Like I Said Before Tae Kwon Do
When head instructor and sparring coach Sebastian Arnold was asked the question of “is every master like Mr. Miagi or the Cobra Ki master”(Karate Kid). He goes on to say “every good master or Grandmaster s should have aspects of Mr. Miagi in their way of being. I know mine does”. He goes on to explain how he has meet many different masters over his life time in Tae Kwon Do of all shapes, ages, races, and walks of life. That in his personal opinion it is the masters who don’t only teach the physical aspects of Tae Kwon Do but also the mental health part of it that makes the best teachers and the most successful students. He also speaks of the modern day “traditional and sports schools”. He explains how masters depend on the type of school you
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go to as well. He simplifies it to two types of schools one being the traditional school which tries to preserve the culture of Korea and the full body of Tae Kwon Do by doing both forms and sparing. These Tae Kwon Do schools often have a very philosophical feeling to them aside from the physical workouts. Then there is sports schools which Sebastian goes on to explain could be seen more of gym then a school. Meaning these schools focus mostly in the fighting and sparing aspect of Tae Kwon Do and do very little to preserve the Korean culture and forms training in their school. World Tae Kwon Do Federation describes a master a an individual who reaches thes rank of 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do which can only be granted by the Grand Master of every School( World Tae Kwon Do Federation). When Master Erica was asked about the stereotypes about students training a couple of months to become black belts she laughed. Saying “not if you have the right teacher”, she goes on to explain how to fully grasp the knowledge needed to be an appropriate black belt you would need years not months of training. Saying although some natural talent may arise who can kick very well after a few months. Becoming a Black Belt is a journey that takes a lot of self discipline, training, and changing of one’s self. Kukkiwon which is the regulation that regulates all promotion testing for black belts around the world requires that black belt applicants have at the very least 2 years of training before testing for black belt. Testing must include both poomse and physical conditions. (Kukkiwon). The next stereotype “martial artist can kill anyone” was answered best by Instructor Sebastian. He said “Black belts should train everyday to try and improve oneself, as well as be around to help improve the others around them. Black Belts should always be looking to be a better person for themselves and their community. Of course if you’re a black belt you should be considered to be a force to be reckoned with but you should also be a lot more than that.” In other words what he was trying to say was that although most black belts should have a deadly side to them, it is not what a martial artist is measured by but by instead his or hers ability to show self control and help others learn. Also as Previosiely stated there are many different types of masters who teach martial arts and Tae Kwon Do. Not all of them are certified by Kokkiwon and if they are not their standard of Black Belt could be the equivalence of printing out a document saying college graduate. When Master Erica was asked what she thought about the stereotype “Martial arts is all violence”. She replied with “ NO WAY! Martial art teaches people how to protect themselves and how to disarm and disable an opponent. Best marital artiest should be able to leave a situation without violence.” Tae Kwon Do like stated before has two aspects. The sparing which could be seen as the violence or the “martial” part of Tae Kwon Do and then it has the forms. A traditional sequence of stances that helps represent a staged fight but also shows the artistic side of Tae Kwon do. Always trying to keep in mind the mentality of “soft and hard” philosophy many Tae Kwon Do schools teach there students when they practice forms for sharpness and presentation. Meaning when you set for your next motion, you have to be relaxed and lose up until the last moment before you complete the motion. Right near the end of the motion you tense up your body cutting the air with whatever body part is moving, the hard. When combining these two mentalities it gives your forms a very crisp look making it something very studding to see. Testing requirements for a certified black belt includes both poomse nd physical requirements (Kokkiwon). It is often said Martial Arts attracts the “black sheep” of society to train. This refers to the odd ones of the general population, or the ones with some sort of disabilities, or even kids who are getting bullied for being “weak”. Instructor Sebastian was very passionate about this topic saying “yea you could say there is a lot of “black sheep” in martial arts and in Tae Kwon Do. But they are here because it’s a place filled with lots of positive energy and they come here to try and change something about themselves or to achieve a goal. So coming to a place where it’s filled with positive energies helps these black sheep maybe not fit in. Because fitting in is not necessary, but to achieve their goals as long as they work hard and never give up. Tae Kwon Do brings people of all walks of life to the mats. They all come here to achieve a goal set for themselves and they know being here surrounded by positive people is the way to do it.” Instructor Sebastian goes on to talk about all the people he has meet through martial arts people including police officers, x military, principals, teachers, construction workers, wall street businessmen, UN workers, and of course the common house mom, and grandparents. He latter describes how he was a black sheep. Instructor Sebastian said “I used to weight almost 300 pounds, I was overweight and had many potential health risks. I came back to Tae Kwon Do after an absence of leave with the goal of losing 70 pounds. I worked hard and trained every day. After a year of nonstop training and dedication to myself and support from the people around me I did it.” Martial arts ancient past used to be a way of combat for war. But in today’s day and age it is a tool for confidence, a tool for people to use to improve themselves and become something they did not know they could become. Tae Kwon Do was established in Korea in 1973, the WTF now has 204 member nation associations (World Tae Kwon Do Federation). It is impossible to think that they are all black sheep, and if they were now there are fierce preditors. Lastly it is commonly thought that Martial arts are filled with blockheads.
