A Martial Artist’s Christmas Carol
Some version of Dicken’s “Christmas Carol” is featured on any television station that your remote takes you to during the holiday season. This epic is a timeless story with wonderful values and morals. It reminds me of my own martial arts journey—past, present, and future.
In my past I see myself, my accomplishments, and my missed opportunities. I see myself as a young serviceman working daily in a dojang in Korea training for his first black belt honors. One of my missed opportunities was not giving proper respect to other instructors. Too often I allowed my competitive ego to impede my desire for further knowledge. Similar to Scrooge’s desire for accumulated wealth, I was collecting black belts in various styles…. thinking that it would be the fastest road to the top of the mountain.
Presently I see myself as an instructor who is still seeking knowledge and struggling to get to the top of the next mountain. The ego is still there; however, with the grace of God, I have wisdom enough to control it. With wisdom came the realization that there are other avenues out there to continue and improve my martial arts training, such as the mental and spiritual aspects of martial arts.
In the future I can see myself continue to train and share my acquired knowledge which I have attained over the past forty years as a martial arts instructor. My hope is that when I leave this world, I will leave more than a legacy of simply being a good physical instructor. I want to leave all of my students with the ability to incorporate all of their martial arts skills- physical, mental, and spiritual – into their daily lives.
-Master John Dowdy, 2009