Morning Sun Café - 아침해 카페
1-Personal Essay - Chris Love for 5th Dan Testing
By
Instructor Love 4th Dan
As
I reflect on where I am in my martial arts journey I am amazed at where I am
now but often times it’s not the goal but the journey to that goal that gives
us our character in what we do.
When
I was young about 12 or so my mother was a respiratory therapist with master Mcgaughy at heartland and we lived fairly close to each
other. One of my first memories of the martial arts was when master Mcgaughy was outside breaking a brick with her hands and I
thought that she was so cool and one time I went in her house and she had all
these awards and trophies, it was just awesome to see especially at that time
in my life I really liked the Kung fu movies and
Bruce Lee movies.
My mother one day said would you like to
go down and look at the martial arts place and see what it was all about? My brother and I were so excited. As we walked in the first thing that caught
my eye was the punching bag and the big green mat, also there was a big picture
frame with all kinds of pictures in it of Grandmaster Yu in Korea. My brother and I said oh yeah this is
awesome. I will never forget the first
time I had met Grand master Yu he was very nice and he always demanded
respect. I could not believe that we,
my brother and I were actually going to learn hapkido. It was a dream come true but little did I
know about the sacrifices that our mother had made to let us do that, we were a
single parent family with my mother raising two hellions, but I don’t think we
turned out that bad. My brother and I
ended up getting our 1st degree black belts and then we started to
fade out of the academy. As time went on
I ended up graduating high school and got married a couple years after and
Julie and I started our own family. My
brother went into law enforcement and started his own family in another
city. After the birth of my first son
Andrew we found out that my mother had lung cancer and it was terminal. With care giving for around a year my mother
passed a way.
At that time I worked for Saint Joseph Cablevision and I was sent to a
trouble call at Grand Master Yus house. As I looked
at the work order I got nervous and excited at the same time, will he remember
me I thought I wasn’t sure. When I saw
him for the first time in a long time, he remembered me and asked how I was
doing. We talked for a while and caught
up on my family and where everyone was and he said I should come back to the
academy and I told him I had a daughter and maybe she could do it also. When we walked in the door it was like I had
never left, the students were so nice and welcoming, and the instructors many
of them I had already known had welcomed us back. It took a short while to get back into the
swing of things but everything that I had known before was already there and
some students did not even think I had left, I did need polishing on my
techniques but the instincts were there. It is true you can leave the academy
but the academy will not leave you or your heart. Even though I had just started back with my
rank of 1st degree this is where a chapter in my life at Yus
Academy ends and a new
one begins. When I received my 3 rd degree black belt
I started to realize the importance of giving back and I started helping with
warm ups and got to help with the teaching of the techniques as well as
learning things that improved my own techniques. Because of these things I
started to learn what it was like to be a leader and it has helped me in my own
life. I am now the manager in 2
departments at Car City and it is because of leadership skills I have learned
at Yus Academy that allow me to manage well and get
along in situations although I am far from perfect I feel confident in my
abilities. The reason my situation is
unique is because I started young at Yus Academy
and have all of my experiences old and new and I have my children at the
academy and they have there experiences of their
own. The best part is I get to watch my
children struggle and grow in the martial arts while I also know how they are
feeling about certain techniques and different things in the academy. As for me I will be testing for my 5th
degree soon and I cannot believe I would ever achieve such a rank, it is a
dream come true. Some people who know
that I do martial arts always ask me what style are you or which one is best
and I reply Yus
Academy. The reason I say this is because a lot of the
martial arts today are about the fighting only, not so at this academy. At this
academy we have well rounded students who build a foundation of principals and
ethics that lead them forward in their lives.
I am blessed to be instructed by a Grandmaster who teaches traditional
arts and demonstrates to us that these are art forms that are life shaping in
principals as well as being a very effective form of self
defense. Courtesy, integrity self control perseverance indominal
spirit are tools that we use to keep values in our lives. Respect and discipline are part of the
foundation of all Yus academy students including
myself and my family. All these
principals I use in my life and work to make it easier from day to day. We all
struggle in life to some degree but these key principals keep us on track. Kong
Ja says to think good things
daily. If you think good things daily good things will happen to you. This means to try to keep a positive attitude
in all you do. Martial arts is not easy,
it’s not supposed to be, it is a test at all times of mind and body in all
situations. This is especially true when
instructing other students because if someone comes up to ask a question I have
to know the answer and I enjoy that challenge. Confucius says “A man is worthy
of being a teacher who gets to know what is new by keeping fresh in his mind
what he is already familiar with, As an instructor I am always in a state of
review so I can be prepared for what is to come. Also I have learned so much from watching
other people learn when I teach and watching the other instructors and how we
differ in styles of motivation in teaching techniques and forms. One of the things I have learned the most in
my journey is that these martial arts are alive, and we as individuals bring to
life the art forms we learn, you will get out of this what you put in it, and
to practice the basics all the time because your foundation is based on the
basics . All the martial arts at Yus
Academy have a certain
rhythm that you can feel. From the cadence of the Taekwondo form, the steps of
the Judo techniques, the throws and redirection from Hapkido
to the strikes and blocks of the Kumdo swords this is
important because in our lives we have that same rhythm in life and when we get
off beat it effects everything, that’s why the martial arts are so good because
it keeps you in tune with your life both on and off the mat and if there is a
problem you can use it to help yourself to fix it. Because of Grandmaster Yus
teachings I have a much richer and deeper understanding of Hapkido
Judo Taekwondo Kumdo each of them different in many
ways but at the same time coming from one root and I am glad that my children
are learning the same arts from the same Grandmaster. I have also developed
life relationships with students and parents and very special relationships
with the instructors here at Yus Academy
they truly are my brothers and sisters and I love them very much. Something I have learned from all of them is
that there is a universal trust and respect within each other that is essential
in the techniques that we practice; this is demonstrated in Grandmaster Yus videos on his new website. Also I have learned that
everyone is on there own individual journey and no
two are alike also I cant make you feel like I feel
about the martial arts and Yus Academy, but I can show you my example and tell you
the story of my journey and how much Yus Academy has
impacted my life. My family is a black belt family and we all understand the
tenants and student rules of the academy and it has helped us in our family
life at home as well. Now my focus is to
prepare for this testing, to practice hard and review, to be a good partner and
set the example for all students to see what it means to be an instructor at Yus
Academy.
2 -
To be Continued
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