Indiana Martial Arts
Martial Arts Indiana
Martinsville Martial Arts
Martinsville Karate
Martinsville Indiana
Taekwondo Tae kwon do

Black Belt Paper Excerpts - Kathy Husmann

About two years ago, I decided to join ROTC, and stand up for something that I have taken for granted. I love this country that I live in, and even though I, along with anyone else, can find complaints with the government, I still am grateful to be living here. Through learning Tae Kwon Do and talking about these five rules of the Hwa Rang, I have learned that showing loyalty is important. Even though I did not join ROTC to show loyalty to my country that is ending up being one of the reasons why I am staying with it. Through both of these activities, I have learned the importance of respecting, honoring, and being loyal to your instructors, and a cause….

....As I have learned through taking Tae Kwon Do, we learn more than just techniques and movements, we learn about the philosophy and characteristics that are needed to live life according to the standard set for us by the art. I must admit that I started taking Tae Kwon Do because I wanted to learn how to do different movements and be able to say that I knew a martial art. As the months and then years have gone by since I started, I have realized that I have learned more than just physical technique and have made many good friends through Tae Kwon Do. This along with ROTC has helped me to understand what type of person I want to be. I used to just think about obtaining a reputation that fit in with my current friends, and then I realized that there is much more to life than fitting in with a group of people. Life is about what I accomplish and what type of life I lead, not about who I am friends with. Ever since I began Tae Kwon Do, I have been working at being truer to myself and realizing who I am and not just were I fit. With this realization, came the idea that this is something to live by and not just a hobby that one can start and stop anytime it is convenient. Along with all of the virtues and attributes mentioned earlier in this paper, I am working to live my life by those standards and to truly make gentry my guidelines for a way of life....

....At some point a year ago, I stopped to think about how far I have improved physically and realized that even though I still tire out from doing certain things, my level of activity or effort has increased. This means a lot to me because no one in my family is athletic, and for me to have stuck with something for so long and to be getting healthier seems strange. I think I had almost convinced myself that my family is genetically unable to be athletic. Even though I had never really been that out of shape, Tae Kwon Do has allowed me to measure my level of athleticism and the chance to improve. It was because I enjoyed learning my forms and practicing that I stayed with Tae Kwon Do, which probably gave me the confidence to join ROTC and be even more athletic.

With being more athletic comes improved instinct and reflexes, and training with Tae Kwon Do has also helped me to improve my reflexes and have a better understanding of where my body is located at all times. Reflex is an automatic response to a stimulus, the power of responding with adequate speed, or a way of thinking and behaving. Years ago, there were things that I would never have attempted to do or catch because I was unsure that I could do it fast enough, or would be able to have my body be at that location. I understand now that it takes both mental and physical reflexes in order to do certain things, but back then I did not think I had the physical ability for reflexes. With practice and training, I have been able to sharpen my mind and body coordination and have developed good reflexes. I am not really talking about the reflexes needed to spar an opponent, more like the reflexes needed to catch something as it is falling or being thrown at you. I have also developed the skills needed to be a better opponent during free sparring, but that is not used as often as other reflexes. Sometimes I am just amazed at how I can catch something without really thinking about it. This is related to Soho’s writing about the unrestrained mind, and if my mind were busy thinking about a certain thing, then I would not have been able to catch the markers as they fell off the table....

....When I came to college, everything was different, the pace of life, the people, and day-to-day interactions. People told you what they thought instead of talking behind you, and I have made some very close friends who are happy that I am who I am. Many of the friends that I have now, I first met in Tae Kwon Do.

Tae Kwon Do offers the opportunity to meet people more in depth and on a personal level than just attending class. It is something about getting to know someone at a more physical level that allows you to interact and become better friends. These friends are people that I feel comfortable around all the time, could tell them anything, and even trust my life with. Tae Kwon Do has definitely helped me to be less self-conscious than I was, because my friends and partners are not the type to judge you or to criticize you. They are the type of people that really listen while you talk and genuinely want to hear your opinions and how you are doing.

Another aspect of how Tae Kwon Do has helped me is with focus. This has helped me both mentally and emotionally. The beginning of class where we clear our minds of anything other than Tae Kwon Do has taught me the importance of clarity and focus. There have been those days where it was not possible for me to forget all of my problems and those days were the hardest for me to do anything properly. That can really show you how important it is and more efficient it is to focus on the one thing you are trying to do. Realizing how important it is to be able to concentrate on one thing has helped me with emotional focus and control in that I am more able to compartmentalize my emotions and continue working on something without my emotions getting out of control. This is not always possible, but through meditation and clearing my mind I am able to gain more focus....

I could not imagine my life with out learning Tae Kwon Do, and would not have come this far without it. I now am happier, healthier, and more optimistic or confident with myself, as well as living by higher moral standards.

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Last modified: September 10, 2006