Thank you again for everything,
Tegan Schmidt .

Stanford University General Admissions Essay

by Tegan Monique Schmidt

Although school and softball have played a huge role in my life, there are other things that have taught me important life lessons. I started Martial Arts as a shy timid nine-year-old girl. I was a follower and went along with whatever was going on around me. The form of martial arts I studied was the Korean Tae Soo Do. The belt order is white, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, brown, red, half black and finally black.

One thing I learned was to not let others opinions get in the way of what you want to do. I remember the first day I participated in a class. It was intimidating because every time the other kids punched or kicked they let out a yell, like a battle cry. I caught on very quickly with the actual physical part of things; it was the vocal part I had trouble with. I just could not bring myself to yell.

This went on for months. Then, though a mixture of coaxing and reprimanding I began to at least make noise. The noise I did make cannot be considered a yell. I continued to work hard and I moved up in the belts. Yelling when you do kicks or punches is supposed to let out all of your inner energy and strength. It comes from deep within and focuses all of your power into that one punch or kick.

The master of the Dojo, the Tae Soo Do studio, was Master Lee. Every belt test was the same; “Good job Tegan, but you MUST be louder,” he would say. Finally, one day during class, Master Lee was fed up with telling me to be louder. he started interrogating me about why I refused to turn up the volume on my vocal cords. Then hem made me yell in front of everyone. My yells started out quiet but I was asked to do it again and again until finally I was so frustrated that I put everything into a yell. He smiled and went on teaching the class as though nothing had happened.

That day i learned that it does not matter what others think of you, as long as you do your best and are happy with yourself, you can go anywhere in life. From that day on, my yells were just as loud as everyone else.

What really helped me become a leadrer was when I was a green belt, i was asked to be a member of a program called TGT. It was comprised of the more advanced students helping teach the younger beginning students. I toook my responsibility seriously and did my best to becomea good role model, by leading through example. Helping others to learn was a very enjoyable experience for me. I talked when necessary but most of the time I guided students with positive reinforcement of the basics. I am still this way today, leading through my actions but speaking up when needed. Tae Soo Do made me a leader instead of a follower.

Learning to sacrifice was another important lesson that i learned on my journey to my black belt. Every time I tested for my next belt, my parnts had to fill out a survey about my behavior at home. It was always top marks, except for getting along with my sister. Every belt test, Master Lee would ask my sister and I why we did not get along.

I remember one test in particular, when he was not in a very good mood. he told me taht since I was the older one, it was my responsibility to make sure that we got along. “If you both want to lok at something, you need to let her look at it first. You are older so you need to make sacrifices to get along,” he said to me. At that time, taht sounded like the most unfair statement I had ever heard. As I got older, I realized taht what he had said made sense. We did our best to get alongg vetter and gradually, things improved. Now we hardly ever fight, and usually when we do, we are laughing ten minutes later. Sacrifice is an important ingredient in overall happiness.

The experience I recieved through Martial Arts was on of the most rewarding in my life. I learned to always give my full complete effort no matter what. While working to earn my black belt, I recognized that doing what you think is right to achieve your goals may not always be the most popular thing to do. Through sacrifice and discipline I became a leader, finding comfort in creating my own path.

Note: Tegan was accepted to Stanford University this year. Congratulations Tegan!

The Benefits of Traditional Martial Arts Training

Of course, there are innumerable ways in which we can benefit by training in traditional martial arts. I’ll cover many of these in the pages that follow. There are other pastimes that purportedly teach many of these same lessons; one commonly identified as such is being involved in team sports. While it’s true that in a properly taught football program, for example, you can learn important lessons about teamwork, discipline, perseverance, etc.; these are incidental to the pursuit, sometimes not even verbalized and sometimes not even realized until years later. It seems that most coaches spend little time if any actually directly addressing such important issues, arguably much more important than the game of football where they spend the lion share of their time.

Sadly, many if not most martial arts will purport that such virtues will come through their training but in reality fall into the same trap of actually spending very little time day-to-day discussing these important topics let alone tying them concretely into one’s actions. These life lessons are left implied or discussed in vague generalities. The student is then left to his own devices to see beyond the pure fighting skills to see how it benefits him in other ways. He might learn sound strategies and tactics but not see how this fits into the bigger picture – how doing this makes him a better human being. “He can’t see the forest for the trees,” as they say. Even if he does, it may not be until after many years of practice. The focus is instead on some other less noble but still important goal such as self-defense, better health, passing along techniques, sport competition, etc. Little emphasis is placed on the true benefits of such study — the values that embody the character of a true martial artist, the path we must walk to get there and how this affects everything around us.

So why make this an afterthought? My gut reaction is that they don’t really have a lot of depth of experience in this area. If their teacher didn’t see fit to incorporate such material directly into their training, and they didn’t take the contemplative time to figure it out themselves, then it becomes one of those niceties that we vaguely consider to be true without there being any substance.

Fortunately, Master Lee breaks this mold. Not only does he test these martial principles on a daily basis but he regularly shares these insights with his students. When I first met Master Lee I appreciated the fact that he would continually make the connection for us how what we were doing in class, no matter how basic, led to something truly important. I incorrectly thought that this type of wisdom was common among true martial artists since it’s typically how they are depicted in stories. Perhaps this may only be true once you take into account how few true martial arts masters there are — and even among this rarest breed, I wouldn’t consider this trait common; it is exceptional.

My friend, Kirk Retz, gave me some perspective many years ago when he switched to Hwa Rang Do from another school. He said that Master Lee’s discussions in the last five minutes of class were his favorite part. It was like a gift of wisdom all packaged together for you to take home. He said that his previous teacher never did that and then noted how important it is. I just smiled because this mirrored my thoughts exactly.

I remember back in the college club days, Master Lee would sometimes come over from USC to run the UCLA Hwa Rang Do Club. These were always amazing classes. Every so often instead of training he’d spend the entire session discussing the history of Hwa Rang Do or the philosophies behind our training. These were always so engaging that we’d usually stay overtime or if we had to give up the room, we’d continue over pizza at the student union. Everything was fair game as a learning experience — when we went to a movie or went drinking. Certainly he’d cover the exploits of the Hwarang from centuries past but most of it was then as it is today, lessons from his direct experience and those of his students; things that are relevant to our daily experience, how to better live our lives.

