Five Muslim Girls

On April 15, 2007, five young Muslim girls were barred from competing in a World Tae Kwon Do Federation tournament after they refused to remove their hijab’s (head covering). The girls, ages ranging from 8 to 13, were all Muslims of Lebanese descent and members of the Ultimate Tae Kwon Do Club in Montreal, Quebec. The girls were told they could not compete in the Raymond Mourad provincial tournament in Longueuil, unless they removed their hijab’s, which was deemed a safety risk that violated competition rules. The details of the story are provided at this link.

A good friend of mine asked me to comment on this story. I’m not exactly sure why my friend asked me to comment. Since this event took place in my home country, was I supposed to comment as a Canadian? Or was I supposed to comment since I am a member of a martial arts association (albeit not the association identified in the story)? I decided to comment based on the fact that I am a member of the human race, and this story kinda tugs at my heart (as I am guessing my friend thought it would).

But first, let’s get a little background here:

First, let’s define what we mean by “hijab”. A quick Google search provides several definitions for the word “hijab”. In western countries, “hijab” refers to a scarf worn by Muslim women to cover the head, leaving the face exposed. In Canada, one can have a driver’s license picture taken while wearing the hijab because it does not conceal the facial identity of the wearer.
In certain Muslim countries, “hijab” does not refer to an article of clothing, rather it refers to a modest dress code for both men and women, although the specific meaning can vary from place to place.

In contrast, a “niqab” is a face veil worn by some Muslim women along with a hijab. A niquab may cover the lower face, or the entire face, excepting the eyes. In some countries, Saudi Arabia for example, the complete facial covering is also known as a “burqa”.

Second, this story is very familiar to another story that made the rounds on the Canadian news circuit. In February, an 11-year old girl was expelled from an amateur soccer game for wearing a hijab. This event also took place in Quebec. Officials in the Quebec Soccer Fedaration, the Quebec Soccer Association and FIFA, the international soccer federation upheld the decision of the referee (who is also Muslim), to not allow the girl to play. This despite the fact that FIFA rules do not ban religious or non-religious head scarves, provided they do not present a danger to players.

Third, according articles in National Post and the Globe and Mail, this was the first year that the five young Muslim girls at the tae kwon do competition were told they couldn’t participate in the event because of their hijab’s. The girls were present at the last year’s tournament and faced no challenges to competing while wearing the traditional clothing underneath their sparring headgear. Raymond Mourad, the tournament organizer, wanted to let the girls compete again this year and alert them of the apparent change in tournament rules for forthcoming tournaments, but his pleas went unheard.

Fourth, I contacted my own martial arts organization, the World Tang Soo Do Association to ask if a similar situation had been experienced at a tournament. As far as I’ve been told, nobody has been expelled from a WTSDA tournament for wearing religious headwear. The Tang Soo Do Black Belt Manual and the Championship Official Rule Book both have rules for the official dobohk (uniform) and/or dress uniform (blue jacket and pants). It specifies the permitted markings, patches, flags, trim on the uniform, as well as the head, foot, hand, mouth and groin protection for sparring competitions. The rules state that contestants “must not wear any articles which may incur injury or endanger opponents (no jewelry)”. No specific references are made either allowing or prohibiting religious headwear.

Given that background, here’s how I feel about the story. The referee’s in both the February and April events said that they made their rulings based on safety for the competitor. The argument presented in each case what that a hijab may potentially pose a threat to a competitor’s safety, say if accidently grabbed, it may present a choking hazard. After doing a bit of online research I’ve discovered that women from Indonesia, Iran, Egypt and other Muslim countries who routinely participate in international tae kwon do competitions have not been banned from competition for wearing a hijab. In Muslim countries women who participate in sports, wear specially designed hijab’s with Velcro, and other quick-release attachments that reduce the risk of injury. Muslim women who participate in martial arts, wear the hijab underneath the traditional head guard worn for sparring competitions and thus generally out of reach. Which begs the question if a hijab poses any more of a choking hazard compared to the traditional competition headgear?

