The Moo Do values have several important meanings in my life. For example, Moo Do values include Pyang Ahn, awareness, The Eight Concepts, and discipline. Pyang Ahn means peaceful confidence. To me, awareness means being aware of my weapon, where I am, and where I need to be. The Eight Key Concepts to me include the following: Yong Gi-courage, Chung Shin Tong Il-concentration, and Wan Gup-speed control. To me, discipline means following directions and working hard.

I apply Pyang Ahn when I am swimming. When I am swimming I am peaceful, but still confident in myself. I apply awareness when I am in a very busy place by being conscious of where I am, those who are around me, and the environment that I am in. When I apply The Eight Key Concepts, I am training Soo Bahk. I apply Yong Gi when I am sparring someone taller than I am. I apply Chong Shin Tong Il when I am meditating. I apply Wan Gup when I am doing a form. I apply discipline when I am working hard.  I am trying really hard to get my Red Belt. These concepts have helped me get to the next rank.

There are many parts of moo do that we’ve learned about in Soo Bahk Do training such as courage (yong gi), concentration (chung shin tong il), endurance (in neh), honesty (chung jik), and humility (kyum son).

First, I am focusing on concentration (chung shin tong il). I have been concentrating on having better stances in class and on learning new forms. Concentrating also helps me be more prepared and when I’m prepared, people look up to me. My teachers reward me for my hard work. When I concentrate I don’t have to do extra work. When I concentrate in piano I can play better. When I concentrate when I’m shooting baskets I can get more points. When I concentrate when making scrambled eggs they don’t get burnt. When I concentrate on carving, my fingers don’t get cut. When I’m concentrating on breaking boards, I don’t get bruises and I can break the boards. When concentrating, you get lots of confidence.

Honesty (chung jik) is another part of Soo Bahk Do that I try to always do. Even though if you do something wrong you may get punished, you can learn with the mistake you made. You can be rewarded by being honest. If you don’t tell the truth the first time, the problem grows and you get into a bigger heap of trouble. If you tell the truth the first time, you don’t have to get in all this trouble. Sometimes, I don’t practice piano like I should, but when my mom asks me about it, I tell the truth. My mom isn’t disappointed in me when I’m honest. People can trust you when you’re honest. One time at school, I was playing freeze tag with some friends. I wasn’t honest about being frozen and they figured it out and I had to be “it”. From this, I learned a lesson.

Finally, I want to talk about courage (yong gi). I showed courage in church by bearing my testimony in sacrament meeting this month. There were a lot of people there, maybe 350 people. I was happy to share my testimony even though it was a big group and I had to walk up to the stand by myself. Other kids followed my example.

I think I should advance to 3^rd Gup (red belt). I want to finish what I started. I feel motivated to go to my destination. Soo Bahk Do makes me feel better by letting me focus and know something about self-defense. I feel good about Soo Bahk Do and that I should keep trying. When I do this – when I finish, I go on to the next thing, the next level and try harder. This is why I think I should be a red belt.

In my life I have reflected Moo Do in many ways. I have always done this, but even more so after joining Soo Bahk Do Moo Do Kwan. These are some ways of showing Moo Do in my life.

Showing respect to others is very important in Soo Bak and in life. I try to show respect to my parents, teachers, and peers whenever possible. I do this by obeying my elders and following what they tell me to do. A recent way I have showed this was last Friday when a guest came to stay at our house over the weekend. I was home alone and although I did not want to help clean and prepare for this person, I did want them to be in a clean environment. It was a last minute job that I probably could have avoided but I did not complain, did my jobs well, and I even asked if there was anything else I could do to help. By doing this, my mom and I were able to finish the jobs we needed to do.

I am loyal to my friends and other peers by helping them and listening to what they have to say. I am trying to improve on this right now. As Assistant Senior Patrol Leader in my scout troop, our Senior Patrol Leader and I have been trying to encourage another scout to come more often. We are now planning a campout directed towards him to encourage him in scouting. We hope this will get him more involved so we can be better friends.

