Today marks the 15th anniversary since I first tied a 1st Dan Black Belt in Korean Martial Arts around my waist.
It was 1998, and after about 4.5 hours of testing under Dwain Spillman in Natchitoches Louisiana, he sat me down in front of the class, and gave me a speech I'll never forget. Responsibility. Loyalty. Ability. Integrity. Right. And, about the bridge I was crossing in my training. It was certainly a big deal, and for me, marked the beginning of the past decade and a half in my Martial Arts journey.
Flash forward to 2013, and the community is very changed. I'm a 3rd Dan, and constantly watching the Martial Arts world, too often from the sidelines. The values and goals are still there, present in every training hall you might step in. Some better than others of course, but all with relatively good intent. The culture and trends have changed much as well, but I like to think that the heart and intent is just as good as it was then and even before.
We have many sub types in the Martial Arts world. Competitors, Relics, Historians, and everything in between. Dinosaurs and Revolutionary thinkers. Men that trained me after that day in 1998, who helped mold me into what I know and believe regarding these arts and even daily life stuff like politics, religion, and beer.
And, speaking of 2013, where am I in the arts? Thats a complex answer best left to a size 5.5 Dobak that lies waiting to be pulled over my shoulders. And maybe a couple of beers with friends. I'm certainly a little rusty, not having trained with a regular regimen since finishing nursing school in 2009. My views have grown, and the Martial Art of 'me', grown as well. I've picked up some things here and there from various instructors and trained with some really incredible people. I still work on things, but daydream about the days of training along side of those tenured practitioners I once had the honor to learn from on a regular basis.
A list I won't dare start naming for the fear of leaving someone out. But I will take the moment to thank Eric Sullivan and Dennis McHenry in particular. Two men who have never met, but were the biggest driving force in me organizing what I'd done, into what I would become. I wish those two guys could get together one day. Funny thing is, I've seen both of those men evolve in their training, too. That's a great thing about humans, we never have to stop learning.
I've certainly benefited from the arts in more ways than one. But in particular, I think besides the confidence I walk with, more so the ability to speak and teach to groups of people has been a major influence on how I've grown as an adult. Not many people know how shy I truly am. But you can't be shy when teaching someone how to dislocate an arm or to control their body and fear when getting beaten on. And, you certainly can't be shy when you are doing those things either. I miss my days of teaching a class full of white uniformed students, awaiting my next instruction or rationale. Because it was my students who also molded me. There's nothing like teaching something to really help you hammer down that something in your brain.
So, while I may not have the training regimen of an elite level competitor these days, theres no doubt I walk daily with the spirit of my past training days still present and active. I'm a thankful guy in general, and if November is the month of giving thanks, then let me thank the instructors who've beleived in me and kept me martial all these years.
PIL SEUNG! TANG SOO!
Charlie Veuleman
