I feel grateful to serve so many people in the martial arts community, because martial arts put major discipline into my own life. Grand Master Jhoon Rhee was the reason I got involved in tae kwon do.
I was originally interested in aikido because I loved the beauty of the art and the concept of aligning with your opponent, and not necessarily having to harm them to change their perspective. But, the privilege of working with Master Rhee was enormous. He said to me, “This is an art I think you would love, and I’m willing to work with you. I think you could develop your black belt in a very short period of time.” I told him that I would love to do it in a year. His eyes got really big, and then, I said, “I’m not trying to find a short cut, but I would love to live in total immersion with you.”
So, Master Rhee gave me an extraordinary privilege and opportunity. We became very close friends, traveled together, and I trained every single day learning from one of the best that ever existed. And, frankly, it was one of the greatest gifts of my life. In hindsight, I jammed in too much, and I injured myself several times, as you might guess. In my youth I was trying to do everything in a shorter period of time, but I learned there is a great benefit in taking your time so that you take in some of the greater subtleties. While I did achieve my black belt, I learned a lot about making sure to really enjoy myself rather than just to experience the discipline of getting it done. And I approach things differently in my life today as a result of it. I sometimes use martial arts in my programs, because I think they are fundamental tools for life.
I do it to demonstrate to people specific tools and techniques for taking control of their mental and emotional focus to change their state of mind, literally in an instant. Using your body as a way to change your mental and emotional state is the single most powerful and the fastest factor you can access. To demonstrate it, I sometimes do board breaking, brick breaking and then breaking with my head. I have one set of events where we teach amateurs board breaking as a metaphor for breaking through their limitations and fears. Many people have gone on to become involved with martial arts as a result of their exposure to our seminars, because they love the state, the psyche that comes from the discipline of martial arts.
When I was younger I would set goals and say, “I want to do this exact thing.” Then, I’d point to an exact spot in the future. I push things slightly differently today. Now, I pick the direction of the mountain I am heading toward knowing that, as I get close to the mountain, I will have choices. I may want to go over it, around it or through it. There are all kinds of choices, but if you move in the direction of the goal you visualize, but stay flexible and open, you’ll achieve it, or something greater.
