A few weeks ago I was invited to a pre event dinner in Queens, NY. I was honored and thrilled to have been invited! It was a suit and tie occasion and I was to meet some of the other masters from the Taekwondowon organization and some of the other Kuk Mu Kwan masters, some who actually trained with my original master years ago as well!
The trip was long for me trying to get to the facility, but it was definitely worth it. I also wore my AAU pin, which I was proud to do. I hurried over as quickly as I could because I really did not want to be late. When I got there, a beautiful Korean dance demonstration was going on, it was so well done! I have seen a similar dance at the Arcola Korean School that I teach at in Paramus.
I met some of the nicest and most intelligent martial arts masters I have ever met. I sat next to Grandmaster Hosun Kang, the son of Great Grandmaster Suh Chong Kang, who I had interviewed only a few week prior for my first Master Trento Special. At our table were some of his long time students, who all saw the interview. I was thrilled that it was received so well by them. But they also expressed how important the Kang family was to them and they were so happy that the interview was done. I was so grateful for their expression and enthusiasm to the interview.
You could tell, just sitting there for a few hours, the tremendous loyalty these master had for Grandmaster Kang and his father. They were really tight with each other, but oh so knowledgeable as well. And I felt great talking about martial arts, hard style and soft style, technique, some history to the Korean arts, the involvement of the Kang family with General Choi and some of the organizations they had a hand it, I also got to talk to the other masters about their own training history and the schools they run, and we also talked about earlier days of their training. Some even remembered my old master.
It's always a great testament to see such wonderful loyalty and friendship between a master and his students. Let alone a grandmaster and his master students! But they were so welcoming to me and included me and I felt very welcomed and comfortable. It was a really great evening. And I felt I was reaching further back to my own martial arts roots. My old master never talked about his old training days or the people he trained with or anything like that.
As I've gotten up through the ranks, I've met some great martial artists and they all still work with each other, train with each other, and keep the values of their martial arts alive so well. You can only imagine the intense tradition and history these people knew and were a part of. And there's still a grand big future out there! Every October The New York Open tournament in held! Try to keep your calendars free for such an event for next year!
Thank you to Grandmaster Park for having me, and to Grandmaster Hosun Kang for inviting me and introducing me to such wonderful people! Thank you to the Kuk Mu Kwan masters for being so welcoming and humble towards me and I look forward to working with you all! (BOWS)
Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO
No comments:
Post a Comment