1. Dedication Has Its Rewards
This one is pretty self explanatory, but the thing to keep in mind when something gets difficult or tiresome, is that in the end, the reward will usually be worth the fight.
Taekwondo Master Yun, Azel, Valerie and Griffin
2. Sometimes the Rewards are Not What You Expect
When we first started training in Taekwondo, we thought the reward at the end would be that we could say we were black belts and that we would know how to defend ourselves better. In the end, both of those things are true, but we have found that the more rewarding part of the journey is the friendships we have built with the people we attended class with, and our instructor.
We have learned so much about each other and there are things that can be learned through struggling together towards a common goal, that cannot be easily learned in other circumstances. We will always have a special place in our heart for our Taekwondo instructor and the friends who have taken this journey with us. Those are our biggest rewards.
3. Learning is 90% Mental and 10% Physical
Our bodies are capable of doing amazing things, but many times, the reason we rarely reach those levels is because we allow our minds to tell our bodies we can’t do it. Whether it is going a whole class without a rest, doing those last few push ups, or practicing that kick one more time even though your hips feel like they are about to fall out of socket, the attitude to keep going is important. One of the things Taekwondo has reiterated is that success is an attitude, thought process and work ethic more than anything else.
4. The More Challenging Something is, the More Rewarding the Outcome
No one feels a lot of reward from completing an easy task or quitting when something gets difficult. As humans, we seek challenging things out as we intuitively know that accomplishing those things holds the greatest reward. In a society that seems to value mediocrity, people who stand out need to push beyond the norm and accomplish that which is not easily aquired.
5. Good Traits Require no Common Language to See and Appreciate
Our Taekwondo instructor does not speak English and we do not speak Korean, but over the last 12 months of training, we have come to realize more and more that common language is not a necessity for sharing kindness, respect, understanding and friendship. Paulo Coelho so beautifully captures this idea in his book, The Alchemist, in which he talks about the universal language. This is not some mystical new age thing, but rather a realization of the fact that we are all humans made by the same Creator and He has put in us the ability to see, understand and relate to the humanness of those around us. If people show genuine happiness, kindness, thoughtfulness and friendship, no language is needed to recognize, appreciate and reciprocate those traits.
On the other hand, bad traits share the same ability. If you are lazy, mean, rude, impatient or otherwise not enjoyable to be around, that too can be easily seen by people of other languages, cultures and beliefs. We should all strive to show the love that is in us to others and be ready to explain where it comes from if asked.
Here is a video of our test so you can see what it was like. Big thanks to our good friends Trinh and Eugene for coming over on a Saturday and filming it for us.
BONUS: Accountability Is Key
Last night we had a board breaking test for our upcoming Pink(not so excited about the color) belt test. It was so much fun and invigorating. We all passed and had a fun time doing it. We even got to watch our Taekwondo master break 8 boards at one time, which was amazing!
Geek Info: I brought along my Canon 7D to take some video at 60 Frames Per Second, which is twice the normal speed of film(30FPS) I then used a program to slow it back down to 30FPS which creates the slow motion effect you can see bellow, and then put it all together in iMovie. Enjoy!
To see our Taekwondo Master break 8 boards at once, check it out on our facebook page here.
If you want to see our Taekwondo class in “Fast Motion”(Time Lapse) check it out here.
]]>As some of you may know from our previous posts, we are currently blue belts in Taekwondo(태권도). When we arrived in Korea and started to ask around about Taekwondo we were surprised to learn that in Korea, it is possible to become a black belt in one year! This was surprising to us due to the fact that in America it typically takes about three years to achieve black belt status. Once we joined our gym we figured out why it takes about a third of the time.
The secret is we go to class four to five nights a week. This is normal in Korea and we actually get a lower grade on attendance if we miss only two classes in a month and a half. In The States people usually attend class two or three nights a week max. This is one of the reasons for the time discrepancy. We have been taking lessons for about 6 months now and are five belts into our ten belt training, so we are half way there. Due to vacations and not coming five nights a week every week, we are guessing it will take us about a year and a half to achieve a black belt. Valerie and I are both so excited about this future achievement and mostly about being able to accomplish it together in the country where the sport originated! Thanks so much for following along on our journey as we work towards this goal together.
The other night I decided it would be fun to do a time lapse recording of our one hour class to share with all of you. Our typical class look like this:
5 mins– Jump rope
10 mins– Stretching, push-ups and sit-ups
10 mins– Form practice (repetitive stances, punching, kicking, blocking)
10 mins– Kicking/Punching paddle
20 mins– Poomsae practice (Specific moves in order. So far we know three forms and are learning the fourth.)
5 mins– Cool down stretching
Enjoy the video!
]]>We are now blue belts!! This is the fifth level belt and means we only have another five to go to get a black belt!
