While I was in South Korea, practically every moment I had outside of my military duties was spent training in Tang Soo Do. I was in class five nights per week for 2-3 hours per night, and on my off days I would go twice.
I would go to class in the evening, but often I would go to the dojang in the morning or afternoon, as the doors were always unlocked. I would go inside and begin going through the basics or working on my hyung.
Many times, Master Yun would hear me and pop his head in to see who was making the noise. He would then come in and work with me one-on-one for a bit, watching and making a correction or two.
On one of these occasions, both Master Yun and Miss Lee came in. After watching for a bit, Master Yun called me over to where the stretching pulley hung from the ceiling. He had me stand underneath the ankle attachment and drew a circle around my foot. Miss Lee lowered the ankle attachment, so it hung approximately two feet above my head.
Master Yun then had me stand in a crane stance (see edited photo to the right) with the foot of my support leg inside of the circle. He then looked at me and said “Inside circle you live, outside circle you die.”, he smiled, and walked into his office.
A moment later he came out with a bamboo shinai (kendo sword) which I never knew he owned!!
Master Yun then instructed me to jump off of my supporting foot, kick the ankle attachment above my head, and land on my opposite foot in the same stance, while staying within the circle.
I readied myself, jumped up, missed the target, landed..wobbled…and stepped outside of the circle. Smack! Master Yun rapped me in the leg with the shinai! Not hard enough to leave a bruise, but hard enough to sting. Miss Lee was thoroughly enjoying it by the smile on her face.
I tried again, wobbled, and stepped out of the circle, receiving another smack. I paused, slowed my breathing, and corrected my posture, standing straight and tall. I focused on the target dangling above my head, jumped, kicked it, and landed squarely in the circle with only a slight wobble. I would repeat it four more times successfully, and then Master Yun told me to switch legs.
I would receive a couple of more smacks to Miss Lee and Master Yun’s delight. Then we stopped and moved on to hyungs.
This lesson was never forgotten, and over the years began to have a deeper meaning to me the more I thought about it.
When I thought of the words “In the circle you live, outside the circle you die.” and considered the fact that I had to get myself straight mentally, physically, my breathing, to successfully perform that kick, I realized that it applies to life as well.
Not to sound like a Mr. Miyagi, but I realized that if we stay true to who we are, our beliefs, faith, principles, etc., and stay “in the circle” we will go further and have a much happier and successful life.
However, if we allow others to make us leave “the circle” and try to fit in, be accepted, be popular, and go against who we are and what we believe in, our lives will be full of stress, anxiety, and pain.
You may take that story at face value and it was just Master Yun and Miss Lee having fun, and that’s fine, but the older you get you begin to reflect on your past experiences. Some of them may appear to have a much deeper meaning to you after going through life, and you realize it was much more.
Okay, I’ll stop my Miyagi moment, and I hope you enjoyed this small story, as much as I truly enjoyed going through it. It is a memory that has stuck with me to this day.
God Bless and Tang Soo!
