Master Gives Student Blessing

"To add growth, lead followers. To multiply, lead leaders."

-John C Maxwell

I trained under my first master for ten years. Although we have no contact currently, there is not a day he does not enter my mind. And that's how it should be. How could I not? He provided such great origins for me in my martial arts training and a solid foundation that allowed me to grow and move on my own. He gave me the opportunity to be well rounded, teach all ages, and learn to be creative and independent in my own training.

I had a fantastic apprenticeship under him at his school for those ten years. I trained in traditional Taekwondo, got well rounded knowledge in self-defense training, learned a great deal and competed in sport Taekwondo, exposed to fitness classes that I later began to teach myself, and I also had a great deal of training in self-esteem and psychology training that greatly impacted my training.

I also taught all of the classes at our school. I tried to be him in the early years of my training and found greater success when I began being myself and making my own in my teaching style. But I learned a great deal dealing with early childhood, secondary, and adolescent levels of teaching. I learned how to provide for kinesthetic learners, visual learners, and audio learners of all ages.

In my training there were many times I found myself alone and limited to particular "tools" and "equipment" and learned how to use around me and create simulations to  supplement in my training when I had no one but myself, or not have the objects others would have to train with. I learned how to master time when teaching and using it when training. These skills are with me every day.

Me teaching at a Black Belt test at my original school in 2007.

But above all, my first master trained me how to be a great martial artists practitioner and teacher. He will always be a part of me. Unfortunately, our parting was bitter, but to this day I give him all the respect for providing me with such a great foundation. I refer to him, his teachings, and supplement them to my own lessons that I teach my own students today. He will always be a part of me and nothing will ever change that. When it comes to my training and teaching, I always speak highly of my first master, and honor him in the respect he provided me to move on in the world as a martial artist on my own.

I hope he is flattered knowing I can move on in the world because it is a great attribute to him that I am able to do this. A good teacher guides their students to be able to stand on their own two feet and go out into the world to continue teaching such a wonderful thing. The martial arts, as I always say, is a tool used to teach the greater lessons of life itself. That's what we teach life. I am, whether I like it or not-- and whether he likes it or not, am a legacy to my first master as I continue to do what I do, and make my own. That is what any good master would want; for their students to be better than themselves and go on their own, standing on their own two feet.

Me teaching former students from my original school in 2005.

When a student of mine goes on their own to teach on their own, it is the highest form of flattery. A part of me in in each of my students, especially the ones who make it to Black Belt and pass on the knowledge professed by me. Just as my first master with me, I will always be a part of them. I will always be in their hearts and their mind, in every technique they perform, every move they show, every lesson they provide, every thought to their art, they have no choice but to think of me. I am always inside them, as my first master is with me.

Unless you truly train in the martial arts, you will not understand the sacredness of the master-student relationships that comes with the thousand years of tradition in spirit that comes with the martial arts. The closest thing that can compare that I have witnessed was with my own mother and her choir director, Mr. Broadhurst. After four years of great musical training, she was able to go out on her own and continue singing and learning. My own choir director, Mrs. Verost, also a student of Mr. Broadhurst, was able to go out on her own to teaching music as he did, and eventually in the very same school he did.

It is an honor to have a legacy pass down itself, especially in the sacred teachings of the martial arts.  To add growth in the world, lead followers. To multiply, you lead leaders. A great friend of mine, Susy Peron, taught me a lot about educational leadership. A true teacher does not need recognition or to be the center of attention, nor do they seek it or want it. Is it wrong to want those things? No. But only great teachers and educators have those attributes, which is part of servant leadership. I will have students carrying on the martial arts tradition, and I do not need to be a part of it. That's the job of a teacher. That's what every GOOD teacher wants. Susy is a servant leader. She loved making a difference in the classroom, but as an administrator she teaches the teachers, which, to her, makes a difference to ALL the students on a grander scale. And she does oh so well.

Carol Burnett would talk about her personal idol who mentored her, Lucille Ball. Burnett would tell people how Lucy did not need to be the center of the show. Whatever work she did, she did one hundred percent regardless of the role. She guested on Burnett's show several times, and others, and she did not need to run the show. She just added whatever it was she was meant to ask. After starring several times on Lucy's show, she offered Burnett a show with Desli, which Burnett declined to go in a different direction. Lucy was not at all disappointed or offended, she even guested on the special that would get Burnett to have her own show. Carol Burnett took a lot from Lucy and if you observe you'll see it, but also made great contributions of her own. That's true mentorship. That's a true legacy.

Me teaching years later at my own school in 2013

So it is a great comfort to know that my students who carry on the martial arts teaching I have passed down will always think of me. I am flattered that any student of mine loves the martial arts enough to continue teaching on their own. And it brings great joy knowing I was able to teach another to do the same and hopefully they will make their own of it. I've already had the experience when I parted with my old master, my first protégé did a great job continuing to teach, and I was always told she looked like a miniature me, from the words she spoke, to my mannerisms. I'm sure I have many from my original.

I have always gave credit to my first master. I often think about him, not a day goes by that I don't. I wish I could tell him what I'm up to now, and even ask him what he thought about a few things I have in store, like my mother did with Mr. Broadhurst. And I hope my students who go out on their own also know my doors are always open and I love to hear what they're up to and how they carry on the martial arts tradition.

I sound like a broken record, and all my students hear this from me, especially the ones who have been with me since my apprenticeship, never forget your origins. Never forget where you came from. Never forget your roots. In my Hung Ga training, we are always paying tribute to our ancestors and the lineage of the Hung Ga tradition and teaching. I myself am so proud to be learning under a new master, probably the best in the world (no exaggeration) and continuing to grow myself.

It is a thrill to have students love the martial arts so much to make it a part of their lives, but have yet to find someone who has it as their passion. Many are passionate, yet I have not found any one yet to have it as their passion. The guidelines for that, only my mentors and master can outline for you. But passion is martial arts not a part of your life, but is your life. It is in every single thing you do in your life. That's why the boundary in personal and business is extremely gray because the martial arts is a personal experience.

I am proud to pass on the gospel of my first master, and am privileged to carry on my new master's gospel, as I believe I already am. And I am proud and flattered to have any alumnus of my own to continue preaching the gospel of Trento to a newer crowd on a grander scale. And that's true lineage. That's true multiplication. That's true leadership. That's true service. That's true legacy. (BOWS)

Me teaching the next generation of servant leaders.

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO