It's never too late!

Today, as every day, I have a lot of reasons to celebrate.

 Number one, I am alive and well!

 Number two, it is my Birthday, and I am 58 years young. I feel better than I did at half my age. Why? Because of my training with Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim.

 People used to tell me I couldn't do things because I was too young and now they are starting to tell me I am too old, or too this, or too that. In her first book, "Seven Steps to Inner Power," Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim really hits the spot. She says,

" There is always only now. "True awareness means being right where you are, right now, without fear or worry or obsession about the future or past. I have to plan, you may say. I have to think about what I am going to do ten minutes from now, or tomorrow, or it won't happen. Yes, you should make plans in the present moment. You don't ever stop thinking, but be watchful to keep yourself open to new incoming ideas that may change what you plans. The point is to e aware every moment of what you are thinking, because whatever is going on now is on the way to manifesting. How important it is, then to keep everything you dOn't want out of your moment to moment consciousness. How can you do that if you are not focused on here, now? WHEN YOU CAN SEIZE CONTROL OF THE NOW MOMENT, YOU TAKE INTELLIGENT CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE." (Seven Steps to Inner Power, page 54) And that is one of Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim's greatest gifts to me, this paragraph that there is always only now.

 HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME!

More thoughts about a Jung Suwon Wedding

Like I mentioned in my last post, as a Jung SuWon student, you are ready for anything, anytime, whether it's at a testing or on your wedding day! Weddings are the start off point for a successful marriage, and is based on love.
Here is one of my most favorite quotes of all of Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim:

"Before you can express love, you must find love. You must know love within yourself before you can give it to another. When you recognize or experience the truth about yourself you automatically feel love, because love is a quality of your true consciousness and true ideas."
(Seven Steps to Inner Power, page 70)

And now for some really heartwarming short "wedding videos." Enjoy!

The Groom:



The Bride:

Something out of the Ordinary: a Jung SuWon style Wedding

A wedding between Jung SuWon Warriors is never anything predictable. We love to celebrate every living breath, and since Jung SuWon means the unity of body, mind, and spirit, as one, this of course also applies to all that happens in our lives. It is always something wonderful to see two people who love each other, make a commitment to each other.

I love Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim's quote as to what true love is:

"When you feel this Love, you're glad to be alive, and grateful to wake up every day and live your life. This Love finds beauty everywhere, and appreciates how creative life is, knowing that possibilities exist everywhere to create more joy and more happiness and more freedom. This Love can't be hurt or destroyed because it is pure energy. It can be temporarily clouded over, but not destroyed. When it is clouded over with negative emotions or painful situations, it keeps on loving until harmony is reached again. Because this love is real and true, it is powerful. It can overcome anything untrue simply by being there, just as the sunlight burns clouds away."
(The Silent Master, page 113)

And in closing this post, I couldn't resist showing you this video of the happy couple. Well, it's not from the wedding (it'll take some time to edit that one), but you can see what a true warrior couple is all about.....

Jung SuWon warriors - what it means during elections

As Jung Suwon Warriors, we don't just limit ourselves to being warriors in the Do Jang. To be a true Jung Suwon student and warrior, it means we practice what we learn throughout our lives, in all situations.

Take the upcoming elections for example. While I have, or course, my own opinion and my own decision as to whom I will vote for, I will not publish this here, nor will I endorse anyone candidate for any of the races.

But what I will do is emphasize that we not only have the right but also duty, to vote. "It is your personal choice what you do in your life", one of Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim's most published quotes, is true here as well.
As an immigrant into this great country, and now a naturalized citizen, I proudly cast my vote every time.

Please let's all go vote. Follow your heart and follow your dreams!

Jung SuWon - young warriors at testing

As you know now, at Jung SuWon, Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim doesn't just give out new belts just because you have been training for a while, or because you paid a certain amount of fees, or because you are "just a kid." There is actually no such thing here....no matter who you are, what gender, what age...you will be pushed to whatever your own limits are - and discover new strengths in the process.

No, at Jung SuWon you get your new belts the old fashioned way: you earn them! Whether old or young, you have to show that you have improved, and not just inside the Do Jang, but also in whatever you do.

This applies to even the youngest warriors. Not only do you have to perform physically, but warriors of all ages need to hand in a written test, which consists of questions and essay questions. For the younger ones this could mean drawing a picture....

And here you see some examples from our last testing....these young warriors and artists are all around 7 years old....

More of Jung Su Won Style camping...

So while I thoroughly enjoyed the physical workout - I very much loved the Ki energy lessons as well. The first Ki Energy lessons were simple - Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim would have us sit down either under some beautiful trees, or right there in the grass, and give a brief lecture, drawing from the environment around us. It was so exciting for me, to finally actually feel, and eventually, see Ki energy! I had thought that such a privilege was reserved for only the most ancient, Oriental Masters who live on top of tall mountains....

And here we were, total and complete Westerners, learning about the secrets of Ki Energy, from a true Master!

We also learned energy forms, like the one you see in the video above...and yes that is Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim in the video......

Jung SuWon training - one step at a time

So, one day, after Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim's prompting, I felt somewhat ready to join in the regular Jung SuWon class.

Was I ever scared! I felt so out of place! I couldn't keep up with the class and felt like everyone was staring at me and making fun of me. Of course, no such thing! Everyone was very nice to me and besides, everyone was way too busy participating in class to watch what I was doing!

So I stumbled along, halfway embarrassed, halfway starting to enjoy it....the energy was so catching that before class was over, without realizing it, I had a lot of fun, it was exciting, and I was glad I went!

However, one more hurdle I hadn't counted on....at the end of class, everyone was shouting it out ...HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME! And even though this motto had carried me through very tough times the past couple of months, I still couldn't do it in class....shyness took over and I just stood there, mumbling a very quiet he can do she can do why not me....hoping nobody would notice me...

To my utter surprise, after class, Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim told me I did a great job and encouraged me to come to class again...and other students walked up to me, welcomed me....I felt very warm, welcome, and downright good.

I was hooked.