My personal feeling is: I think it’s cool that Muslim women have the opportunity to compete in martial arts tournaments and other team sports, which I feel is an empowering way of expressing one’s self. I am willing to bet that we will see more young Muslim girls competing in sports, and as long as they wear a hijab designed for sport competitions, they should be allowed to compete.
And as long as we’re talking “safety” here: let’s be real. Martial arts sparring competitions generally involve two people attempting to kick and punch each other to earn points. Granted, there is a lot of control involved and the rules generally call for no-contact or very light contact. But still, there’s a lot of hands, feet, knees and elbows flying around in your basic sparring competition, and even in you basic soccer match. Sports are intrinsically risky and it’s impossible to engineer out all the risk involved. The true value of any sport is that it teaches the practitioner how to manage risky situations. The practitioner learns how to play with safety in mind, how to accept a win and a loss with good grace, and how to unite in the spirit of competition and good-sportsmanship.

In my opinion the ruling made against the Muslim girls in February and April, have little to do with safety. It had more to do with the Quebec provincial elections and the current backlash against “reasonable accommodation” and political correctness. These events are a few in a long list of cases where the Quebec population questioned how far they had to bend in order to satisfy the reasonable accommodation of a select few:

Item: Should men be banned from pre-natal classes in order to not offend Sikh, Hindu and Muslim class members?

Item: Should the windows at a community gym be obscured so that the young men at an Orthodox synagogue across the street are prevented from seeing young women in workout clothes?

Item: Should a large wooden crucifix be removed from the Quebec national assembly?

Item: Should a woman be fired from her job at a corrections facility because she wears a hijab?

These are complex issues, and I can’t rightly say I have an answer for each one. These issues are part of the general Canadian debate, and are apparently garnering international attention. We discuss these issues across the nation, and argue based on fact, experience and emotion. As always I’m curious to hear your opinions. Please feel free to post your questions comments and responses below, starting on your opinions on the five Muslim tae kwon do competitors. (FYI, the World Tae Kwon Do Federation has responded to the April 15th ruling. You can read the result by clicking this link),I would like to post your comments in a follow up ‘blog.

So, how's that karate school thing going?

Last month I enrolled in two adult-education courses. One course was in introduction to starting a small business. The other was an introduction to basic fitness theory. The purpose for taking these two courses was to jump-start my dream of starting a Tang Soo Do studio.

The small business course discussed the details of opening a small business such as, writing a business plan, doing market research, registering a business name, seeking financing, etc. There is a lot of work involved in starting a small business, like a martial arts studio for instance. There’s a lot to think about, such as liability insurance, rent, purchasing equipment, finding suppliers… just mind boggling really. After taking the course I realized one very important thing. I am not really interested in starting a small business. I just want to teach Tang Soo Do. Starting a small business sounds like a lot of work, and folks, I already have a job. Teaching and practicing Tang Soo Do is a lot of fun. Frankly, I’m just in it for the fun. So other than registering the name “True North Martial Arts”, I’m going to wait before I get involved in the whole “running-a-studio” thing.

The other course was provided by the YMCA. You see, since there are no other WTSDA affliated studios in Ontario, I’ve been practicing all by my lonesome. That my friends, gets boring after a year and a half, so I’ve also been varying my workouts by taking cardio-kickboxing at the YMCA. I’ve also been volunteering at the “Y”, hosting one-hour self-defense clinics every other month or so. Well, those clinics have raised some interest in my teaching style, and Crystal, the volunteer coordinator suggested that I become a certified as a YMCA fitness instructor. Becoming certified would enable me to do the following:

1) Volunteer as a group cardio-kickboxing instructor;
2) Allow me the chance to increase the frequency of the self-defense classes from every other month, to once a week; and
3) Perhaps pave the way to start a regular Tang Soo Do program at the YMCA.

The great thing about a YMCA based program is that it allows me to teach without having to worry about the vagaries of running a business (rent, liability, etc would be covered by the Y). The unfortunate thing about the YMCA program is that I would have to run the program without profit. This means that I would have to run contrary to how some of the other Tang Soo Do studio owners run their schools. That may mean that the YMCA would have some influence in what I teach, which may affect the quality of not only the, instruction I provide, but of the students I produce. My master instructors have warned me of the potential dangers in that kind of trade-off.

As it stands, I feel that’s my best option for now. Wish me luck.

"Balance, Daniel-san."

It's all about balance, really. Something bad will happen, and then something good will happen. Take for instance last week. On Monday I got an email from the YMCA saying that they are canceling the 3-day self-defense clinic due to lack of sign ups. They feel that the hectic schedule during the month of September was a reason behind the cancellation. People were just too darn busy!

At first I fought for keeping the clinic, working on my own to secure some interested students. But alas, I agreed to the cancellation for two reasons: 1) it was difficult for folks to change their schedules on such short notice and 2) I was sick as a dog!

