Tuesday 30 November 2010
In one of my previous blogs I mentioned I would do a feature story about Ben Park, a great talent who graded to probationary black belt in Hapkido earlier in . This guy is one lean, fit and focussed martial arts machine you just don’t want to give a hard time out there on the street. I can give you an absolute cast iron guarantee that this bloke will not let you bully him, not one little bit.
An optometrist running his own business in a local suburb, Ben is an absolute pleasure to be around, a gentle man, a new age guy, but under that genuine great guy personality rests a martial arts extraordinaire. I really do pity anyone who is foolish enough to pick on Ben. Isn’t that what we want, people who are great community members, fit, healthy, great family people, who can really look after themselves?
So what is it that makes a great black belt? Well, first of all, get to know Ben Park and you’ll start to pick up on it the moment you talk to this guy. It’s the duality, the dichotomy, or in traditional Korean Martial Arts terms, it’s the Yin and the Yang. The opposites that need to be there is just what I am talking about. Already confused? Well, simply put, it about the person like Ben that you meet and mention to your friend or partner, “he’s such a nice person, a real gentle guy”. And down the track the people you met Ben through tell you he does martial arts and has a grading on or a full contact tournament on this Saturday and they invite you to come and watch. For a little fun and just for general interest, you pop along to the Dojang where Ben trains and check out some martial arts action. Deep down you are quietly cynical, and wondering how this guy is going to do much, if anything, that’s going to be like the stuff you’ve seen on the movie .. a great Chuck Norris or Jackie Chan spectacular!
So there you are, sitting and waiting for the black belt grading to commence, and Ben takes the floor, bows in the traditional manner just like you saw in Karate Kid. And this is where your perceptions start to seem “misaligned”, you’re not seeing this “gentle” kind of “nice guy” look you talked to your friend or partner about. In fact, you’re blown away, thinking, “how can someone seem to transform into a martial arts machine that could really hurt you in a nanosecond should you be so foolish as to attack him in the street.”
There you have it, the Yin and the Yang. Light and soft, gentle and powerful, the natural opposites that this world so needs. The way of the black belt – that is, a true and great black belt, is no different.
People wanting their children to become a black belt, or someone wanting their partner to train in martial arts, or a person contemplating a great physical fitness experience need not be concerned that martial arts makes people rough, or turns them overnight into an aggressive fighter. I mention this because over my 30 years experience as an instructor talking to many different people about their perceptions of the martial arts, this is probably the single greatest concern people have about starting to train in the martial arts. Children do not suddenly start fighting other kids in the playground; teenagers don’t become the child that every parent fears their child becoming, and adults don’t suddenly find themselves wanting to go to night clubs to pick fights with the patrons.
People who train in a well presented, professional and traditional martial arts school like Factor10 will begin from day one to learn the great qualities of a black belt person. They learn the “Ben Park” ways while retaining their unique personal, social, emotional and intellectual characteristics.
In short, they learn the “way of the black belt”, a life journey of interest, excitement, personal development and intrigue.
Are there many “Ben’s” in your family or other part of your world?
Mr O