By following Moo Do I learn and grow in many ways. I have learned Yong Gi (courage), Chung Shin Tong Il (concentration), In Neh (Endurance), Chun Jik (honesty), and other values. I practice these every day, but I worked on honesty just last night, as I was looking for a book I accidently saw our web protection password. I knew that for my safety that this was not something that I should know. I told my parents about how I had seen the password on accident and she changed the password, this experience helped me be more honest, and helped me to be safe.

I also have really been working on my humility and on finishing what I have started. I recently showed this in my schoolwork. About three weeks ago although I did not want to admit that I was failing my History and Math classes and was almost in denial. But I humbled myself to the advice of my parents and teachers and worked hard. I did not want to fail those classes so I voluntarily stayed after school, redid my assignments, and did extra credit work. The term ended this past Friday and I passed both classes with B’s.

Because of Moo Do I have been able to learn many special things about Soo Bahk and other things in life. These values and concepts have helped prepare me for my rank advancement and I think I am ready both mentally and physically for this test. I am ready to take on the responsibility of a red belt and realize that I am someone else’s pier and someone else’s elder and truly believe that I can help others the way I have been helped .This understanding has and will also help me go further in Soo Bahk Do and other fields of life.

Congratulations to everyone who has earned their next promotion.  You all did a superb job and I couldn’t be prouder.  This was our largest test yet. Candidates ranged from taking their first test to achieving their orange, green and red belts.  This was the first time Wasatch Martial Arts has promoted a red belt.  I’ve posted a few pictures of the test for you to enjoy:

Beginning in June, Wasatch Martial Arts Academy will be moving all of our classes from the McGillis School to the Jewish Community Center located at 2 North Medical Drive.  The summer schedule will move classes to Tuesdays and Thursday with the color belt kids at 4:00 and the beginners at 5:00.  Adults will begin at 6:00 pm.

We are also starting a new Saturday morning class at 8:00 am.  This will be a family class where parents and kids can train together.  All ranks and ages are welcome to attend.

The Jewish Community Center (JCC) will be an improved location with access to locker rooms, better advertising, and a wooden training floor.

Yesterday was our Tiger Tot test.  Some of the students were unable to attend, but 4 of them were there testing.  They did a fabulous job.  I couldn’t be prouder.  I especially enjoyed seeing them demonstrate Ki Cho Hyung Il Bu.  They really caught on to the first part of the form and are right on track to be able to continue learning more of it.  I’m sure the parents were just as proud (maybe even more) of each of them.  It was a pretty stressful experience for a 4, 5, or 6 year old.

I tested for my 4th Dan this past summer at the Ko Dan Ja Shim Sa in Ramona, California.  I’ve been looking all over the place for a company that specializes in custom embroidery for master belts.  It’s not easy to find brands that make midnight blue belts rather than the more common black belt.  It’s even harder to find midnight blue belts with a solid red stripe like the ones used in Soo Bahk Do to denote a master.   For example, http://awma.com has the belts but doesn’t do embroidery.  After a lot of searching, I finally found this website:  http://www.eosinpanther.com/.

Not only does this website sell midnight blue belts with solid red stripes, but also does custom embroidery and translation of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese.  There’s even examples of Soo Bahk Do master belts.  Everyone who is promoted to 4th dan in Soo Bahk Do should be able to find this site, even though I had never heard of it!  The formats are exactly what I was looking for!

The belt I ordered was close to $100, but the quality can’t be topped!  All belts are handmade right here in the USA.  Even the embroidery is done by hand rather than by a computer, giving your belt a real craftsmanship to it.

The next Gup Shim Sa (color belt test) will be held April 1st.  The kids test will be at 4:00 pm and the adults at 6:00 pm.  This will be a very important test for many of you who will be changing color belts.  It is imperative that you practice at home and seriously prepare for this test.  I will be holding a pre-evaluation on March 25 and 26.  If you need an essay (all green belt and red belt candidates only), it is due on March 25 or 26.  You will know that day whether or not you will be testing.

