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Tae Kwon Do: Setting the Example
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Page 3 of 5 In the other predominant situation, divorce need not necessarily be a mitigating factor. In some cases, a single parent or estranged parent may shower the children with extravagant things to help offset feelings of personal guilt at not being able to provide them with a stable (intact) caring/nurturing home. Almost as sad, many parents from intact homes feel that they owe it to their children to provide them with everything they want. This of course requires that both parents hold at least one full time job each. The result once again is that due to a shortage of time something has to be deleted from the daily program and all too often the moral guidance of the children suffers. A clear link has been noted between absentee parents and numerous emotional and behavioral problems. A 1989 study of 5000 eighth grade students in California found that the more hours children took care of themselves after school, the greater risk of substance abuse. Latchkey children were determined to be "twice as likely to drink alcohol and take drugs as children who were under the supervision of adults after school." What does all of this have to do with those of us who aspire to become outstanding martial arts instructors? The more I learn about my art of Tae Kwon Do, the more convinced I become that such knowledge must be accompanied by a code of ethics governing its use. A school which merely instructs its students in martial techniques, especially those which are potentially lethal, imbuing them with technical proficiency, but not addressing the moral aspects of when it is appropriate to use them, is neglecting a vital aspect of its students' development. In short, the greatest problem facing our society today, in my opinion, that of amorality, can be attributed to either the inability or unwillingness of a great number of individuals to invest more of themselves in the care of those for whom they are responsible. It seems to be much easier to provide material things for our children than to take the extra time and energy to not only mold in them, but also model for them appropriate codes of conduct. Similarly, in the context of martial arts instruction, it is much easier to show a student how to perform a specific technique than it is to go the extra distance (caring) to inform them as to when and why they might elect to use such a technique. Further, the student should be apprised of circumstances under which the use of a particular technique might be inadvisable. It must be a lot easier to teach sport Tae Kwon Do than it is to teach the traditional form. What I have learned at the martial arts school I train and teach at would make it quite impossible for me to ever separate Tae Kwon Do from its requisite mental training.
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