Blockheads meaning people who are not very intelligent, individuals who just like to hit things and break boards. Once again Instructor Sebastian commented on the Subject “Like I said before Tae Kwon Do and martial arts brings people of all walks of life to the mats. Are there people who could be considered blockheads? Yes, well at least when they first walk in. Like I said before Tae Kwon Do changes you, makes you think more and gives you knew philosophy’s that you never really thought of before”. In Tae Kwon Do it is very common for students to kick targets and break boards, but as Instructor Sebastian explains even that take humbling amount of concentration and focus. Instructor Sebastian explains “You can blindly throw your foot at anything with padding on it or that’s made of wood. But you will most likely end up just hurting yourself. When you kick you need to forget how strong or weak you think you are. You need to just focus on breaking the board and hitting it in the sweet spot to get the results you want. To do that you can’t be a blockhead.” He went on to tell a story of a big guy who had just started, he boasted about how he could break all the boards with a basic level kick. His master let him try and to the man’s embarrassment he could not break the boards with a side kick. Then his master brings in a child who was a black belt. He asks the young black belt to break the boards with a side kick, and with one shot he did
it. To every Stereotype there is some sort of truth, their needs to be that’s the only way it could have formed. But it is important to remember that it’s not always 100% the way you think it is. The only way to have a true grasp on the stereotypes is to immerse oneself with the culture it comes from. Tae Kwon do and the martial arts world is no difference. When seen through media Martial Arts can be seen as a violent and deadly activity. It could also be seen as a joke that only the weak partake in. But now hopefully people could see for what it’s worth which is a completely different world with many different styles and dimensions. Formed on its own philosophies and teacher. What was described here was only scratching the surface of what is the Martial arts world with a reference point to Tae Kwon Do. There are hundreds of martial arts and all of them have their own culture and standards and the only way to learn about them all is to amerce yourself in one. So if you have a goal to achieve and want to live your life with more confidence join a Kukkiwon certified Tae Kwon Do school. Or any type of martial arts school for that matter and be ready to gain a whole life time of knowlande and accomplishments.
go to as well. He simplifies it to two types of schools one being the traditional school which tries to preserve the culture of Korea and the full body of Tae Kwon Do by doing both forms and sparing. These Tae Kwon Do schools often have a very philosophical feeling to them aside from the physical workouts. Then there is sports schools which Sebastian goes on to explain could be seen more of gym then a school. Meaning these schools focus mostly in the fighting and sparing aspect of Tae Kwon Do and do very little to preserve the Korean culture and forms training in their school. World Tae Kwon Do Federation describes a master a an individual who reaches thes rank of 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do which can only be granted by the Grand Master of every School( World Tae Kwon Do Federation). When Master Erica was asked about the stereotypes about students training a couple of months to become black belts she laughed. Saying “not if you have the right teacher”, she goes on to explain how to fully grasp the knowledge needed to be an appropriate black belt you would need years not months of training. Saying although some natural talent may arise who can kick very well after a few months. Becoming a Black Belt is a journey that takes a lot of self discipline, training, and changing of one’s self. Kukkiwon which is the regulation that regulates all promotion testing for black belts around the world requires that black belt applicants have at the very least 2 years of training before testing for black belt. Testing must include both poomse and physical conditions. (Kukkiwon). The next stereotype “martial artist can kill anyone” was answered best by Instructor Sebastian. He said “Black belts should train everyday to try and improve oneself, as well as be around to help improve the others around them. Black Belts should always be looking to be a better person for themselves and their community. Of course if you’re a black belt you should be considered to be a force to be reckoned with but you should also be a lot more than that.” In other words what he was trying to say was that although most black belts should have a deadly side to them, it is not what a martial artist is measured by but by instead his or hers ability to show self control and help others learn. Also as Previosiely stated there are many different types of masters who teach martial arts and Tae Kwon Do. Not all of them are certified by Kokkiwon and if they are not their standard of Black Belt could be the equivalence of printing out a document saying college graduate. When Master Erica was asked what she thought about the stereotype “Martial arts is all violence”. She replied with “ NO WAY! Martial art teaches people how to protect themselves and how to disarm and disable an opponent. Best marital artiest should be able to leave a situation without violence.” Tae Kwon Do like stated before has two aspects. The sparing which could be seen as the violence