Tag: Martial Arts

A Disgraced Angel

Today I was appalled.  Was it hearing about Supreme Court Lying Ex President Clinton speaking in Las Vegas on Energy Conservation (I wonder how many people it takes to FLY Clinton to Nevada – bad news is he wasn’t on the campaign trail ruining another election)…. nor was it Bolt from Jamaica going on about how people like him for his cockiness and end of race taunting…. nope, neither of those things.  I was stunned by an Angel… by name only.  As it turns out Angel Matos – a Cuban Tae Kwon Do Olympian competing for the Bronze Medal decided he was unfairly penalized so roundhoused the referee.  That’s right, hauled off and kicked the referee who disqualified him (per the rules) for taking too much injury time (he was winning 3-2, but was knocked on his *ss by his opponent).   Now there are two overall goats for the Olympics and unfortunately this one hits closer to home since I spent many years in Tae Kwon Do and consider this a slap in the face of everything that discipline is based on. 

I still remember my TKD Tenants and Pledge to this day:

Tae Kwon Do Du Jun Sin (Tenants of TKD)

  • Ye-Ui – Courtesy
  • Yom Chy – Integrity
  • In-Nae – Perseverance
  • Guk Ke – Self Control
  • Bakjul Boolgool – Indomitable Spirit

 (pardon the translation attempt, it has been awhile since I wrote Korean)

My Pledge

  • I will obey the principles of TKD
  • I will obey instructor and all senior ranks
  • I will never misuse TKD
  • I will be a champion of freedom
  • I will build a more peaceful world

 Might as well throw in my Master Commandments while I’m at it:

Kwan Jang Nim Hoon Se

  • Chung Kyul – Cleanliness
  • Tin-Seel – Truth
  • Kyum Son – Humble
  • Sa-Rang/Ja Bae – Mercy
  • Duk Do – Spiritually Awake

 I was expected to know these upon any prompting from my instructors and required to demonstrate this knowledge along with Korean philosophies for all techniques and forms before every belt test – knowledge before technique, technique before use and competency before advancement.  Yet for some reason this sad excuse for a martial artist apparently didn’t see an issue with attacking a judge … nor did his coach who was apparently unapologetic.  The World Taekwondo Federation has issued him a lifetime ban – which is a good first step, but I am thinking an additional exhibition at the Beijing closing ceremonies should include an example of Kyum Son – Maybe a Monkey or Crane style demonstration to see if Angel’s black belt is really up to standards.  But alas, I’ll obey Ja-Bae and hope none of my students ever show such disrespect to the ancient arts.

Pil Sung!

International Competition

Lunch today involved a very interesting discussion. I happen to have a very good friend who was actually born in Korea and moved to the United States when he was a young child. We both enjoy the same types of TV shows and movies which often involve some form of martial arts theme – As previously mentioned, I have spent almost 18 years studying martial arts and my friend has been immersed in the genre from his heritage. A significant portion of our lunch time conversations generally focus on critiquing shows/movies we have recently seen or our progress on Rock Band (yes, we are both hooked ever since he introduced me to Guitar Hero I on PS2). The conversation today started with my summarization of the previous night’s American Gladiator. Okay, okay, let me confess – I did my run routine on the treadmill and ended up pushing myself a little farther than I wanted to. I ended up laying down on the couch and was literally too exhausted to reach for the remote, so I ended up watching whatever station was on. To my disgust, it ended up being the new American Gladiator show.

After watching it for about 15 minutes, I figured out the formula – this ultimately led to a distinction between the Asian culture and ours – but first I’ll explain my observation.

Continue reading International Competition