What made you interested in Tae Kwon Do?

My interest comes primarily from our family involvement in the martial arts in Australia and overseas. My mother’s family have been involved in the martial arts in Korea for many generations and my father was Australia’s pioneer black belt in the Korean martial arts. His position as one of Australia’s most senior martial arts instructors meant that I was raised in an environment where the martial arts were discussed, along with its personalities and traditions, from a very young age. When other children talked football, I talked Tae Kwon Do! All my heroes were martial artists – past and present masters and instructors. I have been interested in the Korean martial arts for as long as I can remember.

What do you think is the most important part of Tae Kwon Do?

The mental and spiritual parts are the most important. They are the most challenging aspect of Tae Kwon Do, but also the most rewarding. Mental and spiritual aspects are the framework in which you apply your art to your life. These underscore your life-time of effort to stop violence; to be gentle with others; to be an example of good conduct; and to fulfil your duty to your Masters and honour their teachings. Sadly, many people (including the vast majority of martial arts schools in Australia and their instructors), have only been exposed to the physical aspects of their arts. They lack broader training and mistakenly believe that being ‘strong’ is a physical concept only: muscular strength and fitness only. True strength, however, is concept of the mind and the means by which you empower yourself to be a better person through your involvement in Tae Kwon Do. After 29 years in Tae Kwon Do, I can also confidently predict that my answer to this question will be the same in 29 years time.

Do you see a difference in why Australians do Tae Kwon Do and why Koreans do Tae Kwon Do?

No – the reasons are the same. People wish to conquer their fears of not being able to defence themselves; they want to be fit and strong into old age; and they desire the mental state of being truly confident in other areas of their lives. This is the universal desire of all people. It is not race-specific. Koreans do, however, feel great pride in practising the art of their ancestors and this may provide additional motivation in their practice. However, this does not amount to a difference in why people practice Tae Kwon Do.

Have you seen a change in Tae Kwon Do since you started?

Yes - and the changes have been dramatic! Please remember that my level of exposure to the martial arts is very different to 99% of all other students, instructors and even Masters in the martial arts. My father’s position allowed me to readily enquire into the historical significance and philosophical underpinnings of Tae Kwon Do and its changes as they occurred.

All said, the most dramatic change since I started has been the actions by many people to reduce Tae Kwon Do into a ‘martial sport’. These people believed that Tae Kwon Do had to become a sport to be relevant in the modern world and that this would be able to occur without compromise to the underlying art. I have always had problems with this approach because I believe that it was based on a flawed proposition. The flaw is that the aim of sports is winning and personal achievement in relation to others, whereas the aim of the martial arts is participation and personal achievement in relation to oneself. This change has affected all practitioners – those who embraced a sports approach and those who did not or tried to jump off the bandwagon when the dangers became evident – and their effect is dramatic.

Do you think Tae Kwon Do will change in the future?

Change is inevitable. Whether it amounts to a development of the martial arts or not is the real question. Only time can answer this real question. However, my thinking is that scientific discoveries and sports medicine research and findings should properly be used to inform our thinking on technique and training but not to the point of distracting us from the martial arts themselves which have been tested by time and history.