I think back to how valuable those lessons were (more so than most of my college classes) and how sad that there’s no college class teaching them today. I truly hope that Master Lee will get a chance to open his own school to teach this material. I don’t know how it will work outside the context of training in Hwa Rang Do but it’s worth a shot. I’ve also wondered if a book could be written to properly capture this material; but I’m not sure. There’s a lot to be gained by Master Lee’s delivery so perhaps some sort of seminars or videos would be better.

I consider myself amazingly lucky to have discovered Hwa Rang Do, both as a phenomenal martial art and path to not just self-betterment but to self-actualization (more below). I realized that this was fortuitous very early on in my training, but the depth of my appreciation continued to grow over many years as I my understanding deepened. I fully realize that on this point I have no right to ask for anything more however, I understand that I am actually double blessed. In fact, I recognized this with growing clarity even back when I was in the UCLA Hwa Rang Do Club. Again, I find myself astonishingly lucky to have found as my teachers both Dojoonim and Master Lee. Over the years I’ve had many opportunities to see the depth of conviction, the love for the art and its students, and the amount of self-sacrifice. They truly embody the ideals that we strive to live up to giving us concrete examples that it can be done. This has the added benefit of removing any possible excuse or rationalization as to why it can’t be done.

In particular, I’m astounded with how much Hwa Rang Do has improved over the years. The curriculum has been expanded to include Tae Soo Do for those new to martial arts. This was a visionary development that has paid off in ways too numerous to mention. This has allowed us to refocus on Hwa Rang Do and teach it as I believe Dojoonim intended instead of having to water it down for those new to martial arts and are not yet willing to put in the time and dedication.

Other notable improvements include: incorporating the TGT group both as assistants but also to better themselves; systematizing the Goo Too Gi material into the curriculum; expanding the curriculum to include Hwarang Kumsul; adding the redirects in Hoshin Won Sul to teach proper joint application; the Tae Jun Sa program, etc. With the expanded weapon fighting using the innovative tari strikes and the addition of begi sul I’m continually amazed. Even without moving up in rank all of these new areas represent a significant growth in knowledge and have dramatically improved my abilities as a martial artist and as an instructor. With all that is improving I am more excited by Hwa Rang Do today than I have been during my 23 years of training.

It may seem ludicrous to some that we are expanding the requirements given how comprehensive Hwa Rang Do already is and how difficult it is to learn as a result. I’ve heard a tale of another martial arts master once telling Dojoonim that he’s crazy to try to teach so much material, especially to Americans who don’t train enough — that there is so much to learn that it’s like multiple martial arts, impossible to master in one lifetime. And that was before all of these new requirements. It’s likely true that the average person cannot hope to master it all; but we don’t strive to be average. “Average” is an insult to the exceptional. Was Einstein average? How about Shakespeare? Our goal is to be exceptional; at all times; in all things.

It is because of this vast amount of material that I believe that Doojoonim and Master Lee have been working equally tirelessly on improving the teaching methods. By breaking things down, clarifying the body mechanics, and systematizing the steps both in how things are done as well as how they are taught, we can now accelerate the student’s progress through this very difficult material. This level of instruction is truly amazing. It’s like not only attaining a Master level at performing the material (which is the limit of most people), but also being a Master at how to clearly identify and articulate how it is done. On top of all this is the Master level ability to draw the connections to the bigger purpose in life and to lead others beyond their so-called limits. As I said, we are truly blessed.

I can safely say that Hwa Rang Do continues to live up to its claim as the most comprehensive martial art in the world. This also demonstrates that Doojoonim and Master Lee live up to the principle of continual improvement; that we can never rest; that we can always get better. Of course, the above advancements touch on the curriculum and some of the enhanced teaching methods but mention nothing of testing procedures, school management, marketing techniques, seminars, tournaments, videos, articles, books, etc. — the list not only goes on, but I suspect will continue to go on with future additions and improvements.

The Path from White to Black

Going forward, I’d like to present some of the broader areas where Hwa Rang Do training mirrors and supplements our natural progression in life. I’m sure that most of these have been directly addressed by Dojoonim or Master Lee at some point in my training so even those that I feel may have come from some personal insight are likely to originate from them. I suspect that this is true of any great teacher/student or parent/child relationship.

One clear analogy in martial training is that the path we all take from white belt to black sash is one of continual maturation from being childlike into becoming a mature adult — as not all adults are mature, sadly. As with life, we all start out clumsy, inexperienced, ineffectual and somewhat naïve. This is as true for adult white belts as it is with children. The children actually have an advantage that they’re more of a clean slate. Adults frequently have to unlearn certain behaviors or struggle with preconceived notions that become obstacles.

We treat the white belts much like we would a child in terms of simplifying the material; how it is explained; the mistakes that are allowed; etc. We are very forgiving because they don’t yet know or understand so we don’t yet hold them accountable.

Even the training methods are different for beginners. They get more direction, more motivation, and more positive reinforcement. Hwa Rang Do students by contrast have already achieved their Tae Soo Do black belt and have gained the strength and discipline to understand that they are accountable for their actions. Through the steadily increasing responsibility and consequences we help the students become strong, independent self-learners. These concrete lessons are sometimes hard to come by in the real world so it’s even more valuable that they are learned in a safe environment where the outcome of failure is small.

Having students from 4 to 64 yrs old, it’s clear that you’re never too young or too old to learn — especially the harder ethical lessons like distinguishing right from wrong or admitting to a mistake and accepting the consequences. Again, it’s the rationalizing minds of adults that have been trained for too long how to protect the ego. It takes honest self-criticism to strip that away before the real work of improving can begin. Initially, the Tae Soo Do adults have their egos somewhat spared as the emphasis is placed on highlighting the achievements or mistakes of the younger students. The implied message is “look what a 5-yr-old can do; you should do better.” Or, if a mistake, “sure he made a common error, but he’s only 5 — learn from his mistake” (even though the adults are frequently doing the same thing).

