A MESSAGE FROM CHOONG JAE NIM

I believe with my heart that this traditional martial art of Tang Soo Do can be practiced by all people. There is no denying that each student may gain different benefits based on age or personality, but I feel strongly that as students progress in a systematic training program, they will begin to recognize how the growth is helping them in many other facets of life. This is a natural occurrence among members of the traditional martial arts society.

In today's modern society, people are looking for ways to improve the quality of life. Doctors, professors and many other professionals in stressful occupations find relief in the structured Tang Soo Do training program. For most, it provides a physical fitness regimen that improves health and self-image. Many parents bring their children to Tang Soo Do because of the structured, disciplined atmosphere and the lessons learned regarding respect and self-control.

Age, gender or physical limitations are not reasons to refrain from beginning a traditional martial arts program. The benefits you receive will make a difference in your life.

Each of us projects a certain image or energy that is perceived by others as our personality or attitude. I would like to say that in today's modern society, a person can expect to experience many difficulties throughout life. This can be attributed to many things: social irresponsibility, a degradation of the family unit or even the rapid evolution in technology. We are a product of society: therefore, we are affected by these as well as other negative forces as part of our personality development. This is why the traditional Tang Soo Do practitioner looks to develop inner strength as a deterrent toward the negative situations or circumstances that we may face. All developed countries in the world look for peace; yet we see them develop large armies and nuclear weapons. In reality, these destructive forces are developed as a deterrent with the hope that they will not be used. In martial arts we develop physical abilities to the point where they are quite dangerous, with the full understanding they are to be used primarily as a deterrent to victimization or in the case of self-defense. We develop our internal abilities so that we are perceived as strong and self-confident; therefore, we are not chosen as victims by those who prey on the weak.

As we grow older, it is easy for us to become lost or caught up in the complexity and confusion of modern society. Many people become influenced by material achievement and neglect personal growth. It is such characteristics as greed, jealously and a sedentary lifestyle that are destructive and contradictory to the development of the martial artist's internal well-being. I believe traditional Tang Soo Do gives us the focus and discipline to actively pursue the positive qualities needed for greater personal satisfaction as well as the strength to improve this constantly changing world.