On September 11th, I tested for my 1st degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. To save you from having to read the rest of the article to find out, yes, I passed. My initial interest in learning a Martial Art was actually formed when I was a young boy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A friend of mine was taking Karate at a local Dojo and I used to help him practice (mostly it consisted of me getting kicked repeatedly) and he in turn would show me some ‘way cool Karate moves’. By the time I became a teenager, I discovered other things (mostly bad for me) to occupy my time.
The word “Tae Kwon Do” literally means: Foot, Hand, The Way – The way of the hand and foot. Superior self-defense skills are acquired by using all parts of the body to fend off an attacker without preference to body part or body side.
Move ahead almost thirty years and my wife became interested in doing some kind of physical fitness program for her and my then 6-year-old son. Martial arts somehow became the focus and she began visiting schools in our area. She found a school she liked and signed herself and my son up. Scheduling conflicts prevented her from taking the same kind of Art as little Guy, so she ended up taking HapKiDo (An Korean Art similar in form to the Japanese Arts of Judo and Akiddo/ Akido) and LG started taking Tae Kwon Do. About a year after LG and wife started, my younger son also became interested in being a kwondo boy (his words) and soon he was going as well. I was the only holdout by this time.
What made me start to think about joining was that I realized that I was getting heavy (OK, fat) and needed some kind of regular exercise before it got out of hand. I also started to think about what was going to happen when my boys became teenagers and were most likely bigger than me! Throw in Tae Kwon Do and I was headed for trouble. So with a heavy heart (and stomach) I signed up too.
First couple of classes found me with my white belt AAAALLLLLL the way in the back trying to do the opening stretch exercises with people half my age and feeling tired, sore, and old. After a month or two, I started to actually be able to keep up with a few of the others. I was still in pain a lot, but this was expected being 44 years old. I got kicked a lot while sparring but got some kicks in too (My skip-side kick is particularly good). Other classmates became wary of getting in too close. My long legs (I’m 6’6’) were custom made for push kicks and closing the distance between myself and my opponent was not a problem. This isn’t to say that I’ll soon be the next Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris as I’m way too old to be putting a serious scare into anyone. Many of my classmates go to Tournaments on a regular basis, but I doubt I will join them anytime soon. I’ve seen the videos of some of the bouts and I’m not interested in getting crippled thank you very much.
As time passed, my wife tested for her first degree Black Belt in HapKiDo (and has since also passed her second degree or dan) and passed with flying colors. My older son tested for his TKD Black Belt last year (The test occurs only twice a year) and while a little shaky at times, got through it. He was so proud when he could stand before the rest of the Junior class, take off his color belt, receive his certificate from the World Tae Kwon Do Federation (Headquartered in Korea), and have his Black Belt officially presented to him by our Grandmaster.
I should tell you something about our Grandmaster. He is an amazing man with infinite patience. He is Korean and came to this country in the mid seventies, opening up his school (Called a Dojang in Korean). Unlike many other Martial Arts practitioners, he never franchised his operations. He still has just the one school and he teaches every class. He is the holder of a 9th degree Black Belt (one of only about 200 worldwide) in Tae Kwon Do, an 8th degree Black Belt in HapKiDo (even more rare), and an 9th degree Black Sash in Kung Fu. In other words, he has about 50,000 different ways to kick your butt.
He is not an overly imposing figure standing roughly 5’7’, probably between 160 and 180 pounds. We aren’t sure of exactly how old he is (likely mid 50s), nor his exact birth date because he won’t tell anyone! His wife I’m sure knows, but getting gold from Fort Knox would be easier than getting the information from her. We celebrate his birthday around the same time every year, but the day changes each time. No clues there. He speaks English very well with a slight accent. He also likes obscure 60s and early 70s rock and roll. I think he enjoys my being in class since I’m the only one that understands the song references he sometimes makes (I like the same music as well). He is an excellent teacher with infinite patience. When it comes to teaching old dogs like me, patience isn’t a virtue, it’s a necessity.
