Taekwondo Portland Oregon
Mr. Cullen Loeffler
I was a bookworm in school and while I got good grades, I had no idea how to protect myself. As a result, like a lot of gentle kids, who are rather naive and innocent, I got picked on a lot. So I joined the wrestling team, the only martial art readily available in my community. After high school I went into the Marine Corps where I served for three years on active duty.
After leaving the Marine Corps, I attended college. I was still interested in the ability to protect myself. So I signed up for a class in Karate, the Japanese system that like Taekwondo uses kicks, punches, blocks and strikes for self defense. While in college I took Kenpo and Shudokan Karate. In the years that followed I took Okinawan style Karate, Buddokan Karate, Judo and when I had the opportunity other martial arts.
While teaching high school in Washington State, I began taking Taekwondo. I was not not particularly concerned with being promoted to a higher rank but testing for the next belt was expected as part of the class. Every month the instructor would put up a list of students eligible for the next test. It was considered rude not to test if you were nominated, so over the next four years I kept testing until I realized my next test was the Black Belt test. I was somewhat surprised. In truth; I did not consider myself worthy. Those who had black belts were mostly younger than me, many were taller and several were gifted athletes whose skills at martial arts were vastly superior to mine.
Nonetheless, on the appointed day, I, along with a dozen other candidates took the test. While I was certainly not as physically gifted as some of the others, I still passed the test. I was more relieved than happy to receive my black belt. It would have been embarrassing to have failed in front of the hundreds of people who came to witness the test.
In the months that followed, I discovered something truly valuable. Getting a black belt was not the end of my learning but the beginning. I began to improve the moves that I had been doing for years. I discovered that while some black belts I trained with or fought with at tournaments were bigger than I was or younger or more physically gifted, I could still prevail against them, not by becoming younger or taller, clearly an impossibility but through hard work, focus and the use of my mind. Physical activity became an extension of my mind, using the body as a means of expression.
I have certainly gotten older since I earned my first degree black belt and I don't have the strength or flexibility I once had. Still, I take part in tournaments. I have lost my share of matches but I have also won against sparring partners half my age or considerably taller or more physically able than I am. And whether I lost or won, the sparring matches were not acts of violence but of exercise, execution of moves and a dance like quality with another person, both of us seeking to practice and demonstrate our skills without harming each other.
