 |
|
The Martial Art Years - Wausau
I started training in Tae Kwon Do in September of 1981 at Like's Black Belt Academy in Wausau, Wisconsin. The dojo started out above a night club called the King's Knight and occasionally people would almost kick each other through the second floor window. This rather dangerous and exciting possibility ended when the dojo moved down the street to a ground level space with no windows. The only thing we could break were the mirrors.
I had very good experiences there and immersed myself in the process. While friends were joining high school athletic teams and wresting, playing football or swimming, I was going to the dojo, watching a martial art movie with friends and then attending a class or two. It was a great system. It also seemed very reasonable to be practicing two to four hours a day, four to six days a week. I flew through the ranks, and got my first dan, first degree black belt, in December of 1983 and my second dan in July of 1985. This was a month before I left Wausau for Madison and college. I never got into the tournament thing for a couple reasons. The first is that I didn't handle the stress very well and didn't like who I became in those situations. The other was I simply enjoyed the training more than the competition. Somewhere along the path, I realized I was always going to be a gym rat.
Of the things I reflect back on from that time as being profound or important, two of them came from Mr. Likes. The first occurred about nine months into my training. It was a few days after I tested for my high green belt, and I was stretching on the mat when Mr. Likes walked by. I caught his attention and asked him, "Mr. Likes, did Master Yun have anything to say about my test?"
Mr. Like's got this puzzled look on his face and asked, "Like what?"
I thought about it for a second before responding, "You know, what should I be working on."
"Working on?"
"Yeah, what techniques are weak and need work?"
Mr. Likes got this exasperated look on his face and let out a long sigh before saying, "Craig. Everything."
I laugh everytime I think about his face and how true that comment was and still is. It's not only true of my martial training but all of my movement training.
The other thing Mr. Likes said which I still appreciate and feel is a teaching truth is, "My job as your teacher is to prepare you for your next teacher."
So after training with Mr. Likes for four years, gaining a couple valuable pieces of movement wisdom, getting kicked in the head numerous times, and earning two big pieces of white tape for my black belt, it was time to go to college.
|
|
