Enjoying the Journey By Josh Harris  

                         Etiquette 

                                     Patience 

                                               Practice 

This motto appears over the door at Kuk Sool Won.  While most of us have no problem learning etiquette and enjoy practicing Kuk Sool in class, the difficulty comes in learning to be patient.  This problem goes beyond Kuk Sool, as it is important to learn patience for our entire life experience.   Here is a familiar scene:  The parents are driving in the car, anxious to reach the end of the line.  The kids in the backseat keep asking “are we there yet?”

   We know that throughout the grand span of our lives, there will always be a destination or a goal to reach.   Yet even knowing this, we rush to get to a certain place or a thing or a day and feel relieved at the end, only to begin the next pursuit.  In our haste to achieve the next goal we say things such as:

       “If I can only make it until Friday….”          “When I make more money, then ….”          “I’ll be happy when school is over so I can  ….”         

This unfortunate situation also happens in our martial arts training as well.  Our mindset is: “If I could only get my black belt….”  Martial arts takes patience while we devote hundreds of hours of training, pushing our physical and mental limits.   Patience is described as “the state of endurance under difficult circumstances which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation, without becoming annoyed or upset.”  It is difficult, these days, to be patient.  In our current world, we can send a message instantly, travel quickly to any destination and use technology to get information in the blink of an eye.  It is no wonder many people do not have patience. We must have patience in our training while working to achieve our Black Belt.  In order to learn patience, you must learn to “enjoy the journey” in your martial arts training. Kuk Sool Won is a life long pursuit; not one goal to reach by receiving your black belt.  Concentrate on what you are currently learning in your training and truly enjoy the fact that you are improving your physical and mental being.  Kuk Sool helps you in many ways:  physically (strength, cardio, flexibility and balance) and mentally (memorization and relaxation).   Earning your black belt is not the end of the road, just one of the many phases in your training.  The famous Bruce Lee said” “Remember, success is a journey, not  a destination.”  Live for the moment you are in – don’t keep wishing for the future: you will miss out on so much!  Be patient and enjoy the journey – all the fun happens on the way to your destination.