Lose the Ego

In Hwa Rang Do however, we shouldn’t have to protect our egos. In fact, we should be the most critical of ourselves. But just in case you miss an opportunity to recognize one of your mistakes or areas of weakness, it’s the duty of your instructor to help you see it and fix it. This is done out of love for it is much better to learn the lesson in the dojang than out in the real world where the consequence could be much more severe. Master Lee is very good at being the metaphorical mirror, showing you your true self — for your benefit. This has the unfortunate effect that some students naturally wish to avoid such uncomfortable truths. Still, this is what they need to be honest with themselves and grow stronger in the process. Certainly it’s not fun for Master Lee to have to be harsh all the time, but that is a burden that he’s accepted as your teacher. Since this is undoubtedly a thankless part of his job, I wish to publicly thank Master Lee now for being there for me all these many years as my teacher — Daedanhee Kamsahapnida Susuk Kwan Jang Nim! We should all say it more often.

Of course, in our quest to become self-reliant we need to learn to be our own toughest critic — to be ruthless with ourselves and never letting the rationalizations begin. We need to continually fight the natural urge to think that we’re good enough, smart enough, or strong enough. We must never be satisfied. When we know ourselves at our weakest at our worst, only then can nothing surprise us or hurt us. This is why truly strong individuals are humble. They don’t need to feed their ego, they understand that we’re all imperfect and they’ve come to grips with their own flaws. It is as Master Lee says, “it is the empty can that makes the most noise.” This bravado is a put on by boys pretending to be men. The largest egos truly are carried by the smallest of men.

We don’t have any people such as this in Hwa Rang Do. They quickly learn the difference between talk and action. Those who can’t stand shining the light of truth upon themselves will create some rationalization to feel good about quitting. This is definitely too bad for them. The better for the rest of us though. Following the warrior’s path is not easy and it’s not for everyone. It should be as everyone would unquestionably benefit but we’re not all wired the same and perhaps some find it too stressful, too challenging. Of course, the answer to such an excuse is “that’s exactly why you should do it — to overcome the challenge and defeat the perceived stress.” But again, that’s the righteous path toward personal strength of character and some can only walk this path so far. At least when we do lose students, we know that we’ve shown them a better way and have improved them to some degree. Who knows the effects that can come from attending even one class or seminar? It can touch eternity.

As students progress to the black sash and beyond, they have progressed from the childlike need for help and encouragement to instead becoming independent, self-teachers who are now able to help others. And as they become instructors, like parents, that’s exactly what they’ll do; sharing these teachings to an ever widening group of not just Hwa Rang Do students, but students of life.

How We Learn

One of the most basic yet most important things you learn in Hwa Rang Do is how to learn. This is arguably true as we all progress through public school and, hopefully, into college. By the time you get a bachelor’s degree you should have learned how to study and how to pass tests. But is this really how to learn? Not necessarily.

There certainly are different ways to learn: auditory, kinesthetic, visual and verbal. There also are many interrelated types of learning (or intelligence) which include but are not limited to: linguistic, logical, spatial, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal (emotional). Traditional schooling focuses primarily on the first two but unfortunately spends a lot more time on regurgitating facts than critical thinking skills, let alone these other types of personal growth.

So where do children magically acquire these important life lessons? Colleges are expected to emphasize depth in a specific major of study and not the breadth needed by the whole student. Unfortunately, K-12 education isn’t much better — as I stated in my article on How Children Become Adults:

Schools are fearful of lawsuits and are already overwhelmed with additional non-academic requirements such as PE, nutrition, shop, sex education, drug awareness, etc. They are more interested in teaching conformity and self-esteem so students will fit in and feel good about themselves, even as they fail. Students do not learn the consequence of their actions. Just look at the near total lack of discipline. Teachers are no longer allowed to have kids stand in the corner, put their heads down, write standards, or even clean erasers. To make matters worse, they are removing any competitions that might hurt a child’s delicate self-esteem. This has gone to the extreme of discouraging harmless games like musical chairs because not everyone gets to win.

By sheltering children we create unrealistic expectations of how the world works. Children need to learn their strengths and weaknesses and be taught how to cope with adversity. If we delay this until they are “old enough” then they will miss learning opportunities, which will only make it much harder later. When will they be taught to be strong and self-reliant? How will they learn to respond to real world obstacles if they are never given a chance to practice these skills in a safe, controlled environment? Martial arts, properly taught, are one of the last bastions where students learn these powerful skills.

I don’t think that I could have said it better.

Of course, real parents, teachers, coaches and mentors realize that this is not the path and are doing what they can to combat this slide into mediocrity. Hopefully, we can reach the children before they get summarily dumped into society and are expected to now get by in an environment where no one cares about your “self-esteem” — they want results or you’re out of a job! And while this type of politically correct behavior seems to be particularly problematic in the US, this is truly a worldwide problem.

In Hwa Rang Do we expect a lot from our students, not just in terms of curriculum but also behaviorally. Through their interaction with various senior/junior students and teachers they are trained and then challenged in nearly every area: linguistic, logical, spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal. This translates to exemplary human beings who also are taught how to learn in the process. This is one of the most useful skills we can have.

Some of the lessons on how to learn include:

• Learn from your mistakes, or preferably the mistakes of others.
• Break things down into their constituent parts and if necessary, break those into smaller parts. Then put it back together into one whole. Then practice it until it becomes second nature and not a series of disparate items.
• Start with a simple model and then add the necessary complexity to mirror reality.
• Learn to synthesize facts into information, information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom.
• Recognize patterns so you can learn more quickly.
• Seek the underlying principle and extrapolate this into as many different situations as possible. The biggest of these are universal principles that apply at all times.
• Understand the rules of how things fit together so you can learn the “language” of our movements. Then you’ll know how to continue modifying and creating new movements that are in harmony with existing material.

Applying this to our “C-lock,” for example; you first learn the basic angles to make it work statically. Then add in the necessary redirecting movement to setup the technique and the lockup to finish it. Try the same from various angles, differing attacks or with various size partners. Add dynamic movement of the partner to learn to apply it on a resisting opponent. Then continue to test this in many different situations and combinations seeing how it works within the context of our other techniques — how does it work, when do you use it, how can it be modified, how can it be combined within our existing knowledge?

How things interlink and affect one another is the metadata that frees us to step back and see the underlying relationships — the forest for the trees, as they say. This is the path to deeper knowledge, wisdom and ultimately Truth.