Last week I had a pretty bad cold, and was out of commission for the equivalent of two days. I needed the rest. Still I felt pretty disappointed about giving up on the clinic.

Then on Thursday, my office manager, Randy informed me that he nominated me for a company award for the previous fundraising clinic. I was written up in the company newsletter, along with a couple other folks from other offices who organized some pretty unique community service events on behalf of the company. It felt great to be nominated, and to be named with that group of people. And I actually got a little prize. It's a silver star shaped award currently housed on my office bookshelf.

It was really nice of Randy to put my name in. It was an unexpected pleasure.

Balance.

New Logo and Another Announcement

Like the new logo? My brother, Ngai designed it. Neat, huh?

Also...

Another self-defense program. This program runs for three 1-hour classes and covers a whole bunch of neat topics.

Can't wait!

YMCA HOSTS CHARITY SELF-DEFENSE CLINIC

On Thursday, August 24th, an introductory self defense clinic was hosted the A.R. Kaufman YMCA in Kitchener, Waterloo by Region 15’s newest club, True North Martial Arts. The clinic was instructed by Mr. Ali Williams, E Dan. Clinic participants included members of the YMCA as well as employees from local businessess. The registration fee for the event was $10 per person. The proceeds of the event were donated to the YMCA’s Partners for Youth Campaign, a charity that helps fund membership fees for families and children in need.

The hour-long event covered many different topics including, hand and feet techniques, active and passive self-defense, as well as meditative breathing skills. Participants were lively, energetic and actively engaged in learning the multiple self-defense holds and escapes introduced in the clinic. Clinic participants raised $200 for the Partner’s for Youth Campaign.

Special thanks go out to the following:

Participants & Contributors
Kristy Baerg, Rachel Brown, Rhonda Burns, Dawn Burnett, Teresa Cornwell, Mauro Cortes, Debbie Karmaschek, Andrea Kauppinen, Suzanne Little, Caleb MacDonald, Sheila Mutton, Donna Perk, Caroline Valeriote, Ali Williams, Barbara Ingrata, Randy Knudsen, Kelly Knudsen, Donna Verbakel

Tomorrow...

...is a big day for True North Martial Arts.

Tomorrow, I will be meeting with the local YMCA about becoming part of their fitness program. I'm very excited, preparing a lot of materials for a little presentation.

Wish me luck!


By the way...

On a little miffed off note, I'm noticing that I'm being spammed in my comment's sections. Some anonymous prat is posting a link to some shady crappy site on my blog. So general warning to you readers, check before you click any links.

Announcing!

Self-Defense Pt. III

On June 28, I ran my first ever Basic Self Defense class in Canada. This class was a trial run for an idea I had for a corporate fundraising event for my local YMCA. Earlier in June, I submitted a formal proposal to my company and to the YMCA to hold introductory an hour-long Basic Self-Defense Clinic, the proceeds of which would go to the YMCA's Partner's for Youth campaign. This charity helps generate financial support for children and families who might otherwise be unable to participate in the YMCA.

The trial run class was run by myself, and I was assisted by my wife, Teresa, who has a lot of familiarity with female self-defense. The participants were a mixed bag of YMCA employees and associates. It was a small class, 5 students total, but it was a heck of a lot of fun! Unfortunately we neglected to take a camera, so I don't have any pics to publish, but the trial run was so much of a success that we are anticipating more events in the future.

Running an hour-long clinic is not as easy as it sounds. I put in many hours of research, and Teresa and I put in a few days of physical practice time for that one-hour. There are a few important reasons why we spent all that time in preparation. One, I wanted to make a good impression on the YMCA crew, because I foresee a long and fruitful relationship between True North Martial Arts and the YMCA. Two, if you're gonna teach a subject, it helps to look like you know what you're doing. Most importantly though, self-defense is a very controversial subject, and you need to do your research to get things right.

The controversy generally lies in the ethics of the situation. There are many who would instruct without the required experience and knowledge. It's often the case that a supposed instructor can do more harm to his/her students because of their unfamiliarity and lack of knowledge. Frankly, the martial arts world is full of folks who lack maturity and experience and know just enough to do some major damage. Lord knows I don't want to add to that kind of harm.

