August 10, 2013
The Right Path
It is hard to believe that it has been nearly four years since I tested for my third degree black belt. These past few years have flown by. One of the reasons for this is probably due to the fact that I was a full time college student for the majority of it. As a result, this has probably been one of the hardest tests for me to prepare for due to irregular training and no longer being involved in organized sports. Up until a few years ago, attending classes on a regular basis was easy, but since heading off to college at Wartburg, it has been much more difficult. With a full load of classes and other commitments to other school organizations, some things had to take the back burner. As much as it pained me to do it, Tae Kwon Do was one of those activities. This does not mean that I stopped thinking about Tae Kwon Do. I would often train by myself or when my schedule allowed, I would periodically drive up to Nashua to train at Mr. Schmitt's do jang. Not the most ideal situation for keeping one's skills up to par.
Then I got to thinking. Tae Kwon Do is more than kicking, punching, and being able to overcome your opponent. Although these skills are important and are what most people initially think of, I think character is even a bigger part of Tae Kwon Do especially in the upper ranks. Almost anyone can master fighting and self defense techniques, but developing good character on top of that is much more difficult. I may have not been able to train as consistently as I used to, but I could still work on improving my character by truly making the tenets of Tae Kwon Do part of my daily life because that is what makes a good black belt. College was the perfect place
to really start focusing in on truly making the tenets part of my daily life. New people, places, and situations can really shed light on what type of person someone really is.
Courtesy is the first tenet of Tae Kwon Do and is probably the easiest to follow. Simply treat others the way you want to be treated. Along with that, even if two people do not see eye to eye, they can still treat each other with respect. I try to keep an open mind and try to be helpful and friendly to others. This can become difficult when I am having a bad day if someone is irritating me. I overcome this by not dwelling on things I cannot control and trying to put a positive spin on things. There are tons of examples for this at college. One would be with roommates. Even though we are friends and get along, living habits like cleanliness and organization can be very different. I do my best to respect them and their living styles even if they are a little different than mine. An example of putting a positive spin on something would be with classes. At Wartburg, there are certain classes that everyone has to take, but different professors teach them so they can end up being a little different. It seemed like I was always put into the class with the hardest professor or the most papers and some of my friends had easier professors. I could have easily complained about it, but instead I looked at it helping me out for future writing assignments and things like that which it did.
The second tenet of Tae Kwon Do is integrity, which is doing the right thing even when others are not around. It is easy to take a test or complete an assignment at school when others are watching you. It is much harder to do this when you are sitting by yourself in your room. During my freshman year at Wartburg, we had taken a European geography quiz in one of my classes. When my professor passed back our quizzes, I saw that I had gotten a 100% on it. As I continued to look it over, I realized that I had accidently-switched two neighboring countries.
Later on in class, we got talking about integrity. I had been prepared to just keep my mouth shut, but then I thought, "That's not what a good black belt should do." After class I went out and told/showed my professor. I think I threw him for a loop when I did this. He told me that since I showed him and they were wrong, he was going to have to take off the two points. He asked me why I brought it up and showed him and I responded, "Because that's good integrity." The look on his face as I left the room was priceless.
Perseverance is the third tenet of Tae Kwon Do. Individuals who have good perseverance can keep going and push themselves when the going gets tough. At times, the workload at college can be pretty overwhelming. The easy thing to do would be to give minimal effort on assignments and tasks, but this usually comes back to haunt students later on. It is much more difficult to bear down and push through all the way to the very last final exam. During my first year at Wartburg, I got my first ever-D slip. The class was very difficult and over 3/4 of the class either had D's or F's. Many people told me and recommended that I drop the class and several people in the class did drop it, but I refused. I was determined to pass the class. I worked and studied even harder and by the end of the semester, my final grade in the class was a B. No one would have blamed me if I had dropped the class, but by sticking it out and doing well says something. Another example would be this last fall when I had an overload of classes and 76 hours of field experience on top of that. It was not the best class scheduling on my part, but somehow I completed everything and still got good reviews from my cooperating teachers.
The fourth tenet of Tae Kwon Do is self-control. This tenet is very important for the safety of everyone in the do jang, but it also very important to have self-control outside of the do jang as well. Going off to college can really test an individual's self control. Between over
indulging in the cafeteria, having fun with friends, and homework self-control is key. Alcohol is another temptation for college students and I am proud to say that I never drank while I was underage. Although I have had some drinks after turning 21 this last fall, I have never gotten to the point where I lost control. There are too many risks and it is not something I have to do to have a good time. Self-control is also important in keeping one's cool and not letting emotions get the best of them. Without it, a person could really dig him/herself into a hole quick. However, with self-control, an individual can make his/her life a lot easier.
The fifth and final tenet of Tae Kwon Do is indomitable spirit. Unlike perseverance, which presents itself during adverse situations, indomitable spirit is always with us. It is the fuel that keeps our perseverance going. Someone who has indomitable spirit keeps their core values even when overwhelming odds are stacked against them. In short, "It is not so much the size of the dog in the fight, as the size of the fight in the dog." -Anonymous
It is important that black belts lead by example both in the do jang, but out in the real world as well. Failure to do this can bring back unwanted stereotypes. Although I may not have trained on a regular basis as much, I feel like I have taken great leaps forward with my character by truly making the tenets of Tae Kwon Do part of my daily life. This will also help me in my future career as an elementary or middle school teacher. Like black belts in the do jang, educators need to lead by example and be positive role models for their students. Whether a person can kick above their head or break multiple boards/bricks, everyone has the capability to follow the tenets of Tae Kwon Do, and I believe that is what separates a mediocre black belt from a first-class black belt.
