Two recent events caused me to stop and think about the impact martial arts instructors can have on society. The first was a Toastmasters’ speech contest where a woman spoke about the influence her taekwondon instructor has had on her life. She did not talk about physical techniques or increased personal security. Instead, she focused on her instructor’s character and his efforts to teach students to be positive, respectable citizens. To him, the tenets of taekwondo – courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit – were more than just words to recite before and after class. They were words to live by, and the result of his dedication to them was the transformation of students into responsible adults.
The second incident occurred at a bookstore where I witnessed an exchange between a woman and her 8- or 9-year-old son. I was appalled at the way the boy spoke to his mother, commanding her to buy him a book and then calling her names when she refused. I thought of my childhood and how I would not have been able to sit down for at least a month if I had spoken to either of my parents in such a manner.
The boy did not stop there: He refused to leave the store at his mother’s request and shouted that he was not done yet. Rather than march the boy out to the car and paddle his behind as my parents would have done, she pleaded, begged and then waited for the obnoxious kid to finally leave with her. I wanted to tell the boy how wrong it was to treat his mother that way, but it wasn’t really his fault. It was his parents who were to blame for not teaching him respect. More than speaking to the boy, I wanted to tell his mother that if she didn’t want to teach him respect and manners, she should enroll him in a martial arts school. The ancient Hwarang code of ethics and its admonition to be dutiful to your parents immediately came to mind.
Although people study the martial arts for different reasons – fitness, sport, artistic endeavor, self-defense and so on – perhaps the most important benefit is character development. No matter how much we may like to discuss the value of learning how to defend ourselves, we must remember that many of us will pass through life without ever getting in a fight. Few of us, however, will be able to live a productive life without discipline and character.
As instructors or senior black belts, we exercise a great degree of influence over those who train under us. It is our example that our students will follow more than our words. That is why it’s crucial for all of us to live by our convictions in everyday life as well as in the training hall. Living the tenets of our art will have a greater impact on our students than any amount of lecturing. Once we begin to do that, our students will become people of character with the discipline to achieve their goals and be upstanding members of society. Martial artists can shape the future; in fact, it is our duty and responsibility to do so.
This appeared as the Guest Editorial in the June 2002 issue of Black Belt magazine.