Luckily I've had some pretty good instructors. For those of you who live in Pennsylvania area, and are interested in self-defense, but are not interested in navigating through a whole lot of posers and wanna be's, I advise you to check out folks like Master Charles Vaughn of Vaughn's Dojang and Master Kevin Robinson of Robinson's Martial Arts Institute. The rest of you should check out the World Tang Soo Do website to see if there is a studio near you. WTSDA is lucky to have many great self-defense instructors. Up here in Region 15, (i.e., Canada), our Regional Head, Master Larry Wick, has developed his own self-defense system that he teaches to law enforcement officers all around North America.

Those of you in the Kitchener/Waterloo area would do well to keep in contact with the local YMCA. Based on the positive response to the trial run, we will be running our fundraising clinics very soon. Until then...

Tang Soo!

Crunching the Cookies: Self-Defense Pt. II

From the Dictionary of Self-Defense Techniques:

"crunching cookies" - verb: meaning to strike the groin with a short, powerful smack with the back of the hand (see synonym "making crumbs");

"Hand of Glory" - noun: description of a not-so short, even more powerful strike to the groin with the palm of the hand in a motion similar to one would use when playing skee-ball or 5-pin bowling;

What does it fee like getting backhanded in the groin?

Funny enough, not as bad as you would think, at least in this case. Oh, don't get me wrong, it ain't as fun as discovering cherries are on sale for $1.99 per pound at the local supermarket, but... Master Robinson pulled back on the force of the strike and I was able to mentally prepare because I was expecting it.

What I wasn't expecting though was the following maneuvers. Master Robinson tourqed my wrist 180 degrees, so my pinky finger is pointing to the sky. He follows up by a very judicious knife-hand to the nerve cluster at the base of my right tricep. Ever hit the funny bone on your elbow? That's what it feels like, except Master Robinson is grinding on that cluster. He's like Lionel Hampton playing "Flying Home" on that one particular pressure point. At the same time he's trying very hard to bend my wrist and elbow in a very unnatural direction.

The sensation is quite arresting.

This is what we mean by "self-defense".

To be continued...

Crunching the Cookies: Self-Defense Part I

According to the Tang Soo Do Manual black belt as represents mastery, calmness, dignity and sincerity.

What the manual does not tell you is that quite often, black belts are also known for doing really crazy things. For example, last year, I volunteered to take a shot in the groin in front of a group of people.

Okay, picture this: I am standing in a field somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania. I have both my hands wrapped tightly in the lapels of this bald, white dude, in a manner to suggest I am trying to bully him out of his lunch money. About 20 people are staring at use, quite avidly waiting to see what's going to happen next.

The "bald, white dude" in question is actually Master Kevin Robinson. Let me assure you, the only reason I am "draping" the man in such a rough manner is because he requested it. He's demonstrating self-defense techniques to a class of black belts and black belt candidates. You simply don't do something like this to Master Robinson (or anyone else, really) without his express permission. It is has been reported that a friend once tried to surprise him from behind one evening as he was walking his dog in a dark park. It turns out it was the friend who got the ultimate surprise. After the ambulance came, Master Robinson (who has specialized in the field of self-defense long enough to develop his own system, called S.M.A.R.T.) apologized to his friend and gently warned that sneaking up him wasn't the best idea in the world.

(I'm going to apologize to Master Robinson in advance of the rest of this blog. I read the above paragraph and knowing what I want to type below, in the interest of comedic value I'm probably going to do him a disservice and make him look much crazier and scarier than he really is. So I'll take time now to invite you all to start getting to know the real Master Robinson by getting his book "S.M.A.R.T. Self Defense: A common-sense guide to keeping yourself and your family safe in today's world." Those of you in the Tunkhannock area can look up his studio, Robinson's Martial Arts Institute.)

Okay, caveat aside, I volunteered to be the "attacker" for demonstration purposes. Master Robinson has 30 years experience as a martial artists, training in many arts including boxing, ju-jitsu and hapkido. Thus as a volunteer I feel he has developed exquisite control, and I can trust him not to inadvertently injure me in a class context. On the other hand, Master Robinson is very passionate about his instruction, and does believe that there should be a certain degree of realism when it comes to self-defense training. There's really no way of understanding the subtleties of these techniques without experiencing what it's like to have them slapped on you by a master. Thus, there is no way I can expect to escape from this scenario unscathed.

"When a person grabs you like this, what are they?" Master Robinson asks the class.

A murmur runs through the crowd.

"They're an idiot, obviously!" Master Robinson exclaims. "Only an idiot would tie up their own hands while leaving both your arms and both your legs free."

A nervous titter runs through the crowd. They know what's coming.

