There are many parts of moo do that we’ve learned about in Soo Bahk Do training such as courage (yong gi), concentration (chung shin tong il), endurance (in neh), honesty (chung jik), and humility (kyum son).
First, I am focusing on concentration (chung shin tong il). I have been concentrating on having better stances in class and on learning new forms. Concentrating also helps me be more prepared and when I’m prepared, people look up to me. My teachers reward me for my hard work. When I concentrate I don’t have to do extra work. When I concentrate in piano I can play better. When I concentrate when I’m shooting baskets I can get more points. When I concentrate when making scrambled eggs they don’t get burnt. When I concentrate on carving, my fingers don’t get cut. When I’m concentrating on breaking boards, I don’t get bruises and I can break the boards. When concentrating, you get lots of confidence.
Honesty (chung jik) is another part of Soo Bahk Do that I try to always do. Even though if you do something wrong you may get punished, you can learn with the mistake you made. You can be rewarded by being honest. If you don’t tell the truth the first time, the problem grows and you get into a bigger heap of trouble. If you tell the truth the first time, you don’t have to get in all this trouble. Sometimes, I don’t practice piano like I should, but when my mom asks me about it, I tell the truth. My mom isn’t disappointed in me when I’m honest. People can trust you when you’re honest. One time at school, I was playing freeze tag with some friends. I wasn’t honest about being frozen and they figured it out and I had to be “it”. From this, I learned a lesson.
Finally, I want to talk about courage (yong gi). I showed courage in church by bearing my testimony in sacrament meeting this month. There were a lot of people there, maybe 350 people. I was happy to share my testimony even though it was a big group and I had to walk up to the stand by myself. Other kids followed my example.
I think I should advance to 3rd Gup (red belt). I want to finish what I started. I feel motivated to go to my destination. Soo Bahk Do makes me feel better by letting me focus and know something about self-defense. I feel good about Soo Bahk Do and that I should keep trying. When I do this – when I finish, I go on to the next thing, the next level and try harder. This is why I think I should be a red belt.