or the “martial” part of Tae Kwon Do and then it has the forms. A traditional sequence of stances that helps represent a staged fight but also shows the artistic side of Tae Kwon do. Always trying to keep in mind the mentality of “soft and hard” philosophy many Tae Kwon Do schools teach there students when they practice forms for sharpness and presentation. Meaning when you set for your next motion, you have to be relaxed and lose up until the last moment before you complete the motion. Right near the end of the motion you tense up your body cutting the air with whatever body part is moving, the hard. When combining these two mentalities it gives your forms a very crisp look making it something very studding to see. Testing requirements for a certified black belt includes both poomse nd physical requirements (Kokkiwon). It is often said Martial Arts attracts the “black sheep” of society to train. This refers to the odd ones of the general population, or the ones with some sort of disabilities, or even kids who are getting bullied for being “weak”. Instructor Sebastian was very passionate about this topic saying “yea you could say there is a lot of “black sheep” in martial arts and in Tae Kwon Do. But they are here because it’s a place filled with lots of positive energy and they come here to try and change something about themselves or to achieve a goal. So coming to a place where it’s filled with positive energies helps these black sheep maybe not fit in. Because fitting in is not necessary, but to achieve their goals as long as they work hard and never give up. Tae Kwon Do brings people of all walks of life to the mats. They all come here to achieve a goal set for themselves and they know being here surrounded by positive people is the way to do it.” Instructor Sebastian goes on to talk about all the people he has meet through martial arts people including police officers, x military, principals, teachers, construction workers, wall street businessmen, UN workers, and of course the common house mom, and grandparents. He latter describes how he was a black sheep. Instructor Sebastian said “I used to weight almost 300 pounds, I was overweight and had many potential health risks. I came back to Tae Kwon Do after an absence of leave with the goal of losing 70 pounds. I worked hard and trained every day. After a year of nonstop training and dedication to myself and support from the people around me I did it.” Martial arts ancient past used to be a way of combat for war. But in today’s day and age it is a tool for confidence, a tool for people to use to improve themselves and become something they did not know they could become. Tae Kwon Do was established in Korea in 1973, the WTF now has 204 member nation associations (World Tae Kwon Do Federation). It is impossible to think that they are all black sheep, and if they were now there are fierce preditors. Lastly it is commonly thought that Martial arts are filled with blockheads.
Blockheads meaning people who are not very intelligent, individuals who just like to hit things and break boards. Once again Instructor Sebastian commented on the Subject “Like I said before Tae Kwon Do and martial arts brings people of all walks of life to the mats. Are there people who could be considered blockheads? Yes, well at least when they first walk in. Like I said before Tae Kwon Do changes you, makes you think more and gives you knew philosophy’s that you never really thought of before”. In Tae Kwon Do it is very common for students to kick targets and break boards, but as Instructor Sebastian explains even that take humbling amount of concentration and focus. Instructor Sebastian explains “You can blindly throw your foot at anything with padding on it or that’s made of wood. But you will most likely end up just hurting yourself. When you kick you need to forget how strong or weak you think you are. You need to just focus on breaking the board and hitting it in the sweet spot to get the results you want. To do that you can’t be a blockhead.” He went on to tell a story of a big guy who had just started, he boasted about how he could break all the boards with a basic level kick. His master let him try and to the man’s embarrassment he could not break the boards with a side kick. Then his master brings in a child who was a black belt. He asks the young black belt to break the boards with a side kick, and with one shot he did
it. To every Stereotype there is some sort of truth, their needs to be that’s the only way it could have formed. But it is important to remember that it’s not always 100% the way you think it is. The only way to have a true grasp on the stereotypes is to immerse oneself with the culture it comes from. Tae Kwon do and the martial arts world is no difference. When seen through media Martial Arts can be seen as a violent and deadly activity. It could also be seen as a joke that only the weak partake in. But now hopefully people could see for what it’s worth which is a completely different world with many different styles and dimensions. Formed on its own philosophies and teacher. What was described here was only scratching the surface of what is the Martial arts world with a reference point to Tae Kwon Do. There are hundreds of martial arts and all of them have their own culture and standards and the only way to learn about them all is to amerce yourself in one. So if you have a goal to achieve and want to live your life with more confidence join a Kukkiwon certified Tae Kwon Do school. Or any type of martial arts school for that matter and be ready to gain a whole life time of knowlande and accomplishments.