At this point I sort of tighten my grip on Master Robinson. It's just a tight little clench, but it's unexpected. So for just an instant, his eyes take on a very serious, very calculating glaze.

...oh crap...

"Sorry, sir." I say.

"No, no," He says. "That was good. My mind just went to a dark place for just a second."

Scares me right out of my tree.

Another caveat: One of the reasons why Master Robinson is so well-respected as a self-defense instructor is because he is very dedicated to finding the most effective techniques. This dedication has lead him to train, and train with, law enforcement officers, prison guards, military personnel, etc. These of course are people who take self-defense very seriously, so I could imagine what sort of "dark places" him mind went to.

So here I am. Standing in front of a gaggle of my peers, my hands wrapped at the throat of one of the most serious and dedicated martial artists in the association.

Tune in later, and I maybe I'll tell you what Master Robinson means by the term "crunching the cookies".

When Life Happens

This blog is hard to begin...

I originally meant to present a 2006 Black Belt camp wrap-up here, complete with highlights and praises for the master instructors who taught us all so much. But, life took a really strange and sad turn this past weekend. A good friend of mine suffered a loss on Sunday. In the interest of privacy, I will name my friend "P".

"P" is a fellow black belt and a very funny, generous, gregarious, outgoing person. I share a special bond with "P" because we received our black belts (or dan belts) at the same time, along with another friend whom I will call "R". Because "P", myself and "R" were promoted at the same time, we spent a lot of time training with each other. Every class, we assemble according to rank and dan number, I stood smack in the middle of both of them. We would often spur each other on during our training. We often joked together when the training was good, and when the training got really tough and I found myself at the end of my endurance, both "P" and "R" would cheer me on. They would give me enough energy to stay on my feet and finish in fine form. Such was the character of my friend "P".

We three had a lot of fun this weekend at Black Belt Camp. I hadn't seen my friends in almost a year, and it was a goodness to be with them and to feel their energy as I trained. It was like the old days. So it was quite a shock to go home all tired but exhilarated from a weekend of fun and fellowship and hear that "P" had a lost a dear family member. And it was quite painful to see my good friend, one of the happiest people I have ever met, so overcome with grief and loss. But as painful as this past weekend was, I was able to see my Tang Soo Do family come together in support of a dear friend. This weekend, I saw adults rally on a moments notice, without question to give our friend unconditional love. I saw Tang Soo Do children face grief and loss with a sense of compassion and maturity that belied their ages. I saw what makes Tang Soo Do so special that I want to start a club here in Ontario.

What I just wrote will never do justice to what I felt this past weekend. It's too big and too personal and too sad and too beautiful to describe. But the experience will always be remembered and honoured within.

Today, I send out all my love and energy to my friend "P". And I remain ever thankful that I am a member of the World Tang Soo Do Association.

Black Belt Camp

A month so back, Sarah, my wife Teresa's younger sister, came to our apartment for a visit/knitfest. Sarah had recently returned from 4-H camp, and she regaled us with stories about her new friends, the events that took place, the fun she had, the giggle fests, the pranks, and the general fun she had. She talked about the bittersweetness of saying goodbye to her new friends and Teresa and I really appreciated her spending time with us describing her good time. I especially appreciated those stories because in June, I would be attending my sixth Black Belt Camp.

Back in the day, when we were gup (Korean for colour belt) students, the black belts (dan, in Korean) used to tell us magnificent tales about... black belt camp. Actually, they never really told us what happened at camp. What would happen is that one day in the summer you would come across a black belt instructor, like Mr. Francis, Mr. Papp or Mr. Robinson, would be all limping and wincing and looking like they were suffering a world of pain.

Mr. Papp (l) and Mr. Francis (r). Mr. Robinson (below)

So I would ask them: "Yo! What happened to you guys?"

And because I didn't follow protocol they would say: "Don't you mean 'Yo, sir'?"

And I would say: "Yo, sirs! What happened to you guys?"

their response would only consist of three words: "Black Belt Camp."

As if that explained everything.

So I would ask: "What did they do to you at Black Belt Camp?"

And they would reply: "If you stick around long enough, you'll find out..."

Real mysterious, like.

Black Belt Camp. Those three words came to represent one of those unknown stops along the path to black belt. The event was deliberately kept a secret to us gup students, not to discourage us, mind you, but to irritate us. Apparently, our instructors believed that irritating us would build character.

