What Taekwondo means to me? Having 50 years of experience of martial arts experience in Surrey, Delta, Burnaby, Langley, and Vancouver.
I'll get right into it! I outline my martial arts journey as follows: 1. Beginnings... 2. The strict Taekwondo regiment of being a Kim family member under my father, Grandmaster Jong Chan Kim 3. Old school ideology of growing up in the 70's 4. high school life 5. university and early adult life 6. How becoming a Christian changed my view of how to teach 7. How my students benefited my personal growth over a lifetime 8. What I expectations i have for my students in regards to their future success? Beginnings... I started my martial arts journey back in 1974 in Montreal, where our family first landed in Canada. We were immersed into the great melting pot which Canada is known for. We were smack dab in the center of French and Italian neighborhood. The people were so kind to us as we delved into the task of learning Korean, English, and French simultaneously! Phew, that was a challenge! It was so cold in Montreal! As a result, my father moved us to Vancouver where the weather was more to our liking. I remember my father training in the living room or out in the backyard. Me and my older brother would get dressed in our taekwondo doboks to train under my father. I learned basic taekwondo stances such as the walking stance and basic side kicks and front kicks. My young muscles had much to learn about the intricate coordination skills which were necessary. I loved martial arts! I loved my dad! It was the perfect combination for me! The strict Kim family way of life! Most kids living in Surrey of Delta, cannot understand what strict family way of life really means. I am not saying there are not strict parents; I have met quite a few through my martial arts academy after conversing with the parents and students. However, on the whole, parents raise their children between permissive and authoritative style. I, myself am guilty of this at times raising my own children. I grew up strictly in an authoritative atmosphere. At that time, I just assumed every family was the same. I realized my father and mother took this ideology one step further! Academics was a must in the Kim family! I sweated on report card day. Straight A's was considered normality within our household. I remember receiving 6 A's and 1 B. Boy, was I was worried! Little did I know, that the B in art class was not a concern for my parents. We were expected to have total respect to our parents; never questioning their guidelines in producing the next Korean-Canadian generation. We were expected to push boundaries more than anyone else I knew. I was expected to be the best student in my fathers Taekwondo kids classes. I was expected to sweat a bucketload every day and to be the finest example of character in behalf of honoring my father and my master in Taekwondo. Honestly, I did not mind it. I enjoyed excelling in whatever I put my mind to. I do not remember any of my school classmates being naughty or disrespectful, for the most part. If a classmate got in trouble at school, most kids feared that their father was going to be even worse than any corporal punishment at school. Kids feared getting sent to the principal's office. I believe the "fear" of having to deal with negative consequences was more real in my generation than in recent years. Today, I find children test boundaries way more; for good and for bad. My parents stood for honesty, hard work, honor, and perseverance; similar to the tenets of Taekwondo since its creation back in 1955. My father played a pivotal role at this time in Taekwondo's World History. He is considered a true pioneer of the infancy which only a small handful of Koreans could claim. Directly or indirectly, a million Taekwondo practitioners know my World Famous Taekwondo dad! I am so proud of him as a person of strong moral fortitude; as well as my Taekwondo master. He epitomizes all that is good in this world! I am truly honored to have great parents; as did many of my friends growing up in Burnaby and New Westminster. Old school ideology of my father. I think what he said to me sums up what being old school means. My father said, " The reason I absolutely do not bend to straying from rules is this. If I set the bar 100% in rules of our household, inevitably the child will stray somewhat. If I were to set the bar to 80%, then my child's moral rules would falter." I remember debating with my father on a certain principle of whether stealing food under certain circumstances was okay. My father adamantly would not budge! Stealing is stealing! Wrong is wrong, no matter the case! I said, even if a mother's kids were going to starve to death? It surely must be okay to steal food to prevent her kids from dying! Don't get me wrong, my father would be the first one to help anyone in dire circumstances! Our family took in teens going through terrible times; only to nurture them back onto the right path in life with the constraints of our home. My father place others before himself. This is true love. Years later, I agree with what life lesson my father was trying to instill at an early age. Truly, I am thankful beyond words can express. "True" Taekwondo implements these incredible morals and principles which I , in turn, try to instill to the next generation of martial arts students in Surrey and Delta! High school life and university life. As I tried to excel in academics and joined every club and sports club I could get my hands on; from the speaking club all the way to the rugby club. I did it all. I wanted to squeeze everything that life had to offer through education so that I could secure my place in the job market. My studies were focused on becoming a doctor. My career path changed. At the age of 16, I already started my own Taekwondo school in downtown Fort Langley on the main street! My father and I walked to every business on main street and collected membership of almost every shopkeeper's children! Boy, was I so excited! I was very fortunate to have students, some who were older than myself, who had great morals and work ethic. It was such a pleasure! Whether I made money or took a loss, I did not care! I only cared that this beautiful thing called Taekwondo be taught from the heart. This ideal has not changed many decades later today. A few years later, I took over the my father's Taekwondo school on 88th and Scott Road on the Surrey side. It was 7,000 square foot unit and I grew my membership to under 400 active students; probably the largest in all of BC at that time. Today, I prefer a much smaller and intimate amount where I can be way more personal to my students! I live a humble life today, but I am very fulfilled in what truly matters in my opinion. Wealth comes and goes; but instilling morality and true encouragement is what will lead this world of people in the true proper direction of life! How becoming a Christian further changed the way I taught Taekwondo. 15 years ago I surrendered my life my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The value of what true love in the bible states in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7. "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I ask my students, " what is the most important thing in life?" They respond with obeying my parents or being honest or working hard or never lying or try to help others. I respond with your answer is absolutely correct but love is the most important force in the universe. Though no one is perfect, we can all try to better ourselves each day to attain something so precious by our time here on earth ends. I can honestly say I am more patient and kinder today! It's a never ending journey which I try to instill to my students today. Sometimes, I'm successful in this, and , well, there are other times some students need further assistance. And that's ok with me! Today, I am much more than who I was years ago. I am kinder, more empathetic, more understanding, more encouraging, etc. We don't need more people who own billion dollar companies or who become so wealthy beyond what they really need do we? I prefer to live in a world where I can look someone in the eye and see a real and true kind human being. To me, this is priceless as the mastercard commercial says. This is my true expectations for what I wish my Taekwondo students in Surrey and Delta really garner from attending my classes! Making fighting champions I have done many times; but the proudest thing is to build up a student who grows up to be a kind and honorable man or woman. Then, at my life's end, I will not regret that I have chosen the beautiful thing called Taekwondo Master. It will echo in my heart! I can live with that! Do you see the picture I used for this blog up above? That is a recent picture of a great achievement in my life. The person to my left is Mr Ali and his wonderful family. I mentored him when he was a teen and am so proud he is such an honorable, caring, empathetic, and kind man today! He is a captain in the Canadian Military where he oversees a platoon division. He is so full of hope and lives with the ideology of possibility mind set! He is truly why I continue to do the thing I was destined for! Taekwondo! I love seeing "true" success. Makes me want to do better as I hope whatever job profession you choose, that you make your mark in life and bring beauty to this world! If you stuck it out til this end, you have incredible patience! If you know anyone who would value this type of teaching, please feel free to pass it on to them. I would appreciate it very much so. Sincerely, Master Edward Kim 8th Degree Black Belt Jong Kim Martial Arts - Surrey Unit 136 - 7536 130th Street, Surrey, BC, V3W 1H8 Canada. 604-590-1000 www.JKTKD.ca * feel free to share this personal blog post with this LINK Comments are closed.
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AUTHOR: Jong Kim Martial Arts - Surrey - Delta - Newton - TaekwondoArchives
February 2025
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