I contemplated splitting it up into its component parts as separate blogs, but instead I decided to put it all in here.....
it was entitled
Six Elements of Advancement in Tang Soo Do Training.
A student
should not forget that whether it is Tang Soo Do or any other form of martial
art, that all martial arts share the same historical evolution:
At some
point in time, primitive man had to defend himself against his enemies.
Primitive man had no weapons other than his body and limbs - When you have no
weapon, you must become a weapon yourself; therefore the martial arts were
born. The student beginning Tang Soo Do must understand clearly what he is
studying and the purpose of his training.
A martial
art is basically an art of warfare of personal self-defence. Martial arts
training has many benefits and spin offs outside of this capacity. One is
self-confidence and the other is improved health and well being through
physical exercise and training. The one single element required to achieve
this, however, is discipline. For a student to begin training with an attitude
that he must either win or lose a fight is futile.
There are
six dominant stages of development involved in cultivating the correct attitude
towards the art of Tang Soo Do and its concept of training. A beginner should endeavour
to develop the proper frame of mind before starting Tang Soo Do or any martial
arts career.
To develop
this frame of mind, the student needs to focus upon the following six key
elements throughout his training career.
Awareness
Awareness
is the first element - awareness, simply put, is being aware of what is
available. For instance, you cannot begin correct training in Tang Soo Do
without a suitably qualified instructor. It is impossible to learn the fundamental
principles of focus, power and inner strength without proper guidance and supervision.
A beginner,
by simply starting to train in Tang Soo Do has taken one step towards awareness, as he is now becoming aware of what is available
in the many aspects of the art of Tang Soo Do.
Another
example of awareness for the beginner is the realisation of his own potential; physical,
spiritual and mental – quite possibly for the first time in his life he has
become aware – conscious of that which is awakening within him.
“Before a man studies the philosophies
of the orient, to him mountains are mountains and waters are waters; after he
gets insight into the truth of philosophy through the instruction of a good
master, mountains to him are no longer mountains and waters are not waters. But
after this, when he really attains to the abode of rest, mountains are once
again mountains and waters are waters.” Unknown
Ambition
Ambition, the
second element of developing an appropriate attitude, is very important in life,
which includes career, work, aspirations, and the aims an individual hopes to
achieve.
Whatever
kind of work you do, you must say to yourself 'I am at this point today, with concentration,
endurance, patience and effort, in two or three years I will come to this point
in my life’, or ‘I will have achieved this level in my ambitions’. Without ambitions
and target setting, a person will never have the ability to gauge their advancement
and evaluate their areas of weakness.
Without a conscious
effort to set targets and determine advancement, a person may perhaps, through
inattentiveness and negligence, remain in the same starting position all their life.
In Tang Soo
Do training, a person may begin as a white belt and plan their training to
accomplish a black belt within a given time period, continually setting up
short range targets for themselves, such as the interim Gup grades or mastering
particular techniques.
Setting targets,
whether they be long or short range, is an important aspect in gauging advancement
and determining levels of skill in training or any aspect of daily life.
“You should have purpose, hope and
courage continuously, as you had in the beginning, until you have reached your
goal. If you do, you will achieve the desired end.” Grand Master Hwang Kee, 1978
In
mentioning the colour belt system, it is worth remembering that although belt
ranks help a student set up targets, the belt itself means nothing more than a
convenient method to keep their Dobahk top from flapping open, whether they are
a white or black belt.
You are the
result of your training, experience, and the targets that you have set for
yourself in the art of Tang Soo Do. You are not the belt; the belt only marks
time in relation to others, not yourself. People who brag about their ranks and
have an exaggerated adoration for the belt system place too much confidence in things
that stand outside of themselves. This is an indication of a serious lack of
self-confidence and self-understanding. The belt only has meaning when it truly
represents the skill and level of its owner. Nevertheless, a belt is still a belt,
and some times, it is more important to tie up your top than support your pride.
Selflessness
The third element
of development is selflessness. This is important because of what it asks of
you and what it demands of you: What will you have to give up to acquire knowledge
in Tang Soo Do?
The
complaint most often heard is, "Well, I want to study the martial arts,
but I don't have the time to devote to it" This excuse is one given by
those who are already poor achievers. You can always recognise success by the
sacrifice made and the price paid for it. Some students say they cannot learn
because they do not have the proper place to train or the proper uniform. These
are all excuses, not what you deep down inside, want and need to do.
In my own
experience, I finish a hard day at work and when it comes time for training, I
sometimes find that it is difficult to find the proper motivation and energy to
get out and go training. Everyone must
push them self a little harder to get a little farther, as the age old saying
goes: “There can be no gain without pain”. Do not dwell on the difficulty or
the effort of training, just do it, after a time, you will be able to look back
and see the advancement and see that the additional effort and pain was well
worth it.
A personal
self-sacrifice of mine is that of time; time for myself and time for my family.
