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Monkeys Falling From Trees Like Crazy

16 Dec

“It’s OK; everyone has a bad day.”

There I am on a Saturday morning, having set up an agility course for students in the family class (all ages) at my Taekwondo dojang. An agility ladder. Some orange cones. Some 12″ banana steps.

At 52 years old and 19 years of Taekwondo (and Hapkido, and Kumdo) practice, I consider my footwork to be better than it’s ever been. So, to my chagrin, I demonstrated the course, and proceeded to catch the ladder with my toe several times, knock down a cone, and tip a hurdle. Not only once, but during a repeat demonstration. Continue reading →

Just one small thing

21 Jun

At this week’s meeting of my Rotary club we had in attendance our scholarship recipients and their parents. Each year, my club awards several $1,000, and one $1,500, college scholarships. The applicants, who are high school seniors, submit an application which comes with very detailed guidelines about how to prepare the application and essay.

This year, all of the applications were particularly strong. Each one of the applicants was quite impressive, if not outstanding, in their high school and young life involvements and accomplishments. As I worked to rank the applicants, one aspect of one part of their essays became a differentiating factor; one element, glossed over or not, meant the difference between winning and losing. Continue reading →

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If integrity falls in the woods, does anyone notice it?

11 Jun

Integrity is one of the five formal tenets of Taekwondo. It’s something in which we are supposed to develop as we progress along our martial arts practice and life paths.

In the dojang, we often explain integrity, particularly to kids, simply as honesty and keeping one’s promises. We sometimes explain that integrity further entails elements such as trying your best and doing what you are supposed to do. I’ve explained that it even (or particularly) entails being a good training partner, so that one’s partner is not cheated out of good practice or, worse, gets injured because of one’s action or lack thereof. Continue reading →

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