Taekwondo - More Than a Martial Art: A Journey for Life

By Petra Roesner

TaekwondoMore than a Martial Art describes that practicing Taekwondo can promote many positive life changes and that students of this martial art can make Taekwondo a lifelong journey by learning to live the tenets of Taekwondo (courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit) in their daily lives.

Guided by instructors who are kind, caring, and compassionate and who role model the principles of good sportsmanship and who live the tenets of Taekwondo, students of Taekwondo can learn that difficulties in life can be overcome and that they can pay forward what they have learned in their dojangs and thus truly live up to the student oath that asks them to be champions of freedom and justice and to build a more peaceful world.



TaekwondoMore than a Martial Art
A book for students of Taekwondo,
those who are thinking of becoming students,
their parents, and Taekwondo instructors

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493151783

Book preview

Taekwondo—More

Than A Martial Art

A Journey For Life

Petra Roesner, PhD

Copyright © 2013 by Petra Roesner, PhD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Illustrations by Trueson Daugherty

Photography by Debbie deRienzo

Rev. date: 01/21/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

551473

Contents

Forewords

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Let the Journey Begin

Chinjul

Hee Mang

Insheek

Jashin

First Taekwondo Practice

What Is Taekwondo?

Etiquette and Proper Behavior in the Dojang

Learning New Skills and Belt Ranking

And Now, They Practice

Fast-Forward a Few Years

Learning and Changing

The Caring and Compassionate Role Model

Teaching the Tenets of Taekwondo

Being a Role Model for Living the Tenets of Taekwondo

Expectations

A Kind, Caring, and Compassionate Teacher

Teaching Lessons for Life

Making the Dojang a Place where Students

Would Want to Be

Living the Tenets of Taekwondo

Courtesy

Integrity

Perseverance and Indomitable Spirit

Self-control

Changes for Life

Getting along Better with Others

Becoming More Responsible for One’s

Actions and not Giving Up

Manners

Helping to Teach Others and Giving Back

Passing on Traditions and Being

Part of Something Bigger

Being a Good Person in Life

Understanding Others with

Kindness and Compassion

Paying It Forward

Do They Still Struggle?

The Moral of the Story Is…

Bibliography

To everyone who has worn, wears, or will be

wearing the Taekwondo uniform

I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times.

—Bruce Lee

Forewords

I was first contacted by Petra Roesner in 2011, through a classmate of mine who knew I practiced Taekwondo, when Petra asked me to provide an expert review for a series of interview questions regarding Taekwondo and character development that she had developed in order to complete her study toward obtaining her PhD. I had never met Petra nor even spoken to her prior to that time. However, having been a student of Taekwondo since 1984, I was intrigued. After all, what could somebody write about this art that hadn’t been written or explored or examined already?

Fast-forward to today and the answer to that question becomes apparent: Petra’s dissertation, which laid the groundwork for this wonderful book that describes stories of changes of Taekwondo students. It is immediately clear that this book is aimed at everyone and anyone currently practicing Taekwondo, thinking about it, or involved in the lives of those who are.

As we embark on this journey with our intrepid Taekwondo students Chinjul, Hee Mang, Insheek, and Jashin, we see that they are typical youngsters who are interested in improving their lives, even if they don’t know how yet. They learn life lessons such as cooperation and how to work as a member of a team, respect for themselves as well as others, that winning isn’t everything, and how to pay forward what they have learned by teaching others those same valuable lessons that they have been taught, putting principles into action.

They are—indeed, like so many of the students I have been privileged to instruct over the years—unsure of themselves in some respects, overly sure of themselves in others, and impatient to learn all there is to know in their first class. And like so many of my past students, they grew into confident young men and women prepared to meet the challenges of modern society.

Before this change happens, however, they are introduced to Master Sabumnim, whom Petra composed from the descriptions that her research participants provided her about their various instructors. Master Sabumnim uses his gentle and understanding approach to teach these new students the important points of Taekwondo (which I was fortunate enough to first learn so many years ago), that the essential principles of any martial art are not merely learning how to kick and punch but, rather, those old values of modesty, humility, good sportsmanship, and the tenets of Taekwondo including courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit, as well as respect and fairness.

Anyone who picks up this book will notice that the values of Taekwondo are not just ideals or just old words found on the dusty pages of ancient volumes. Rather, they are values that translate into real-world behaviors that will not only help to make students of Taekwondo nobler individuals, but also honorable members of the greater society in which they live.

I recommend this book to everyone who is truly interested in learning the essence of Taekwondo as well as to current students. I am proud to have been a part of this book, and more importantly, I am proud to be Petra’s friend.

Mark F. Gabel, PhD

6th Degree Black Belt and Master Instructor

American Kang Duk Won Association

Orlando, Florida

August 11, 2013

It’s been almost twenty-five years since I entered the world of Taekwondo. Not one day goes by that doesn’t reflect the changes the discipline has made in me. I had many wonderful instructors over the years who instilled a set of ethics in me that I follow to this day. Thousands of knuckle push-ups later, I always use the terms sir and ma’am when referring to others. The words please and thank you are used freely in conversation. Most importantly, like Insheek from this book, my character has been tempered to reflect more tolerance for others and how they do things.

This book is a reflection of Dr. Roesner’s concept of all things Taekwondo. I remember the excitement of starting out as a white belt and going to two to three practices per day every day because I couldn’t get enough of it. I lived, ate, and breathed Taekwondo. One gets this same sense from Dr. Roesner’s writing. It is both refreshing and