You can check back every couple months to see our status update via the image bellow
Belt colors vary from gym to gym, and in our case these last few levels are increasingly difficult to attain. Each level consists of mastering new kicks, punches and blocks, as well as a new “Poomsae,” which is a choreographed routine employing all the learned movements. Since each level has it’s own poomsae, we are required to present each poomsae during the time of the belt test. The more we learn, the more difficult it can be to remember each level’s specific poomsae.
Our instructor continues to impress us. He is an excellent teacher and we are really enjoying our time with him. We hope to progress rapidly through the levels and reach Black Belt sometime in the Fall.
We Are Famous!
Recently, our photos were placed on a large banner outside out gym to advertise our “Foreigner Class.” It’s already getting a good response and our class size has grown from 4 to 8.
Here is how the banner making process went:
Monday: We mention to our instructor that we like the new banner outside (which is in all Korean) and that next time he makes a banner, if he would like, we can help him with some wording to advertise the foreigner class option.
Tuesday: When we walk into class our instructor asks us to stand in front of the wall so he can take a picture. We think this is maybe for himself or his family or something so we are glad to oblige. As an afterthought we ask what the pictures will be for and he tells us he will use them for a new banner! As you will see in the picture, we were not at all ready for pictures much less pictures to go on a giant banner, but oh well.
Our instructor asks us to think of a good phrase to to put on the sign to encourage other foreigners to join.
Wednesday: Valerie and I had a last minute date night and went for dinner and a movie instead of Taekwondo. We plan to recommend the phrase “Foreigner friendly classes available.” to our instructor the next day.
Thursday: We go to Taekwondo and mention our recommended phrase, but are not asked to write it down or anything. We assume all is well.
Friday: The new banner is revealed! We feel a a little responsible for the bad English on the banner, but of course we tell our instructor it is great. The English on the banner reads as follows:
Foreigner Recruitment – (so far so good)
From foreigner practice timely evening 8:30 minute – (OK. it gets the point gets across)
In order for “before the what to become the stately child, it will teach.” – (?)
Here’s the picture!
Our Taekwondo Gym with the banner proudly displayed;-)
Photo of Taekwondo instructor by Flickr user Diego Jose
]]>An-yang-ha-se-yo!
Here we are in our 3rd month of marriage and our 2nd month here in Ulsan, South Korea. We decided we were having too much time to relax, so we quickly added a ton of new things to our daily agenda. Aside from our usual lesson planning and teaching, we’ve recently begun two new challenging activities: Korean language classes and the art of Taekwondo.
We have a wonderful language tutor, Ms. Lee, who is the Korean teacher at my school. She graciously offered to teach us for free in exchange for conversing with me sometimes during the day. Ms. Lee is a self-taught English speaker who is only now able to use her skills to speak to foreigners! She is very humble about her abilities, but she speaks excellent English! We are slowly learning our Korean letters and syllables, but find that it is a challenge to find time to study. We meet with Ms. Lee 3 times each week and use flash cards to study outside of our language class.
After Korean lessons, we head home to grab a quick dinner, a must if we are going to avoid food for the hour preceding our Taekwondo class, as Master Young suggests. Our class currently consists of 4 small children, all black belts, ourselves, and two other foreigners. Our pastor, Azel, serves as our translator during class. Azel is Burmese, studied in the Philippines, is married to a Korean and also serves as the pastor for the English service at our church. He is hilarious and says he often confuses his languages. Another friend from church, Allie, also studies Taekwondo with us. At this point in our class, we are still conditioning our bodies. This consists of several exercises and stretching sequences that leave us hurting the following morning. We are also learning some easy punching and kicking techniques and love it when Master Young, who speaks very little English, says “Ah… Good.”
We return home at about 10:00pm and basically fall into bed, exhausted. We are trying our best to make sure we get enough sleep to start it all over again the following day. In Korea, we are told that with some discipline we may be able to earn black belts in about 18 months. Of course, Ms. Lee says I will be reading books in Korean in no time. I’m not sure about either of these statements, but it is really fun to try.
Until next time, An-yang-higa-say-yo!
Griffin and Valerie
Griffin and Valerie in front of the South Korea Flag in our Taekwondo Gym.
Griffin and Valerie with our Taekwondo instructor - Master Young. We love having class with Master Young. He is so kind and picks us up at our house and takes us all the way to and from the gym for class, which is about 5 miles away. He does all this and does not charge any extra.
Alexis, Azel, Valerie & Griffin. In just a matter of months we will all be lethal black belts.
Alexis, Griffin and Valerie with the small korean black belts that could at any moment turn on us and kill us with just their pinky finger!
Valerie and Griffin with our very sweet and awesome Korean teacher Ms. Lee. She taught herself English by studying and reading books and we are the first native speakers she has talked to. Her English is excellent and she is a great teacher!
Photo of Taekwondo instructor by Flickr user Diego Jose
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