You have a few resources at your disposal to prepare you for your test:

• Instructional Guide DVDs (if you don’t have one, you can still order one)
• Visit my website and review your testing requirements:  http://wasatchmartialarts.com/pages/view/examination
• Come to all of the classes
• Ask your seniors for help
• Ask me to set up a private class with you

Here are the expectations for a passing grade:

• Memorize the required forms, one steps, and wrist grabs (where applicable)
• Green belt candidates and above successfully break their board on the FIRST attempt
• Demonstrate through words and ACTION, our moo do philosophy.  This testing cycle we discussed ACTION PHILOSOPHY.  Each student should be able to explain and demonstrate the meaning of action philosophy.
• Demonstrate a proper understanding of discipline, respect, and effort.

Beyond the general expectations, here is the performance level I anticipate for each level:

White Belt Expectations:

• Complete Ki Cho Hyung Il Bu.
• Understands proper hand positioning on blocks and punches.

Orange Belt Expectations:

• Demonstrates proper fist, elbow, hip, knee, foot, and eye awareness in all hand and foot techniques
• Proper stances
• Proper protocol in class (bowing, etc)

Green Belt Expectations:

• Utilizes proper huri (use of  hip) in all techniques.
• Understands proper weapon and weapon to target

Red Belt Expectations:

• Demonstrates proper distance and speed control.
• Utilizes proper huri (with good snap)
• Understands neh gong techniques

I hope this list helps.  For specific requirements, please see the testing requirements list on  my website.  If any student or parent has a question about expectation or would like some additional help, don’t hesitate to contact me.  I will do everything in my power to empower you for success!

In closing, I want to address something.  I know we often emphasize testing and rank advancement and I believe that progress is very important in life.  If we are not progressing we are regressing.  Nothing in the universe is stationary.  With that in mind, I hope you will try and focus on the journey rather than the destination.  The journey of learning and progressing is the real treat, not the prize at the end (the test).  Whether you test on April 1st or not is irrelevant as long as you are working towards improvement, which  I know you all are doing.  We are all unique individuals with unique circumstances.  So let’s do our best, but realize we will all get there at our own pace.

Last Wednesday we had a visit from one of our Regional Examiners, Jennifer Gibbons, Sa Bom Nim.  She’s from Basalt, Colorado.  All of the kids loved the class, where she taught about awareness, effort and focus.  The physical emphasis was on awareness and focus of our weapons.  This has been a theme we’ve been working on, specifically how it applies to breaking. 

At the end of the night, Gibbons Sa Bom Nim taught me Chil Sung Yuk Ro, one of my new forms.  Here’s some pictures of the event.

The last week of December, my family and I traveled to Santa Barbara, CA to visit Helena’s grandma. There I trained with Jang Sa Bom Nim, who I highly respect and admire as a martial artist and a high-level person. Not only is he a master of Soo Bahk Do, but he is also a master calligrapher, who got his training in Korea. Below, you will see a beautiful piece of calligraphy on the left and a scroll on the right.

The scroll has the characters that denote “sincerity” and the writing on the far left means roughly all things come from the heart, which is the meaning of sincerity.

The fan has special significance to me.  The whole fan is symbolic of Chil Sung, which is Jang Sa Bom Nim’s expertise.  Chil Sung is a term well-known to Soo Bahk Do practitioners, especially dan members.  It is a set of forms that are unique to our system.  The direct translation means 7 stars, which refer to the 7 stars of the big dipper.  These set of forms are our guide in Soo Bahk Do much like the Big Dipper was a guide for sailors.

For most of my life, that was the complete meaning of Chil Sung.  Apparently, Chil Sung is a term richly engrained in

Korean culture.  Chil Sung is a composite of Tae Guk (Um/Yang) plus O Haeng (5 Elements) .  The Um Yang is the red and blue symbol found on the Korean flag and are located on the far right side of the fan.  In the center of the fan, you’ll see 5 symbols, represening the 5 elements:  Wood, Metal, Fire, Water, and Earth.  Earth is the center symbol in Yellow, which also represents the Golden Mean.  Everything in our world are manifestations of Chil Sung and through careful study, we can find elements of Chil Sung throughout our training and also in our daily life.

Perhaps in time, I’ll write a little more about Chil Sung Philosophy.  I’d be interested to know if there are many people out there who would be interested in further information on the subject.  I know I am.