Fight Temptation

Tae Kwon Do today is not like the Tae Kwon Do of the past. When I watch the olympics, Tae Kwon Do is a sport for scoring points without any regard for true self-defense. When I attend tournaments, I see students showing off their flips, dance moves, and breaking. I see poomse movements that do not truly block an attack or counter attacks. Fighters go on TV to show off their skills, earning money by bloodying each other. In order to keep the attention of the world today, Tae Kwon Do has become a type of entertainment. Master certificates and black belt online class are being sold to everyone. Tae Kwon Do is more of a business now. With everything happening in the world, how do we find the "do" of Tae Kwon Do?

In Tae Kwon Do, we often just focus on hitting with our hands and feet. Our hands and feet are branches to the trunk of our body. Our body should be the force behind our hand and feet. By moving our body and our limbs together, we are able to attack with a formidable force. Beyond the strength of our body is our mind. We cannot break a board without thinking we can break it. We cannot defend ourselves if we are too scared. But the things we must fight are not our sparring partners, robbers, or other opponents. Our biggest opponents are invisible. They are our selfishness, our anger, our greed, our arrogance and all the problems we have inside. We must fight and avoid all of the temptations. As we grow in our rank, especially senior belts, our temptation will grow. We want to show off our knowledge, our skills and our strengths. We use our selfishness, anger, greed and arrogance to promote ourselves.

But the true way of Tae Kwon Do leaders is the opposite. The higher our rank, the more we should learn. This is why we don't have a 10th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I may be a 9th degree grandmaster, but I am still imperfect and I still have lots to learn. This is how we build our "do" part. Our physical strength will wain with our age. People will tire of the "sport" of Tae Kwon Do because something else more entertaining will come along. Why do we not focus on something that will benefit us every day and for a lifetime? Our Tae Kwon Do knowledge and philosophy is a lifetime journey of learning. Our Tae Kwon Do spirit is a way of life: courtesy, respect, integrity, self-control, perseverance, and indomitable spirit. A true champion of Tae Kwon Do exemplifies and practices these characteristics and helps others discover these elements in themselves. The Tae Kwon Do way is similar to following God's way. Be close to the "do" and be close to God.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ -Matthew: 1-4

Go beyond your physical self. It's so easy for us to focus on the material things in front of us. It's so easy for us to be tempted by all the riches of this world. It is easy to be tempted by the things before us. So we must focus our energy on building our spiritual riches. All the things of this physical world will always leave us empty; we still have our problems and we still have our sins. Instead of making ourselves richer or focus on our physical goods, we should focus on serving God. Our life should be a service to His Will. We do this by looking into ourselves and seeing our sins. When we are able to repent and purge our sins, we are lighter from our earthly baggage, and we can easily follow the path of Jesus Christ.

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. -John 15:4

If we abide in God, we will bear the fruit of righteousness. It is the word of God that will bring lasting fruit. It is through His grace and our faith in Him that we have salvation.