Before each class I would see Master Kim sweeping the training floor with a huge dust mop.  I would ask him, as would other students, to relinquish the mop and let me sweep the floor.  He would simply smile and send me on my way to practice forms or to stretch.

Master Kim was a Vietnam Veteran with the Korean equivalent of the Special Forces.  He had great stories of parachute mishaps and teaching tae kwon do to American soldiers high on marijuana in the 1970’s.  At no more than 160 pounds, he could bang out multiple 225 pound bench press reps with no problem.  He could hit double-unders with the jump rope effortlessly.  He could drop into full splits with no warm up.  Master Kim was 60 years old and he was an 8th degree black belt master.

Legitimate 8th degree black belts are rare.  Sure, in the United States the “self promoted” or corporate 8th degrees are common place.  But in Korea, that 8th degree is a true honor.  With a life time of training behind him, Master Kim had only recently been promoted to 8th degree at the age of 60.

And there he was, sweeping the floor before every class.  A true demonstration of humility through action.

But the greatest demonstration of humility and restraint that I saw from Master Kim came one day when a new student joined the class.

She was a soldier straight out of basic training who caught Korea as her first duty station.  She couldn’t have been more than 20 years old and god bless her for trying to learn the language of her new host country…

During her second tae kwon do class, and in front of the whole class, she addressed Master Kim as “Adashi”.

If I remember correctly, Adashi translates literally as “uncle”.  But it translates practically as “dude”.  It’s how you address cab drivers.  It’s how you address street vendors.  It is NOT how you address your 8th degree master tae kwon do instructor.

It was the classic nails on the chalkboard moment.  It was the needle scratching across the record.  When she addressed Master Kim as Adashi, everyone stopped.  No one in the class breathed.

But Master Kim seemed unfazed.  In his heavily accented, but otherwise perfect English, he looked at her with a broad smile and said, “Your hungul-mal is pretty good.  But everyone here just calls me Master Kim.”

And that was it.  Master Kim went right back to barking the cadence for the unending barrage of kicks that were part of every class like nothing had happened.

A true demonstration of humility through action.

Quick video I made of my birthday workout.  Special thanks to my training partner Coda!

Thought: I want to be in the best physical shape of my life.

Current Action: Sporadic physical training.  Diet driven by poor habits.

Congruent Action: Consistent physical training.  Consciously choosing what I put into my body.

I own a martial arts and fitness business.  And in many ways, my product is myself.  For better or worse, by business necessitates that I be in top condition at all times.  What has really brought this to light recently, is the great traffic we’ve been getting at GymJunkies.com. I am the “face” of GymJunkies, and the haters have appeared. . .

So to silence the criticism, I need to get in top condition.  But that is the superficial ego driven reason for my quest to get in the best shape of my life.

The bottom line reason is because nothing can be enjoyed without your health being tip top.  Without our health, we really have nothing.  So it’s time to get the health back in order.  I’ll miss the beer.  I’ll miss the pizza.  And damn will I miss the ice cream.

To keep myself on track, I will publicly post my daily diet and exercise on this site.  Just click on the tab at the top labeled “My Diet And Training” and you’ll see exactly what I’m doing in the gym and exactly what I’m putting in my body.  I promise to be honest and to give an accurate report - good, bad, and ugly.  Sign up for the RSS  feed at the top, or be sure to bookmark this site.

Sensei Clarence West

Sensei Clarence West was killed on Sunday November 23rd.  He died trapped in his dojo as it burned to the ground.

I began my training with Sensei West when I was 15 years old.  I received my first black belt under him at age 20.  I continued to visit his school and train with him through my time in college, law school, and the Army.  I ended my relationship with him at age 32 when I opened my own school.

Sensei West was “old school” by many accounts.  When I started training with him, his school was in a rough part of town where kids who couldn’t afford tuition washed his van in exchange for lessons.  His training methods were often unorthodox (what else do you call throwing metal chairs at your students?) and sparring was full of hard contact, sweeps, and take downs.  I wear a scar on my left foot from being tossed through a display case at his school that earned me 48 stitches.  His training instilled in me a street-sense and self-confidence that was sorely lacking for this momma’s boy.

He was a master of self promotion.  With his loud suits and louder personality he was the center of attention where ever he went.  I sometimes called him the Don King of karate.  But never to his face.

Despite his often overbearing nature, he had a good heart.  When my mother, sister, and I had to move out of my stepfather’s volatile home, Sensei West was there to ensure the safety of my family from any potential outbursts.  And to help carry our stuff to the car.

When I was ready to open my own school, I scheduled a meeting with him.  I told him my plans and how I wanted to teach many things that I had not learned from him.  He was not happy and did not try to hide his dissatisfaction.  He requested that I wear a neutral belt, with no indication of training under him or of my other styles of study.  And that is why to this day my belt, and the belts of the Black Belts promoted under me, bear no fancy embroidery or stripes.  That meeting, over five years ago, was the last time I spoke to Sensei West.

I often thought about trying to mend our relationship.  Especially after being a part of the Ultimate Black Belt Test with the test requirement of mending relationships.  As a member of Team 4, I thought about contacting him.  And think about it is all that I did.  As a member of Team 6, again I considered contacting him.  But hey, the test doesn’t “officially” start until January. . .

Now I will never mend our relationship.  I will have to live with knowing that I failed to do something my heart knew was right, but I did not do because I was overcome with fear.

To honor Sensei West, this past week I taught all students Yellow Belt and above the one form that I transferred from his system to mine without alteration.  It is our Brown Belt form that he called Sohn Hak Que.  You can view it by clicking here.

We are sometimes reminded that life is short and hesitation of action is almost always a mistake.  May Sensei West rest in peace.