During the halcyon days of the original Korean Hwarang, it was not uncommon for army generals to be in their teen years. These days we find this fact almost preposterous. Still, when you consider that the modern martial art of Hwa Rang Do is so physically demanding, it comes as no surprise that the most able students in our dojang are young people in or near their physical prime.

Despite this, our students represent several generations, from Little Tigers to several above 50. A couple of us can even look back to our 50's with nostalgia! Certainly, a person over 35 contemplating taking up the art may wonder what Hwa Rang Do, and Tae Soo Do, hold in store for him or her, and what may be expected of him or her in terms of practical achievement. As one of these “Mature Tigers” myself, I want to address this issue in this article.

What To Expect From Tae Soo Do/Hwa Rang Do Training:

You will find that when you hold up your life's achievements to the mirror of Hwa Rang philosophy, you have acquired some wisdom over the years. This makes up for many of your age-related physical limitations, because Tae Soo Do and Hwa Rang Do are not merely physical arts. In fact, it is this very wisdom that the art ultimately aims to teach, albeit along a mostly physical path.

Of course, you will note from your very first class that the physical aspects of the art are far more challenging for you than your younger brothers and sisters. Every decade of life over 30 typically costs a 10% penalty in your heart's ability to pump blood to your body. I have found this limitation to affect mainly my stamina and my quickness, two of the most important elements needed in sparring, grappling, and fighting in general. Additionally, an older body is more likely to be less flexible than a younger one, and that trait is a major pillar of Hwa Rang Do in particular. Still, with diligence you will improve in those capabilities, and your goal should be to reach your personal best, not someone else's. Curiously, that advice holds for every student regardless of age. The difference is that you may progress at a much slower rate than others and in smaller increments.

What this means is that you simply may not be able to compete and win against younger students. Of course, every student will find himself or herself challenged by the art eventually (sooner rather than later, usually). Your problem as an older person is one of false pride: you will compete against your own younger self, whom you believe was someone who could and would have defeated this young so-and-so.  And you want your young opponent to know this. I have found that to let go of this brand of wrong-headedness to be the most difficult challenge I have faced.

Naturally, you will encounter some young people who dismiss you out-of-hand as being simply “no good.” For example, a younger student of a lower rank that you are sparring or practicing techniques with may show you disrespect by trying to “help” you or offer suggestions, often in a frustrated manner. That person is not looking past your physical limitations to see the greater understanding of the art that you do in fact hold. But as Master Lee has pointed out many times, you cannot control another person or his attitude; you must learn to control yourself. The most important lesson for you in these instances is not to let someone else influence your own true estimation of your knowledge and ability.

So, you may not win the sparring match, but you can find a way to win the hearts and minds of your younger fellow students. Luckily this way allows everyone to win. Use your acquired wisdom to appreciate the skills of youth, and at the same time use it to help guide younger minds along the warrior path. You can be a role model, a measure of maturity. After all, experience is strength, and it compensates for aging in many ways. You have been a worker, a spouse, a parent, a leader; and even your mistakes that you've outlived have made you more comfortable in your own skin. This strength allows your projection into the world to be that of a warrior, instead of a victim, which is a major aim of all martial arts everywhere.

What The Academy Expects From You:

First and foremost, always do your best out on the floor. I have found that even terribly daunting techniques that looked to be impossible for me at first gave way under dogged practice. For instance, it took me nearly a year to combine all the elements of a proper jump spin kick into a technique sufficient to break a board. I kept at it and managed to get it a week before my Tae Soo Do graduation. The salient point for me is that I know that at 19 I would have just given up after a couple of weeks trying.

So the point is that as an older adult who may not ever be able to do the splits or kick over your head, etc., you will be required only to always try, and at testing time you will be judged accordingly.

Finally, Master Lee expects you to utilize your acquired wisdom to fathom the deeper aspects of the art, philosophical and technical. Your lifelong learning experiences will provide you with certain analytical tools for just that purpose. In my youth, a lot of what Master Lee explains about the art and its tenets would have been brand new for me and gone over my head. Now I find myself in the position of having found out a lot of this knowledge myself beforehand, and that affords me sometimes a bit of a head start in understanding the elements that are new to me.

So, I hope you can conclude that a person beginning Tae Soo Do at any age and continuing to train can get just as much out of his or her practice as anyone else. I mean not only the physical health benefits, but the emotional and intellectual fulfillment as well. I certainly have come to realize that.

Stephen Ginsburg – TGT Member