TaeKwonDo. Tae - foot. Kwon - hand. Do - the way (path, road). The way of the foot and hand.
I am a 2nd degree black belt, with a International certification. I tell people I'm retired now. But there was a day when I ate, drank, and slept TaeKwonDo. For 7 years, I was bruised and bloodied. I fought at competitions regularly. I earned my black belt degree through hours of sweat, pain, and toil. I loved every minute of it, and practiced 5 days a week.
The senior black belt of our school, with the blessings of our master, opened up a satellite school in a nearby town. The school was a hit. Then tragedy struck. The satellite school instructor broke his neck in a motorcycle accident. He survived, but his TaeKwonDo days were over. The satellite school was passed to another senior black belt without missing a beat.
I was curious about the other school.
On Tuesday nights, after the regular class, Our teacher held a second class reserved for black belts only. The satellite school instructor attended this class regularly. I approached him one evening and asked if it would be possible for me to attend his school sometime and practice with him and his students. He replied that I could come anytime and would always be welcome to participate with the class.
So a week or so later, I drove to the other school and practiced with them. After class, I was in the locker room, and commented to the teacher that I thought it was a great school, and enjoyed practicing with them. That I would enjoy coming back sometime.
He then surprised me by asking if I would be interested in running the school. "I'll give you the school" he said.
"Whats the problem?" I asked. "I don't like it," he answered. "I'm tied up 5 nights a week. Its like a second job, and I would like evenings free."
I thought it over. I had been teaching TaeKwonDo at my home school part-time, so being a instructor was no big deal. I loved to practice, but running a school would be a whole different ball of wax. As it stood now, if I missed a day or two, no problem. In fact, if I wanted to walk away from everything tomorrow, I could.
It would be different running a school. I would be obligated to be there. I was single, and my evenings would be gone. I would be running a business. "Thanks, but I want my freedom", I said, "I don't want to be tied down 5 nights a week. However, I will think it over."
I left the building, my curiosity satisfied. I never practiced there again.
I never took him up on his offer either.
Over the years, I've slowly lost my speed, and power. I've put on a few pounds. Whenever I watch a old Bruce Lee movie, or one with a lot of kicks, punches, and fighting, I can feel that old fire ignite. I've considered getting back into it many times.
I've even thought about starting a outreach program through my church for the kids in my little burg. It'll probably never happen. I already have to many projects going on.
However, is there anything you could teach others? Could you give a weekend seminar?
