MIND and body training. On the incredible mental strength of instr. Ki and his teachings on resolute and perseverance.

OMAC black belt testing, Summer 2014, June 7, 2014

At martial arts training we train the mind and the body.

Today, we saw kids demonstrating they can remember the steps to so many patterns.

We enjoyed amazing performances by adult practitioners.

We stood on our toes to watch an incredible sparring match between Instr. Sasha and Instr. Matt.

We experienced an incredible Pal-bang-moo poomsae performance by senior practitioners.

We witnessed a 4-brick break, courtesy of Instr. Matt.

With Instr. Ki, during my 2nd dan award ceremony, Nov., 2013.

And then, there was Instr. Ki.

With an unparalleled mental strength and resolute, he ignored his injuries and kept trying to break his bricks.

“I am so sorry. I wanted to give everyone something special”, he kept telling me afterwards.

He thought he failed us. But he DID give us something special. He taught us that quitting is not an option. It was a lesson on perseverance and determination, and a demonstration of “indomitable spirit” – all parts of the four tenets of Tae Kwon Do.

And we couldn’t but admire his personal trait of knowing how to harness both pain and emotion.

We all knew that attacking his stack of bricks with the fist was gutsy as it is. But he kept going, even after his fist turned blue and his knuckles started bleeding. But his expression stayed calm throughout.

Demonstrating incredible inner strength and modesty, Instr. Ki’s performance was a stark reminder and another lesson on why we do this: “MIND and body training”.