Of course the above example would work with anything you wish to learn, and in Hwa Rang Do we would like to learn it all — to be philosophers, statesmen, warriors, poets. We strive to be comprehensive in our approach because breadth of knowledge is freedom. That’s why we practice “The Art of Unlimited Options.” The importance of this is clear when you realize that our reality is clouded by our perceptions — but the more tools we have, the more responses we can choose for a given situation then our response can be more natural and in harmony with reality.

The Perfect Environment

In Hwa Rang Do we are very fortunate to have a perfect environment to teach these lessons by providing real life experiences. Our students are expected to be on their best behavior at all times. This means that they must actually exemplify proper behavior: being polite, helpful, hard working, disciplined, etc. This is expected of them; they don’t get “sunshine points” for good behavior as is done in my son’s kindergarten class. They quickly learn the consequence of not fulfilling this contract; children and adults alike. When they make a mistake they can literally get knocked down. They then have to get back up, dust themselves off and figure out how to make sure that never happens again. For other types of mistakes then it’s up to the instructors to point it out noting that in battle, one mistake could be fatal. At least in our safe environment, they can live to fix it and hopefully to never make the same mistake when the stakes are that high.

As adults in the Hwarang Kumsul class can attest, there’s more at stake than merely being knocked down. With the emphasis on treating our bamboo swords as live blades and that being hit is equivalent to death, it’s a big price to pay for a small lapse in focus or judgment — but that’s the true warrior’s way. A small lapse with a live blade truly can cost you your life. And it’s amazing what this can do for your focus!

More so than in any other part of our training, in the Kumsul class we must face death. It may be metaphorical but it’s treated with the sincerity of the real thing. Everything seems more acute in this heightened atmosphere — the preparations before class are more thorough, the meditation deeper, the focus more intense, the kiaps louder. It’s very cathartic to be able to face someone who is “trying to kill you,” suppress the fear and focus on action — without the uncertainty and without any attempt to defend.

In this environment there’s no such thing as “good enough.” This to me is the clearest lesson of commitment. You either do or you do not. There’s nothing else — no words, no rationalizations. I’ve also found remarkable how much more you can achieve when you focus just on success and rid yourself of concern over failure. I wish that I had the benefit of this training back when I was struggling to improve my sparring. It would have helped me learn to worry more about hitting my opponent than about him hitting me.

Early in my training I thought that sparring should be a quick exchange of strategic strikes executed with near-surgical precision. Finding the exchanges too fast I became a very defensive fighter always looking for the perfect counter. Basically, I was relying more upon my brain to respond than my body. Also, I didn’t want to admit it to myself at the time but I had a healthy dose of the fear of being hit.

After wasting time trying to avoid the inevitable, I admitted that I was going to need much more sparring practice where I get in close, mix-it-up, and get hit. Once I started with this new mind-set it was clear that I had been actively avoiding doing what I knew I needed most; and that this had been holding me back. I then took this as a personal challenge and I saw quick improvement in my sparring. I also didn’t get hit as much as I thought I would.

The lessons I learned from this mistake were many but the most notable are:

• honestly assess your weaknesses and start fixing them now
• face your fear and do it anyway
• then overcome your fear so it no longer is a weakness

As with all lessons, it’s important to state them as generally as you can and learn to apply them as widely as possible. This is something else I learned through Hwa Rang Do. Sometimes the biggest lessons come from the most unlikely places. So this isn’t just about sparring, it’s about any challenge in life. Don’t sell short such important lessons; otherwise, you’ll continue to make the same mistake in other areas of your life.

Of course, the other lesson from Kumsul is worth repeating, focus more on what you can do to succeed and worry less about the possible consequences — they may never come to pass anyway. If you worry about taking any action, then you have effectively beaten yourself by choosing inaction, which surely is not the path to success. We need to continually challenge ourselves to act, to move, to strive on and never take our sight off the goal. Obstacles may get in the way but those are just there to keep out those who easily give up. If it were easy it wouldn’t be worth doing. Be determined. Determination can never be underestimated.

The Whole Student

As implied above, in Hwa Rang Do we focus on the whole student — what they do in class and outside of class — how they approach life. We’re not interested in their ability to kick and punch; we’re interested in their character. Bullies can kick and punch; it means nothing. We focus on what makes them exceptional human beings.

“The Way of a Warrior is based on humanity, love, and sincerity; the heart of martial valor is true bravery, wisdom, love, and friendship. Emphasis on the physical aspects of warriorship is futile, for the power of the body is always limited.”

Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace

The discipline, morality and control needed to be a true warrior is far more important than mere coordination or physical strength. In fact, I think that if you asked people what’s the most notable trait of a martial artist, their first thought would probably be their athletic strength and control. But if you pressed further it’s their emotional strength and control, their character that makes them true warriors, heroes.

I particularly like the emphasis we place on the whole student when it comes to the progress report required for our children to test. Everyone I mention this to is always impressed; which is pleasing on one hand but a little concerning that perhaps this isn’t being done anywhere else in society. It’s important that we teach from a very young age that you must do what’s right at all times; not just in public, not just when you might get recognition, and not just when it’s easy. This is the first step of extending our “best behavior” in the dojang into all facets of our lives.

This is also why it’s so important to regularly discuss our successes and failures to live up to these high ideals so we can all keep them fresh in our mind. The Hwa Rang Do Meng Sae is not something to only be thought of at the end of class. We clearly embody these values when the children come to testing having been rated by their parents and teachers if they’ve been good, strong, caring individuals in all areas of their life. Those present at the exam are reminded that this too applies to them, even if they’re merely spectators — that they should also do more to help others and share their strength.

Famed psychologist Abraham Maslow described a hierarchy of needs that he said all humans struggle to fulfill. While there’s some argument as to whether or not they actually build upon one another, the general categories still hold true:

Looking at the human condition from this perspective, it’s clear that while we have a lot of needs not everyone strives as hard for those near the top of the pyramid; the “lofty” goals. Arguably, these are the very traits that separate us from other living things: morality, confidence, respect. Many so-called martial arts focus on self-defense, which falls within the more plebeian Safety concerns. Important? Sure; but that’s not all there is to life. We focus on all levels of the hierarchy.