One things our instructors couldn't hide from us was their true feelings about camp. Despite the sore muscles and the sunburns, you ask a black belt about camp and a beatific smile would cross their face. My friend Paul McNally used to describe it as "Christmas in June".

As you rose in rank, and your instructors got to know you a bit better, they would sometimes offer more info about camp. If you believed them it sounded like boot camp in hell. You ever see the movie Full Metal Jacket? We'll that's how those black belts would describe camp. It was every counselor was like R. Lee Emery on crystal meth. And invariably the worst sounding of all counselor was Master John Beam. He was a legend in World Tang Soo Do. He ran the Saturday afternoon calisthenics, informally known as Master Beam's Death March.

The black belts would wax rhapsodic about camp:

Mr. PAPP - Last year had to be the hardest work out. I mean I almost had to sit out after the hundredth knuckle push up.

MR. FRANCIS - Last year was a cake walk! Remember two years back, during the heat wave? How many people passed out on that one? What was Master Beam thinking?

MR. ROBINSON - Remember that one back in '98?

MR. PAPP - Ooooooh! Oh God!

MR. FRANCIS - I had to take therapy to forget that year.

ME - What happened? Tell me! Tell me!

MR. ROBINSON - That was the year that Master Beam was in a... *gasp*....bad mood...

MR. FRANCIS and MR. PAPP solemnly nod their heads.

Finally in 2001, I got to go to Black Belt Camp.

Camp occurs over three days and two nights, usually during the first weekend in June. Only black belts and black belt candidates (or, cho dan bo) were eligible to attend. In Region 8, Camp is mandatory for those testing for the next dan level. In our school, you had to have a reeeeeally good reason for missing out on camp.

2001 was a good year for my first camp. There were a lot of firsts and lasts that year. It was the first camp where kids 18 and under were not present. World Tang Soo Do had grown so big that they now had to separate kids and adult camp. It was the first year that they ran the "Gong Show" on Saturday evening. This began a Vaughn's Dojang tradition that each year, Vaughn's cho dan bo's had to perform in the show to represent the dojang (studio). It was the first year that Grandmaster Shin introduced Ki Gong to his black belts. Ki Gong is a healing art, in the same vein as Tai Chi Chuan. Ki Gong practice required the practitioner to perform a series of "dance-like" rhythmic moves. The purpose of these moves were to harmonize the ki energy in the body, but initally they all made us giggle. As a result, our class of cho dan bo's decided to parody these moves as part of our "Gong Show" routine. We would throw in a bunch of exaggerated, and outdated hip-hop moves like "The Carlton". All in good natured fun. I thing the best part was when my friend, colleague and fellow cho dan bo Marv, sang the World Tang Soo Do Anthem in Korean. I guess it sounds a bit lame when I describe it, but it was truly a gutbuster. Marv, is actually Dr. Marvin Unger, a well respected chemical engineer that does prestigious work on innovative remediation technologies with the US Government. Here's a picture of Marv and his oldest son, Eric. As you can see, Marv is also a fiftyish, balding, ex-hippie and genuine New Yorker. So if you every want to hear the Korean version of our anthem sung wildly off key in a heavy Brooklyn accent, Marv's your man!

As I said it was a year of lasts too. It was the last year that Master Beam supervised the Saturday afternoon exercises. Master Beam was a hard man and he lived quite an adventurous life. He had mastered many martial arts including Tang Soo Do and Ki Gong, and it was rumored that he had knowledge of Ninjitsu. His Ki Gong training helped him as he started to develop the conditions associated with Parkinson's disease. I don't know much about his past, but I personally was present when he cleanly broke a board balanced precariously on a students head with a spinning wheel kick. Mind you, this is a man with Parkinson's disease, who at that time needed a cane to walk.

By the way, he still mercilessly worked our butts into the ground that Saturday.

It was then that I discovered the secret to black belt camp. I discovered the link between the aches and pains and the beatific, happy smiles. It's not a real mystery. Sometimes it's presented as a mystery, because that's part of the tradition, the protocol, but the key is really simple.

At camp you work out the hardest you have ever worked out in your entire life. You commit to it all. The pushups. The situps. The drills. The kicks. The hand techniques. The blood. The sweat and sometimes the tears. You choose to commit. You choose to participate and you participate fully with all your heart. That's it. That's the big secret.

