What Soo Bahk Do Means To Me

Soo Bahk Do means a lot to me. Soo Bahk Do has helped me become a stronger person both mentally and physically.  Soo Bahk Do has helped me mentally because, I have to do things in Soo Bahk Do that I wouldn’t normally think I can do but when I try I am able to do it. If I didn’t have my mind telling me that I can’t do something I wouldn’t be troubled by the voice in my head saying “stop that’s wood” for me I just need to get over the voice that says that. Although I need to work on that still Soo Bahk has helped me a lot with that. Soo Bahk Do has helped me physically because I have gotten so much stronger and more flexible. My whole body has definitely gotten stronger, I am able to do pushups and situps more easily. When I am stronger I feel better about myself and I feel as if the better I feel about myself the more confident I am about myself the better I do while training Soo Bahk Do. My flexibility has also increased and although I am not the most flexible person I will continue to work on it. Soo Bahk Do has become part of my life, in fact it has become a lifestyle. I used to just go to class and only think about it right before and right after class but now I often think about how what I’m doing will help me during Soo Bahk Do. I think I have kept on training Soo Bahk Do for all these years because I really love it! I started Soo Bahk Do when I was five in Sun Valley, Idaho with Master Whitcomb when I moved back from Sun Valley to Salt Lake City I was disappointed that I could not do Soo Bahk Do any more. When I was in third grade Master Corrales decided to open his own school in Salt Lake City when I heard that I was very excited. Even though sometimes I feel as if it is too hard I know that it is making me stronger and that stronger is better. Soo Bahk Do has also helped me in life out of Soo Bahk Do because I have missed a lot of soccer for Soo Bahk Do and even though I am missing soccer I have gotten in shape for soccer while I am training Soo Bahk Do. When I go to soccer we have to do sit-ups if we mess up and I find that they are a lot easier to do after training Soo Bahk Do because we do sit-ups in Soo Bahk Do. Soo Bahk Do has also helped me a lot in my school life. It has helped me be more disciplined with my homework and school work. I have learned how to be able to work really hard at something even though it is hard or I do not want to do it. This is a great lesson for me because it would be only too easy to give up a lot of things just because I am struggling with them,  instead if I stick with things I will get good at them and then they become more fun. Through my Soo Bahk experience I have met Master Corrales, Mr. Snarr and Mr. Rios. They all have helped me to progress and become the martial artist that I am. Master Corrales is definitely one of the reasons I have continued to train Soo Bahk Do. He has helped me a lot. He has told me that he will only let me test for my Dan if I am ready. He said I am ready to test and I believe him. He has helped me especially to understand that I am going to need a balance in my schedule because I have so much going on. He told me, “You can’t run too fast for too long eventually you have to slow down.” Master Corrales has also helped me to understand that there is so much more to Soo Bahk Do than just going to class and training because you have to have a balanced diet also. Having to have a balanced diet for Soo Bahk Do is an excuse to have a balanced diet in life and that is really good for me. Sa Bom Nim Corrales told our class that our plate of food should always be colorful and that if it is naturally colorful it is most likely a very healthy meal. Mr. Snarr is a very exciting person that is very fun to train with because he makes sure that I know that he is there to help me achieve my Dan. Mr. Snarr has helped me because he has helped me to understand that breaking is just breaking a big piece of paper. He. Mr. Rios has helped set an example of what I need to look like because he truly is a Dan. I have found that when I train Soo Bahk Do if I was tired or not feeling well before I often feel better after I train. Soo Bahk Do is a sort of healing method for me. I think Soo Bahk Do is a very good thing for me to do when I don’t feel so good because it is a natural way to feel better. For me I am always very proud when people say they do karate or something and I can say that I do Soo Bahk Do because Soo Bahk Do is special and it is not just about fighting there is an art to it and it is as if it is almost a dance. I feel like sometimes you are peaceful while training Soo Bahk Do and sometimes you are not. Training can help me deal with my problems.  I like the balance of the two because training one way can help me deal with one problem I might have and training the other way can help me deal with another problem. Overall, Soo Bahk Do has become one of the things that I hope to continue because I hope that if I continue training I will continue to become a better and stronger person. Soo Bahk!