One of the key methods for achieving this in my opinion is the TGT program. Teaching skills are some of the most difficult and most valuable that you can gain. It’s hard to imagine achieving much in life without being able to motivate, coach, teach, or parent others. Fortunately, we don’t wait for our students to reach Black Belt before they start teaching.

For one, rank alone adds responsibility akin to being an older brother or sister, which comes with the added expectation of being able to assist the junior ranking students. But it doesn’t end there. The TGT program is a volunteer corps of the best and most respected students. These already notable individuals then get special instruction on how to teach, not just what to teach, so they may assist in class. While this certainly improves the student/teacher ratio to the benefit of all students, the TGT members are actually the ones who gain the most.

These role models must exemplify the ideals of the school in order to be respected by the other students. As such, they are held to a higher standard, must do more and must pay a higher price for their mistakes. Remember, with greater authority comes greater responsibility. The lessons learned when trying to teach others and live up to their expectations are very valuable, but not easy. This accelerates their maturation however and ultimately helps create better instructors and future leaders. I also believe it makes them better children, parents, employees, etc. — you name it. I don’t think that I can over emphasize the value of this one program.

SUMMARY

Actually, there are so many lessons learned by following the warrior’s path that I’m not sure that my title is accurate. Perhaps instead Life is a Microcosm of Hwa Rang Do. This certainly is true for many who are not fortunate enough to have had good parents and teachers and never found the path to self-betterment. And I’m not just referring to the bottom rungs of society; this applies to people from all walks of life. We are losing touch with what makes us tick, what we need — and this is causing us to lose touch with our humanity.

Seriously, HRD in many ways is better than life — or at least, better than real life — because it’s an idealized version of what life should be. Everyone tries their best; helps each other; is accountable; is selfless; is on their best behavior; works together; focuses on the positive; encourages growth; seeks wisdom; gains strength; … If only real life were like this! But little by little, we impart this glimpse of a better world; and each student carries this with us into our communities to set an example and positively impact our environment.

So once again I find that I have much more material that I can compress into this limited space. I’m sure that I could write a book if I kept on; and Dojoonim and Master Lee could write many many such books — I wish they would as we’d all benefit immensely.

There are a few points that really shouldn’t be left out. We are a school of leadership, of strength, of character. We are not the Boy Scouts, we’re not a gym, we’re not a church and we’re not the military. Each of these has their own end in mind for you and they don’t care so much about your personal growth.

Some might say “so then you’re like team sports?” No! The main difference is that we are not playing a game! We’re not pretending to prepare for battle, we are preparing for battle. We fight to strengthen ourselves for the demands of life so we can approach it with courage and emerge victorious. As such, we require more focus, more determination, and there’s a greater consequence for failure. As accurately as possible we test ourselves on a daily basis to ensure that we have the mettle.

“Oh, so then you’re like the military?” No! They focus on a very specific outcome — to pigeonhole individuals into the war machine so that together they can win a given battle. Our goal is not so plebeian. We do not limit individuals but strive to expand their self-imposed limits. A soldier is taught to follow orders and fight without thinking — that thinking will get him killed. By contrast, a warrior is self-governing and chooses to follow a leader but does so with his brain fully engaged. If he sees a mistake it is his duty to point it out; even at great personal consequence. The ideals we follow are greater than we are — integrity, courage, honor, humanity, justice, virtue. These can never be compromised. Nor can they ever be fulfilled — but in my opinion one cannot spend their lifetime in a pursuit that’s more important.

Lastly, this is all really about giving back — doing what you can to make this world a better place. If we knew of a better way to do this we would. By training people to be stronger, they can go out and help the weak. By showing them how to lead, they can better leverage these teachings to the benefit of an even greater number of people. It’s as Master Lee says, “you should become a doctor in order to save lives; you should become a lawyer in order to fight injustice.” Well, we are teachers and leaders — so we can show others not just what can be done but also teach them how to accomplish great things. And sure, some might do this to feel good about themselves as part of the natural desire to leave a legacy; but if you ask me, Hwarang warriors act this way just because it’s the right thing to do.

But if I really think about it, my drive was never really internalized. In school, I was always working just working for a grade in a class. In fact, my entire goal throughout college was to get the A with as least effort as possible.

Fast forward to my mid-twenties with no more coaches, teams, or grades, and I was a bit directionless. I even tried mens league soccer to return to the sense of comraderie among a team that I had in high school and college. But everyone playing in a mens league is a free agent. Always looking to trade up to a better team. Or, they have about 3 friends on the team and they’ll only pass to those guys. Or worst of all, they’re phoning it in, so they can tell girls in bars that they play soccer.

It got old, quickly. What was the point in making a 30 yard run to be wide open for a shot on goal if no one would pass it? Or what was the point of playing hard defense toe-to-toe with someone advancing the ball if your teammates were too lazy to cover the open pass. It all resulted in a lot of wasted effort. I got so sick and tired of it that I dreaded going to the games.

Around this time, I had two good friends that had started training in Tae Soo Do. I even met Master Lee at a graduation party for one of the guys. I talked to him for a while about what Hwa Rang Do was all about. As many cocktails as I had that night I clearly remember his answer, “It is whatever you want it to be.” Frankly I didn’t get it. But Master Lee was very charismatic, and made me curious.

A few months later, I attended a buddy week. Class was tough, but I held in there. At the end of it, my thought was, “This is awesome, where do I sign up.” I did that night, and I got my white belt in the next beginner class.

But my externally motivated attitude that had been common for my previous 25 years followed me. At first, I felt I had something to prove. I had to let the entire class and all the martial art instructors know that while I was new, I was no slouch. I was going to sweat it out with the best of them and work harder and faster than everyone. Then they’d know I was serious. I had to tell Master Lee through my actions that I was a student worthy of his tutelage.

After a while, all of the students that were ranked higher than me moved out of the beginner class. My thoughts shifted from proving myself to making sure I was a good example for the other beginners ranked lower than me.

But a thought was very, very slowly crystalizing in my head. Scattered fragments of what Master Lee had been saying over the previous months were slowly taking shape and rising to the surface like bubbles in a pot of water just beginning to boil.