TaeKwonDo Creed
1. I intend to develop myself in a positive manner and avoid anything that will impair my mental or physical growth
2. I intend to develop self discipline in order to bring out the best in my self and others
3. I intend to use what I learn in class constructively and defensively; to help myself and my fellow student; to never be abusive or offensive
So I found myself, standing with my fellow students that had met the requirements preparing to take our Black Belt test. I was nervous and my stomach felt like it was tied in knots. Somehow I knew that I was going to forget all my forms, kicking combinations, and just about everything else I needed to know. I suppose I should tell you what the test entails. You must know and perform 16 different Poomse (Pronounced poom-say. This is a Korean word meaning forms. Most Japanese arts call them Katas). Eight of them are the newer Taeguk (Tie-gook) forms and the last eight are the slightly older Palgwe (Pal-gay) forms. Then we must do all ten (That we have been shown so far) kicking combinations consisting of 5-10 kicks each in different combinations. We must then answer a random question about either the history (More on that later) or the philosophy of Tae Kwon Do. Then we must break at least four, inch thick wooden boards using different techniques. Lastly we spar with another Black Belt applicant. The test takes about three hours with one break about halfway through the test. I passed, but had to redo one of the forms I had not done correctly.
The Five Tenets of Tae Kwon Do
1. Be loyal to your country
2. Be obedient to your parents
3. Be trustworthy to your friends
4. Never retreat in battle
5. Never make an unjust kill
The history of Tae Kwon Do is shrouded in politics. As far as I can tell, it was originally called Taek Kyon. It grew and shrunk in popularity depending on who was King of the various Korean thrones at the time. It didn’t exist as an art in its present form until after the Japanese occupation ended after the end of World War 2. Its past have been traced back as far as 50 BC. While many disagree about the overall history (I’ve read about 10 accounts that argue fine points back and forth until I no longer know exactly what to believe) of the art, it probably traces its roots back to fighting arts as practiced in China and Japan (especially after the start of the Japanese occupation in 1905). The reason I say this is because my research has found that the Palgwe forms are almost identical to Shotakan Karate forms. Many of the Grandmasters that came out after the end of the war had also been students of Shotokan Karate in Japan. The Japanese suppressed all martial arts in Korea (Also their language was not allowed to be spoken and most were forced to take Japanese sounding names) and captured and killed most of the Grandmasters that they could find.
After the war, Korean martial arts were splintered into various Kwans (schools of training or thought) that began to meet to unify by 1955. In 1957, the name Tae Kwon Do was selected and schools were formed in Korea and soon elsewhere. Many foreign soldiers either training in Korea or stationed there for UN duties learned of the art and began to practice it under Korean Grandmasters. One of its early leaders was a Major General Hong Hi Choi who was ousted after leading a team of Black Belts to North Korea for a demonstration. Choi eventually emigrated to Canada and formed the ITF (International TaeKwonDo Federation). Meanwhile the various powers that be in Korea formed a new group from the original organization (Called KTA or Korean TaeKwonDo Association) called the World TaeKwonDo Federation (WTF). The WTF is headquartered in Korea and is the only organization recognized by the Olympic committee for TKD. This doesn’t mean that the ITF is better or worse than the WTF, but it does mean that only WTF certified Black Belts may compete in Olympic competition. Hopefully someday these two groups will meet and find a way to merge.
Last word and I will quit. Everything I wrote here is either (A) my opinion, or (B) someone else’s opinion. I am certainly not the last word on Martial Arts or Tae Kwon Do and don’t claim to be. If you disagree with something I’ve said, please be civil and explain why you disagree. You are also certainly allowed to correct any history I have gotten wrong. Please be civil. None of this is intended to insult anyone, so don’t take it in that spirit.
Some sites to check out
www.namtkd.com/tkdhistory.htm
http://ryanshroyer.tripod.com/dakin_burdick.htm
www.blackbeltworld.com/features/history/historypage1.htm
www.sos.mtu.edu/husky/tkdhist.htm
www.yoosmartialarts.com
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