On the Current State of TaeKwonDo (3)

There are three different kinds of instructors: The Anything-goes-as-far-as-fighting-is-concerned stern but undisciplined master reminiscent of Genma Saotome in Ranma 1/2; the lenient, gentle teacher who one can tell must have been a superb student and might even be a champion but as a leader, he needs all the help he can get; the teacher who has all the qualities of a leader, is disciplined, knows how to keep the class engaged but for the life of her cannot be consistent and simultaneously cannot stop her workouts from being repetitive.

But, there is only one kind of instructor worthy of being a master.

In my lifetime, I have met few, either personally or through their writing, who could be described as true masters.

The first was my own master, a man by the name of Carlos Garcia who had been a world champion. He was a 5th degree TaeKwonDo black belt who could also boast a black belt in HapKiDo and extensive knife, stick, and sword-fighting training. Now there was a man I am still proud to regard as my master. He was consistent, friendly, valued tradition, had a gentle spirit that belied a powerful warrior. Most of all, he was considerate and respectful of his students, without being a pushover. He taught us well and taught extensively in every aspect of the art, but above all, he led by example.

Another was a master I first met as a child: my mother's HapKiDo instructor, a young man named Sean who never allowed full-contact sparring but whose self-defense techniques and calm way of disarming someone with a gun were incomparable. Needless to say, my mother learned much from him and I learned much from her.

Still another, was an elderly Karate/TangSooDo master who had bricks broken over his still-hard abdomen. He had known Bruce Lee personally and greatly admired his spirit. His children were sent to Korea and Japan to study under admirable instructors.

And how could I forget Morihei Ueshiba, Gichin Funakoshi, Scott Walsh, Dave Lowry and countless others who, though I never met, are as friends to me through their writings and philosophy as well as, in the case of the former two, their lasting legacy to the martial arts?

Of course, what really sets these masters apart is not their superb fighting ability, their stamina or even their tremendous discipline. Rather, it is their indomitable spirit and their love of the martial arts and the traditions that birthed them, which place them a cut (or a chop) above the rest.