“It [Hwa Rang Do] is whatever you want it to be.”
“You better not be getting your [Tae Soo Do] black belt for me. Do it for yourself.”
“Don’t be an exception, be exceptional.”
“Class is battle–would you show up for battle unprepared?”
“I know you can be 100 times better.”

Hwa Rang Do and Tae Soo Do are not about impressing Master Lee or the other instructors. It’s not about proving yourself to your fellow students. It’s about one thing and one thing only–YOU. Specifically, being the best version of “YOU” possible.

The simple fact of the matter is:

• You CAN do your basics faster
• You CAN do more knuckle pushups
• You CAN always make your stances deeper
• You CAN always make your kicks higher

It is ridiculous how many artificial limitations we place on ourselves. Hwa Rang Do and Tae Soo Do is just as much, if not more, about exercising and improving your mind as it is about exercising and improving your body.

I am finally beginning to internalize that I am capable of much more than I think I am. I don’t need a coach or a team to push me. My natural attitude is to push myself further than I think is possible.

- Joseph O’Day

This morning, Master Lee was explaining the finer points of the second HRD hyung to me, demonstrating the proper body mechanics for the reverse punch. I’ve seen plenty of high level practitioners throw a reverse punch, and I myself have thrown thousands of them. But when you see it done properly, as if every cell of the puncher’s body is in perfect harmony with that movement, that punch is no longer just a punch. It’s an expression of transcendence.

The beauty of that transcendence is lost, however, on 99% of the people that walk through the dojang’s doors. The average person, even a so-called “educated consumer”, lacks the perspective or experience to see the value of what’s being given to them so freely for nothing more than the price of enrollment. I see it almost every time I walk into the dojang: “That which comes too easily, you esteem too lightly,” It’s a bloody shame. It expresses itself with every rude comment, every careless action, every half-hearted kick, every defensive response to criticism, and every moment when our ego allows any sort of behavior that is anything other than respectful, diligent, committed, and generous. This is the cold, hard truth of every asset or precious commodity – from money, to relationships – not just martial arts. We get into the habit of taking things for granted, and we do it with the things that we cherish, let alone the things that we cannot comprehend the value of.
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Almost 2 decades ago, when I first came to Los Angeles, I was at Caltech, watching Tsutomu Ohshima teach his Shotokan karate class. As a newcomer, I knelt just inside the door of the gym in the corner, watching the class train and observing the instruction. Master Ohshima noticed me kneeling, and came up to me after maybe 30 minutes and invited me in, asking me to sit more comfortably on the bleachers. When he came up to me, I bowed down, touching my forehead to the ground in the same way that you bow at the beginning of class.
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At the end of class, one of Master Ohshima’s higher ranking brown belt students came up to me and snidely asked why I was brown-nosing “Mr. Ohshima” with all the kneeling and bowing. I shot back a glare that would have cut through a tree and told him that if he had any clue who his teacher was, how his teacher was the prized pupil of the father of modern karate, how his teacher’s skill is legendary in the world of martial arts (even in Japan), he should cry at the number of times he failed to kneel down and show the utmost respect for his sensei. Embarrassed, he skulked off to change out of his uniform and find his pocket protector. In all his years of training, that student never comprehended the value of the moments he had with this great master. If you knew the kind of level of achievement and genius that Do Joo Nim has accomplished, if you knew the kind of persistence and dedication Susuk Kwan Jang Nim has put into training and continuing Do Joo Nim’s legacy, and if you knew how little you appreciate it and respect it, maybe you’d cry too. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Don’t show your thanks with a Honey baked ham, or some cheap words. Show how much you understand what is being given to you and how much you esteem the Hwarang ethos by pushing yourself in every moment to be stronger, more dedicated, more respectful, and more aware not just in the dojang, but in every moment of your life.

Dr. Mark Cheng

KCC: From the 30 years of teaching, what are some of your discoveries, experiences, and understandings of being human?

CML: Wow, that’s a loaded question. Let me see how I can best answer that. First off, I am grateful and feel blessed for having the opportunity to have come across so many diverse people of all walks of life, culture, and nations. Literally I have taught thousands if not tens of thousands of students and you can say I heard it all, seen it all, but human beings are very tricky and I am sure I will gain new insights, (smiling) good ones. But then again what are bad insights? I guess all insights are good, depending on how I apply them, and yes I already knew that. I was just checking to see if you’re awake.

There are many that I could mention, which is my inspiration for my next book, but for now just a few thoughts. I have heard over and over again from my students that they wish they started training earlier when they were children and that they wish they finished many things that they started when they were younger. There are several clues to our human nature from this. For one, perseverance is not innate; it is learned or in my case teachable. So, this is one of my most important missions as a teacher is to teach the qualities of perseverance and tenacity to my students.

How is that possible? Well, before one can be tenacious, he/she must have fortitude, endurance; before one can persevere he/she must have strength and courage. One must understand the reasons why people quit things.

And, if you ask a thousand people why they have quit, they will give you a thousand different answers with the most popular answer being, “I don’t know.” For those who have put some thought into it, their answers will range from the most absurd to the most creative elaborations from their infinite imagination, the intellect. However, if you look deeply, there are two fundamental reasons – loss of interest and hardship.

There are many versions of why they lost interest and why it was so difficult and all of them are justifiable and reasonable. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that they have quit.

Most have learned the art of quitting from their early childhood when you (the parent) have enrolled them in piano lessons, but now they want to play the guitar which is actually okay as it is in the same discipline of music. So at least, that’s what we tell ourselves as parents. Then, the child wants to do martial arts, but now he wants to play football and that’s okay because at least they are doing something physical. So at least, that’s what we tell ourselves as parents.

As young children, they seek what is pleasurable and avoid things that are not pleasurable. This is why I might find my 6 year old nephew rubbing himself on the couch and when asked, “Why do you do that?” His answer is simple and in a way profound, “It feels good.” Profound? Because ultimately this is the state which we all seek – that state of purity, innocence, and happiness, often called heaven, nirvana, enlightenement.

But for now, we must grow to maturity and become adults. And being an adult, being mature means that we must learn to do the things that we don’t like to do, things which do not give us pleasure. We may even do them well and sometime very well — like taxes.

