finish what you start; Move to action with sureness and hope

The 8 Key concepts

• YongGi - Courage


• Chung Shin TongIl - Concentration


• In NEH - Endurance


• Chun Jik - Honesty


• Kyum Son- Humility


• Him Cho Chung - Control of power


• Shin Chook - Tension - Relaxation


• Wan Gup - Speed Control

 We applied these rules in our everyday living.  The last three rules I always thought of as physical rules, but the longer we studied karate, the more they became mental rules.  The whole idea was balance, and gaining peace through balance.  Balance within ourselves.  Balance with the people around us.  Balance with the environment.  Yin and yang.

 The South Korean flag was displayed with the American flag in our studio.  We honored our country and we paid tribute to the origins of our art and its founder.  It is a symbol of the whole philosophy of balance.  Blue being the yin (or Eum in Korean), red is the yang.  The trigrams represent heaven (upper left), earth (lower right), fire (lower left), and water (upper right.

At this point, I'm approaching being out of karate as long as I was in karate.  It was probably the best 8 years of my life.  I miss being involved in it.  I miss my teachers and classmates.  I still try to live by the principles I learned there.  It gives me peace thinking about it.  I'm lucky that Honey's Teen is involved in it.  I still get a thrill watching him test and explaining the movements and language to Honey.

This is a promotional photo that was taken to advertise the studio and the art.  That is X, me, and Flick.  My daughter decided it wasn't for her about half way through.  I know when I talk to the kids we wish we would have kept up with it.

Maybe someday . . . . .

tags: karate  soo bahk do  tang soo do  peace  balance  life  learning  the revolution begins  

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