By MiaBella Brickey

Age 12, Cho Dan

Ms. MiaBella Brickey is our senior Cho Dan with a unique story. She is an inspiration to many in our community and a joy in the dojang. Below is her essay she wrote during her Cho Dan test:

What Soo Bahk Do means to me is strength (I have become much stronger), balance (I have learned how to be ‘heavy’ or ‘light’), safety (I have learned how to protect myself), being prepared (I have learned to be one step ahead of my opponent), and making good decisions (I have learned how to do the right thing). I started Soo Bahk Do in third grade. What it meant to me then is very much different from what is means to me today. Back then, Soo Bahk was a class for me to go to every week and it was something I liked doing with my friends. I had fun pairing up with my friends and working on my ‘one-steps’. I thought it was something I was just going to try, I didn’t know that I would keep training. I didn’t think that I was good enough to become a red belt. I grew to love and understand the art, but really I did not realize the deeper meaning of Soo Bahk Do until I was a green belt. As I became stronger and as my understanding of the art grew, I found myself loving it more and more. I started to realize that I could become a black belt and I began to feel more confidence in my abilities. I began to believe that I was actually good at it!

My class and I ended up with the opportunity to go to California where I competed in a sparring competition. I hadn’t done a lot of sparring and in my final bout I was paired with a boy who was older and bigger than I was. I was scared and nervous, but did my best. Although I did not win, I did win third place! I was so proud of myself! Soo Bahk Do has helped shape me to become the person I am today. Master Corrales has helped me to understand and embrace the concept of “peaceful confidence”, and has helped me with my flexibility and my overall fitness. I have become stronger by being disciplined with my forms and my stances and in becoming healthier by respecting my body and eating correctly every day. What I mean is, I have been eating healthy food not junk food. That is why you don’t want to do drugs and drink to much alcohol because what you eat or drink plays a big role in your life! You have to understand that everybody has their bad days and everybody has had the thought of not wanting to go to class or even wanting to quit. I’ve had those days, but I have never thought about quitting. Soo Bahk Do is too important to me. Every time I would think about that, I would say to myself, “Are you really just going to give up like that?” or “Is that really the best sidekick I can do?” Knowing that I am almost a black belt, I think that giving up now would be the worst decision I’ve ever made. I’m so close and I’ve worked so hard to get this far that I can’t even imagine quitting. That’s not the kind of person I am. For example, there used to be six of us that were testing in April and I remember Master Gibbons calling us the six pack… Now there’s only four of us, and were all extremely excited to accomplish something that we’ve all been working on for so long. My friends that are testing with me are awesome when it comes to supporting you, they help me when I need it, they give me advice when I ask for it. Soo Bahk Do is something I look forward to every week and I enjoy it a lot. Master Brian Corrales has inspired me for so long, and Mr. Snarr has taught me to be confident in myself. Mr. Rios is what I want to look like when I’m an E-Dan and I will always look up to him. He is always working hard and giving class a lot of effort. He is usually the one that is sweating the most after class. And he stinks. Mr. Snarr always shows incredible discipline and is a huge mentor. He is always encouraging me with my breaks and helps me polish my technique. Master Corrales is the master of discipline. He expects and encourages 110% from me every day. Master Corrales is also a great mentor. Master Corrales has helped me to believe that a person’s physical size is not as important as ones mental strength and determination. He has taught me that through hard work and discipline that I can become anything I want to be. Soo Bahk Do has also helped me with my schoolwork. For example, I used to hate taking tests. I would get so worked up over them and because of the pressure; I would not do very well. Soo Bahk Do has taught me that if I try hard enough and set my mind to it, I can do it, and I can succeed.

Soo Bahk Do is like another world for me. I can go to class and just forget about my day, or my problems. I become one with the art. I think that some day Soo Bahk Do will not only change my life but it will help me to change the lives of other people, too.

I think that every body should try to do Soo Bahk Do. I think it will change a lot of people’s minds about Martial Arts. A lot of people think its just kicks and punches and fighting. But really it’s not! It is so much more. It is a way of life. It is a way of being successful and a way of being healthy throughout life. Soo Bahk Do is one of the best decisions I ever made. Master Corrales told me, “You can’t run too fast for too long.” He told me that because I have a busy schedule. I know that sooner or later I will not be continuing with one of my sports, but I hope I can continue Soo Bahk for a very long time. I am very lucky to be able to train Soo Bahk Do and I’m very lucky that I have such a great instructor.

That is what Soo Bahk Do means to me.