So, if we let the child decide, then they will be fickle and rightly so with so many things to do and so eager to do them all.

Then what is the answer?

You can’t just have them do one thing forever or can you? Actually that’s what makes people the best at something – look at Tiger Woods or better yet, me (with a smile). To clarify, it’s not just one thing, but one focus. Well, that’s highly unlikely and you don’t want to limit your child’s experiences. Then, what can you do?

How about setting smaller goals and timelines for example: if they want to play the guitar, then you make them promise that they will try it for one year whether they like it or not and at that time, you’ll re-evaluate whether the child wants to continue or not.

At least this way, they did not quit, but more importantly they don’t feel like a quitter and also learned to keep a promise. Also, they did not get stuck wasting time on something that they don’t like doing and it’s not their forte. This is why the martial arts are so perfect as it breaks down the art’s curriculum into small parts, the belt ranking system, that are more digestible.

Boy this has become a long winded answer, so I’ll try to wrap it up and you’ll just have to wait for my book to know the rest.

No matter how you disguise it, quitting is quitting, and it’s a learned behavior. As a child when they quit something, they don’t feel bad, they feel liberated, happy. It’s later on in their lives that this behavior impacts them negatively and is the cause of low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, and self-destructive behavior.

Human beings cling to things that are familiar and stay away from things that are unfamiliar whether they are positive or negative has no bearing on their decision. We want more than anything – security. The fear of the unknown is far greater than the impending doom of self-destructive behavior. And, even when we know that what we are doing is not good for us, we will continue as that is what’s familiar. Their lives will continue to spin out of control and not knowing how to stop it or change it, their ego for the sake of self-preservation will convince them that it’s not their fault that their live are so messed up, but it’s everyone and everything else that’s is to blame.

KCC: We can’t change our past, so what are we to do now as adults?

CML: Quit! (laugh). There are so many things I want to share with you, my students, and the world. This is why I am relentless in my efforts to teach, teach, and then teach some more. With the help of some of my students, we will utilize the new technologies to disseminate my teachings and have it more readily available worldwide.

KCC: Okay Master Lee, but what do you want to teach?

CML: Whether you believe in God or not, our lives are in our own hands. And, if there is a God, we must be self-reliant for what kind of god would want a nagging, whining child. Our destiny lies within our own hands and it is up to us to make happen what we want to be like, what kind of life we want to live. Whether the glass half-full or half-empty, what you must remember is that it is the same glass of water and it’s up to the individual to decide.

The goal should be to do the best that we can in all that we do by constantly improving, strengthening, and educating ourselves towards betterment. That should be the goal of our lives, not “lets be a millionaires”. Money is a means to an end, not the end itself and usually it ruins everything of true value, the human spirit. So if you do not enjoy the journey of life and spend money accordingly, then you’ll have amassed a lot of wealth, spend much time and stress protecting it, some will literally bury it underground as they do not trust the banks, then die a rich, bitter, lonely man, only to leave all the wealth that you could not carry into heaven, to your children. Then they won’t be able to understand why people have to work so hard to make money and constantly complain about it and also can’t figure out why they are so miserable.

Earlier, I have defined two fundamental sources for quitting and both are within our control – boredom and difficulties. Grass is not greener on the other side; the grass is greenest where I step.

In order to maintain our interest in others and the things we do, we must first make ourselves interesting by constantly improving in all areas of our lives, reaffirming our purpose each and every day, crush the demon of apathy that lies deep within ourselves, and not live to enter heaven, but make this our heaven.

Then, we must fortify and strengthen all three elements of the self – mind, body and heart, keeping our spirit balanced and strong. With this renewed strength, we can now face any hardship and accept it as a challenge that stands in defiance of our growth, of our goal towards self-betterment.

I am not interested in living a long life; I want to live a full life. This is what I have learned from my life as a Hwarang and this is what I want to share with the world. I thank my teacher, my mentor, my father and most importantly the silence between the words that give everything meaning.

Hwarangdo Forever!

Thirty years later, Taejoon Lee finds himself answering the question he posed to himself so long ago. With hundreds of rang do (students) under his direct tutelage, and thousands more internationally following the martial way, Susuk Kwanjangnim is poised to achieve a monumental feat.

The Kwan Chang Chronicles sat with Chief Master Lee to discuss his achievement, and get his reflections from thirty years of teaching Hwa Rang Do in the United States, and what he envisions for the coming years.

KCC: Susuk Kwanjangnim, what is the most vital aspect of your teaching? What one thing do you hope students take away from their training?

ML: When you look back into the history of the Hwarang and whom they were, their martial training was not just to develop skills for combat, they were life skills as well. Everything they did, be it raise a family, the arts, teach, heal, etc. was guided and congruent with how they lived as warriors.

In battle, there are no excuses. Failure was equivalent to dying. Now even though in our modern everyday lives, we normally don’t pay that high of a price for our failures, as modern warriors we need to be guided by that same philosophy. I always tell my students, “don’t be the exception, be exceptional”.

Now that being said, often in life we do fail and make mistakes. Once a mistake has occurred, there’s nothing you can do to change it – it’s in the past. But as warriors if we have faltered and still have the opportunity to live on, we must view that failure as an opportunity to learn and grow and continue moving forward with our new found wisdom.

Most people view failure or success as the only two possible outcomes for a venture. But there are many opportunities for personal growth as you work toward achieving your objective. Only focusing on the outcome can be dangerous, because it opens you up to temptation – to cheating your way to get to the end, cutting corners or even just becoming complacent.

But as warriors, the journey and how we conduct ourselves and what we gain during that journey is just as important. Every great warrior, every great leader shares an inherent dissatisfaction with status quo and a desire to challenge themselves, to become better people in the process of achieving one’s goals. As a result, the journey becomes even more important than arriving at your destination.

From international martial arts exhibitions and seminars, to private instruction where he teaches one-to-one, Master Lee has taught thousands of people Hwa Rang Do’s martial way. We asked him, then, what has the largest obstacle been to imparting the Hwarang philosophy to the public at large.