During the work outs you sometimes find your self getting to the bottom of your cup. You get to that point where you think to yourself: This is it! This is all that I have! But somehow, you continue. You look to your left and to your right, you look in front and behind and you see all the people that you love, the people you traveled with you along the path who were just too stubborn to give up. That's all a black belt is, really, a person just too stubborn to give in, to quit, even if they reach their limit. These folks, your friend and fellow warriors, they know you so well that they see when you are getting to the quitting point. So they share words of encouragement to keep you going: Attaboy! Keep it up! Don't give up, I'm with you!

Those words are just enough to keep you going, past the point of no return. You do it because you want to honour their encouragement, their perseverance. Their energy fortifies you, and you in turn will fortify them in their time of need. That's the main lesson of black belt camp. You get three days worth of love, encouragement, strength, friendship and fellowship. That kind of positive energy is worth any amount of sore muscles and body aches. It's what keeps me going back year after year.

This camp will be a special time for me, because I have been away from my friends and fellow black belts for about a year now. I will be seeing them all again and I will be catching up with the changes in my extended family. I just can't wait!

The Martial Arts Blues

(Author’s Note: This poem is based on an Asian folk tale that was told to me when I first started Tang Soo Do. It is also based on the Blues song Dead Letter, by Son House. It is my intention, with this offering, I do honor to both. AKW 11/Mar/2006)

A young warrior walked up to an old master an’ this is what he said,
“Better duel with me old man, or my sword will cut you down dead!”
A young warrior stepped to the master, an’ listen to what he said,
“You better face me in a duel, or I will hunt you ‘til you’re dead.”

The master looked at the warrior an’ saw nothing but the truth.
He saw the search for fame and glory in the eyes of that heartless youth. The old man looked and the warrior, and saw nothing but the truth.
He saw the story of his death in the eyes of that heartless youth.


The master said: “Listen here young man, I’ve lived a long, hard life.
I’ve seen to many people die. Don’t want no fuss or strife.”
He said: “Go a way young man. I’ve lived too long and hard a life.
I was just like you once. Don’t want no more fuss or strife.”

The warrior laughed at the master and turned a deaf ear.
Despite all the wise words, the warrior just wouldn’t hear.
The warrior laughed at the old man and then turned a deaf ear.
No matter how much the old man pleaded, the youngster just wouldn’t hear.

So they faced off under the shadow of an old oak tree.
The master saw that it was just as thick and old as he.
The two men faced each other, under the shadow of an old oak tree.
The old man saw that the lumber was just as gnarled and hoary as he.

The master said: “Before we do battle I need to practice a little first.
The warrior pointed to the tree and said: “Old man, do your worst!”
“Oh my stiff and aching joints, I need to loosen ‘em up first.”
The warrior pointed to the tree and said: “Old campaigner, do your worst.”

The old man bowed to the oak tree, from crown to root,
and then attacked the lumber, using only hand and foot.
The master bowed to oak tree, giving honor to crown and root.
And when he attacked that ol’ oak tree, my God, how the ground did shook!

When the old man kicked at the lumber, he uttered a laugh,
‘cause that poor oak tree just splintered right in half.
The master kicked at the lumber, and gave a big belly laugh,
Wouldn’t you know it that ol’ oak tree, just up and splintered in half.

Now that he was ready to do battle, the master turned around,
but discovered that the warrior was nowhere to be found.
The old man was ready for the duel, oh, but when he turned around,
He wasn’t surprised to discover that the young man had given up his ground.

The morale of this little tale is (they don’t teach this in no school):
You don’t get to be an old master by being no fool!
The morale of this little story, is one of life’s funny little rules:
You don’t get to be a Tang Soo Do master, oh, by being no fool!

Regaining the path.

It's funny how easy it is to procrastinate on the weekends.

Yesterday, my plan was to go drive and hour to visit with my mom for Mother's Day, and then visit with my sister and her kids (she just got engaged and wanted to show off her new ring), and then jump back in the car, drive an hour, hit the YMCA for a good ol' fashioned Tang Soo Do workout, and then go home feeling tired, but satisfied. Only it didn't quite work out that way.

I did make it to my mother's. I gave her a card and her gift. We chatted a while about the new house my wife, Teresa and I just bought. Then I visited with my younger brother (who's 31 and still lives at home. Hubba, hubba ladies, get him while he's hot). He and I bickered for a bit. I have a bad habit of raiding his room and "borrowing" movies from his vast DVD collection. My brother works in retail, and he gets a discount on DVD's, CD's and the like. So, like he has tons right! So every time I visit he gets real pissy because I borrow them and then don't return them for a month. I don't really blame him, though. I guess I would feel just as pissy if he borrowed my DVD's and never returned them. But, he's my little brother, and I gotta keep the pecking order in place, so I take his movies anyways.