As precious as my time is, I still push all the limitations to the extent of
their boundaries to ensure that I am always at my Dojang for my students,
always at the functions for my instructor and Association and always ready to
listen when asked.
Indulgence
Indulgence
is the fourth element and probably the most deceptive and the most difficult to
interpret. Many people are afraid of indulgence primarily because they have no
way of controlling it. After you have achieved a desired level, you owe
yourself some reward.
After
gaining a new Gup grade, why not go out and have celebratory dinner and
congratulate yourself, for instance. On the other hand, having trained for a
number of years and reaching the black belt status, you should now be able to work
out when you want and where you want. You have earned your status and no one
can ever take that away from you.
Now you are
in the position to develop new training methods for yourself. Nothing ever
remains the same in your art. Tang Soo Do requires that you become innovative.
You may now, for the first time, seek new training aids since you are no longer
a novice. However, you must never forget
the traditions and roots that the art of Tang Soo Do has grown from, as these
will always be present in the way of training. This is the proper perspective
of indulgence: freedom to make a choice as a by-product of your discipline and
training.
The major
pitfall of this kind of self-indulgence is forgetting where you came from and
where you gained those skills.
Remember
that you may not know all there is to know about your own style. Self-indulgence
has some limits. Reach them, expand them, and continue to grow with them.
Accomplishment
The next element
in the chart of advancement is accomplishment. Accomplishment takes many forms
and may, like beauty, exist only "in the eyes of the beholder". Accomplishment
is your own interpretation. No one else can define it for you. Someone may say,
"You won a trophy, what an accomplishment." Only you know how lucky
you may have been to win or how you felt when you won it. Only you can determine
whether you were at your best or not.
In life as
well as in the martial arts, some people reach high levels of accomplishment early
and some never accomplish anything. Age does not necessarily merit success.
You will be
able to understand accomplishment at a point in your career in Tang Soo Do, but
only you will know when that point comes and what you have really accomplished.
However, it
is a progression with which only you can identify with by yourself. It may be
as simple as the perfection of a front kick. As challenging as breaking a pile
of bricks. Or as complex as creating a new Hyung for the syllabus in the art of
Tang Soo Do.
“The benefit of reading varies
directly with one’s experience in life. It is like looking at the moon. A young
reader may be compared to one seeing the moon through a single crack, a middle
aged reader seems to see it from an enclosed courtyard, and an old man seems to
see it from an open terrace, with a complete view of the entire field.” Chang Chao
Obligation
The last element
in a student’s development is Obligation.
After you
acquire a substantial amount of knowledge, you are bound by duty to pass your
knowledge on to other practitioners. You are also expected to help refine the
art of Tang Soo Do. This element of development will show your sincerity and
obligation towards the martial arts and the general good that results from its
training. At this point, you will also understand and realise the power you
possess over others. The power you have developed is an inner power because of
your discipline and an external power because of your ability and skill. Your obligation
will be to use your art only when you have no other choice. You must use only
the amount of force necessary to overcome the obstacle that presents itself to
you. The force required may be a peaceful compromise or a dynamic flying side
kick. Your obligation is not only to others but to yourself also. You must
always carry on your desire for knowledge and direction.
“It is said that the superior man has
two things in which he delights, and to rule over the empire is not one of
them.
That the father and mother are both alive
and that the condition of his brothers affords no cause for anxiety, this is
one delight. That when looking up he has no occasion to blush before men, this
is his second delight.”
Mencius
The astute
reader will by now have noticed that within the main elements of advancement in
Tang Soo Do, that there has been no mention of power, strength and ability to
perform techniques.
Naturally,
these are important attributes in any martial art, but why should they be
paramount in the advancement through the ranks?
In today’s
modern way of training, too much emphasis is placed on physical strength and
weakness and little regard is taken of the six aforementioned points, which if
acquired and applied in the correct manner, say more about a person and their
abilities than any number of strong or high kicks ever will.
You can quite
easily walk into any drama school or dance studio and teach any of the
participants there how to march up and down punching and kicking in a single
day. They will look very ‘strong’ and will appear to have great ability - but
where within that person are the special characteristics that make a genuine
martial artist ? They can only be gained with years of dedication and grooming.
The young
flexible student may well be able to make himself look like the perfect model
student. However, when that student starts to age and his muscles and limbs do
not perform quite as well as they used to, and enter into a slow spiral of
deterioration, they will soon find the need to take notice of these six special
elements.
After all the
analysis of skills has taken place, we should remind ourselves that the purpose
of Tang Soo Do training should be the enhancement of the physical and mental self.
When you sit
alone, meditate on your faults.
In conversation,
do not discuss the faults of others.
“Fishing baskets are employed to catch
fish; but when the fish are got, the men forget the baskets. Snares are
employed to catch hares; but when the hares are got, men forget the snares.
Words are employed to convey ideas; but when the ideas are truly comprehended,
men forget the words. Fain would I talk to someone who has forgotten the
words.” Chuang Tse