ML: In our western society, we have become conditioned and told that it is acceptable to avoid responsibility for ourselves. It’s even engrained in our legal system, where they make a distinction between premeditated murder and just murder… “crimes of passion” versus just crime. This conditions us to believe that there are times when we can avoid taking full responsibility for our own actions. This is ridiculous. Everything we do and don’t do, is our responsibility regardless of the circumstance!

This is my biggest challenge, but it is also my responsibility as a teacher to help everyone who walks into my dojang understand this. From the little tiger who forgets his sparring gear to the adult students not taking responsibility for their test material, everyone is accountable for their own actions. If a little tiger comes to the dojang without the necessary equipment, it’s not the parent’s responsibility, it’s the little tiger’s responsibility and he/she is the one who will be disciplined.

The encouraging part about my job is that as students progress to the higher levels of Tae Soo Do and into Hwa Rang Do, most do become more responsible and self-critical. It’s a great joy of mine to watch them mature and progress.

However, I also rarely acknowledge my students for these achievements, because I want them to improve for themselves, and not for the sake of pleasing me. It is very difficult for me to bottle up this silent pride for my students. There is nothing more I want to do than to hug them and tell them “great job”. But, I am reluctant to do this because I want them to be proud of themselves, while still never being satisfied and remain hungry for more.

KCC: How do you translate that concept to the dojang?

ML: Well, my life’s journey as a teacher has taught me quite a bit as you can imagine. Early on, I focused quite a bit on techniques, application and execution of Hwa Rang Do inside the dojang. While obviously, there is no one more strict on the proper execution of techniques than I, instilling my students with the desire to better themselves has taken precedent over anything else. I want my students to be able to be self-critical and stand up to the challenges in their lives, no matter the circumstance..

Now so you don’t’ misunderstand me, I have excellent students. They are the best! However, we must all strive to improve ourselves, our lives, our environment and those around us… until we reach our full potential.

That is what it means to be a Hwarang – a warrior.

As Hwarang, we don’t seek to improve to please others or win a prize or medal. Achieving one’s human potential means achieving and doing as much as you possibly can during your lifetime, with your God given strengths and overcoming any weaknesses or shortcomings.

If you are three feet tall, be the best three footer you can be. Don’t worry about those taller than you. Focus on being the best, period.

KCC: Besides teaching, how are you striving to reach your full potential?

ML: Fifty knuckle push-ups! (laughing) Just kidding. Over the past 15 years, I’ve been working to fulfill a dream of mine. It is to improve upon our Kumdo (the Korean version of Japanse Kendo) techniques. I have developed a new set of techniques to be added to the traditional mori, hori and son strikes. When I started, I did not know how I would do this, but I knew it was a goal worth striving for.

Constantly challenging myself with new dreams and goals is how I reach for my full potential. As long as I have new dreams, goals and ideas, my job is not done yet.

KCC: What were the obstacles in fulfilling your dream?

ML: This is changing one hundred years of tradition! I had the idea, but I couldn’t just introduce the concept. I had to set the foundation – I had to create the armor, and create the Hwarang Kum Sur (Hwa Rang Do sword techniques). This is the legacy that has been handed to me, which I must honor and respect by very carefully thinking it through.

This isn’t capricious, this is methodical. I had to be able to envision this change fifteen years out, to work on it, develop the techniques and train students in the new techniques.

KCC: So as you encourage and challenge your students . . .

ML: I continue to challenge myself. It is liberating to have achieved this, but I strove because the journey was important. And each of us should continue to do this in our lives. We train to afford ourselves very real challenges, to push ourselves and to grow. This is more than a formula, more than a set of numbers to add up and say “Ah! I have the answer!” No, this is not it. It is defining perfection, establishing goals, and then working until you’ve achieved them. No one is going to reach perfection. It is an impossibility. But in striving for perfection, in attempting to reach the infinite possibilities in all of us, THAT is where we experience growth!

I look at the Hwarang way of life, the philosophy of growth and achievement, and I want to share it with as many people as possible. Where else in our modern society does someone experience the challenges necessary to grow on a regular basis? Think about it. The characteristics you need to succeed in training – discipline, perseverance, awareness, balance – are the same characteristics you need to succeed in life.

Do Joo Nim once told me a story: A man wanted to climb a mountain, wanted to achieve something in his life. So he set out up the mountain. He worked and sweated, strained and struggled, but finally, he stood on the peak. He achieved it. The wind was cool, chilling him. The sun shone bright, and the colors of the mountain were bright and vivid. Slowly, he turned all the way around, looking out across the vast range. Do you know what he saw? More peaks.

This is life. This is our philosophy. This is our way. Once you have achieved something, earned it, worked at it, there are other peaks to climb. But you do so with the confidence that comes from having reached the first peak. And the converse is, those who never try to climb the mountain, who never reach the first peak, don’t know what is possible, don’t know about the other peaks, because they haven’t conquered themselves, conquered their fears and attempted anything at all. This is the Hwarang way. Once you know that you can achieve in here, once you see that discipline and practice, awareness and balance, that perseverance allow you to achieve, then what is there you cannot achieve in life?

KCC: Is this something you believe people can achieve by themselves?

ML: No. No one can do it alone. Everyone is in need of ongoing mentorship, including myself. I will be disciplining a student for some transgression, challenging them to help them learn and grow, and days later, Do Joo Nim, my teacher, would be disciplining me for the exact same thing! This just shows that we all need a teacher, a mentor, someone to help us become honest with ourselves and be self-critical. For most of us, being self-critical is very difficult, because most human beings have a very high opinion of themselves, and we often need someone to step in and point out where we are lacking integrity. That is why beyond teaching and training, I am also going to begin offering Life Coaching.

KCC: For students?

ML: For students. For non-students. For everyone. As I said before, the didn’t just train for combat, their martial training served as a compass for their lives. Through live coaching, Hwa Rang Do will be able to reach a portion of humanity, which would otherwise not benefit from our training as life’s warriors.

This may seem like a lofty goal, but I’ve yet to find anything else, which offers more of an opportunity for personal growth and achieving one’s potential, than Hwa Rang Do. Life coaching is yet another peak to climb, with many more to follow.

Since 30 years cannot be summarized into a few mere paragraphs, our interview with Chief Master Lee will be continued in the next issue of the Kwan Chang Chronicles – West Coast Hwa Rang Do Newsletter.