I gotta nice haul this time: Ocean's Twelve, Princess Mononoke, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and the last to movies in the Matrix Trilogy. Of all those movies I think Princess Mononoke would count as the best, followed by Ocean's (which for some ungodly reason got panned on its release). Jay and Silent Bob is a personal favorite and close third. I was most disappointed by Hitchhiker's, sorry to say. As a long-time fan of the book, the radio shows and the original TV series (i.e., I'm a supernerd, can you tell?), I was really looking forward to this movie adaption. But the damn storyline just fell apart for me. There was stuff there that didn't need to be there. I mean what the hell was Malkovich doing in that movie? It wasn't even a decent cameo. Still, I do give points for the singing dolphins and Martin Freeman, Mos Def and (my sexy lady) Zooey Deschanel did the best with a faulty script. And as always, Sam Rockwell was the bomb.

Anyhoo, said goodbye to the Mom's and went over to my sister's. Got to visit with my nephew (age 6) and niece (age 2). My nephew and I played Spiderman on his Gameboy. He still had his PJ's on, and he's really skinny so whenever he walks his pants fall down to reveal a wee, little plumber's smile. I told him that his butt must be broken cause I could see it had been cracked. He didn't think that that was so funny, so he hit me in the chest with a Koosh ball. We played Koosh tag for a while. I wanted to tag one off his head, but that little kid's pretty fast, and my aim was never that good. My niece was sleepy at first, my sister wanted to put her down for a nap. But we raised such a commotion, that my niece was running around after me and her brother. Just when I riled them up to the peak of insanity, I kissed my sister goodbye and went home.

Two for two... heh...heh...heh...

Now here's where my plan fell apart. I was supposed to go to the Y to work out. I had all intentions to be good, work up a good sweat and finally take time to practice my techniques. It has been a year since I left my original studio (or as we say in TSD, dojang) in Pennsylvania, so practice times have been few and far between.

A lot of my time since then has been spent getting my life back together here in Canada. Been searching for a job, and then shopping for a home, commuting an hour back and forth to work, searching for a space to work out had to be put on the back burner for a while, not to mention starting my own studio. This weekend was the first weekend that I had actual time to work out.

But I wiffed it.

Stayed at home.

Nursed a low grade headache and watched Ocean's Twelve.

So last night I went to bed feeling guilty.

And woke up this morning feeling guilty.

Lunch, still guilty.

"Why did I procrastinate?" I asked myself. "Why did I whimp out."

Because you're scared. Myself answered back.

"Scared of what?" I asked again.

Scared of being a f*cking fraud!

As ususal, "Myself" that deep dark inner me that contains my conscience was right. I was terrified.

I started taking martial arts back in 1998. I was twenty five when I first stepped inside that Tang Soo Do studio. Before that I had never taken part in any sports at all. I was always the skinny kid in school, somewhat unpopular, never really that interested in sports. It seems no matter how old I get, there's still that scared, skinny kid inside my head.

There were three major events that helped me shed all that fear. The first was going away for university. I was able to leave highschool and all that emotional baggage behind and start new. The second event was meeting Teresa. I met her in my third year, her second. My first thought when I first met her was: "Forget it dude, she's waaay out of your league." A year later, we were practically living together.

The third event was studying Tang Soo Do. For seven straight years I poured blood, sweat and tears on that studio floor.

And with the help and guidance of some very special folks like my head instructor Master Vaughn, my senior instructors Mister White, Mister Altiere, Mr. Lipstein and Doc Rosenkrans,



I was able to achieve a milestone! I was granted my black belt!

Along the way I was able to give back to the studio as a mentor to the kids. I was able to pass along a lot of the lessons I learned as a child to these kids, which their parents appreciated. I became a leader. I became a better husband, and I learned some skills that will one day make me a good father.

And then I moved back to Canada. It's been almost a year since my last official class.

I was afraid that having taken a break from training for so long, I had lost a lot of what the art has given me. I was afraid that I was dishonoring the art. I was afraid, just like I always was as a kid.

So what did I do?

This evening I packed my uniform (or do bohk), and headed out the the Y. I practiced my forms for an hour. It was a little bit less than the two hour classes I'm used to, but it's a start. It's a new beginning. I am on a new journey.

I just am glad to be able to get back on the path.