In the martial art I practice, Tang Soo Do, “Do” means a way of life. We’re much more than just an activity or sport; our Grandmaster said one of the main goals of training in Tang Soo Do is to become a better person. Therefore, our art has codes and tenants that are suggested we live by and follow in order to be successful in martial arts and life in general. Respect, perseverance, integrity, humility, and self control are found among our five codes and seven tenets.
When it comes to teaching these concepts to the kids, I’ve had to come up with simple ways to explain these important life lessons. For example, the first of our five codes is “Loyalty to Country” (Note that these codes actually date back to ancient Korea, so some of them have been modified and updated for modernization). I ask the kids to repeat after me, Loyalty to Country! I see some confused faces in the crowd; with most of them saying “Loyally to Co-tree” I can tell they need some more explanation. I follow up and say “Loyalty to Country” means be a good citizen. If you see trash outside you could pick it up and throw it in the garbage right?” And they all shake their heads yes. In fact, I had a student a couple months ago come up to me after class and say “I saw trash in the parking lot!” To which I asked “did you pick it up and throw it out?” They quietly said “…no” I chuckled and said now you know what to do next time, we’re all part of the earth so we have to keep it clean!
I explain our five codes to the kids at their first class, and therefore do this speech multiple times a week. However, recently I found myself in the same situation as the student I mentioned in the previous paragraph. I went to Target and I saw some trash outside, but was thinking about what I was going into the store for, so walked right by and ignored it. As I was walking through the store I realized that I didn’t do what I told all my students to do, and if I didn’t, why would they? If I don’t actually do the things I recommend them to do, it makes me less credible as an instructor, but also makes me feel hypocritical in my beliefs/way I live my life. I want to set the standard so my students have an example to follow. After I was done in the store, on my way back to my car I got the garbage and threw it out.
If you’re suggesting people do something, it should be part of your daily practice as well. This way you’ll have firsthand knowledge that you can use to relate, and give better advice coming from an experienced perspective. Think about this the next time you give advice to someone, do you practice what you preach?
