The community that I have chosen to research is the Taekwondo martial art community in Crestview, Florida. I have chosen to research this community because I believe that they have a lot to offer people both in a physical and mental aspect. I used to be involved within this community myself, and achieved a high ranking within it, and believe that this community helped shape me into who I am today. My research question is the following: What important texts exist in the taekwondo martial art community in Crestview, Florida, what genres do they belong to, and how are they functioning within the community?
The red and black mats on the floor were squishing under the weight of bare toes walking and jumping on them. The sound of fists and feet hitting the bags echoed throughout the building every so often. Mr. West was instructing his son on his new pattern and was correcting him every time he did something in correctly. As I looked on from the family and friends waiting area, I saw the Korean numbers one through ten taped onto the front wall, which consisted of one large mirror that spanned the entire wall. In the corner was the Korean flag along with the American flag in front of it, both erect and placed side by side. Along the back wall, behind the kicking bags were frames among frames of pictures of students practicing Taekwondo and articles centered around taekwondo. It would take all day to read all of them. Four students were on the mats, kicking the tall bags placed at the opposite wall of the room. One of the older students was strong enough to kick it over completely. The white uniforms stood out against the floor mats, and the different colored belts stood out as well. In taekwondo, each color belt signifies a different ranking.
Larger than anything else in the room were the five tenets of taekwondo posted on the wall above the mirror in the front of the room. They are very large and easy to read, and they stand out the most in the room. They are the following: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit. These tenets follow students and instructors not only in their lives within the building, but out into their daily lives as functioning people of society. They teach them how to always be nice to others and to think of others when making decisions. They teach them how to always do the right thing, even when no one is there to see what they do or say. They teach them how to never give up and to always keep pushing ahead no matter how hard the task at hand may be. They teach them how to control themselves and how to express themselves appropriately in situations that push them to their limitations emotionally and physically. They teach them how to never give up and to never stop believing in themselves.
Master Gregory Bledsoe is a seventh-degree black belt in Taekwondo, and he has instructed at Gordon Martial Arts even before I started going there as a student back in 2008. I have known him for a very long time, and he is known and a good friend of Grandmaster Hwang, who is the founder and president of Unified Taekwondo. He is the oldest and wisest instructor at Gordon’s and has a vast knowledge of Taekwondo. I sat down with him as a little boy ran around the mats and kicked a bag as he ran by it. Me and Master Bledsoe caught up on a personal level before speaking briefly about Taekwondo itself. We discussed the tenets and what they do for the students that attend the classes offered. We both agreed that perseverance is the most important tenet of the five. If you persevere in life and never give up on what you are trying to do, you will always accomplish your goals. Even if you do fall short, you will try and try again until you receive the results that you want.
The students that were practicing their patterns came together and decided to perform their patterns together, in sync. They all stood in a line and the highest-ranking student began the pattern as the others followed. They all moved in perfect synchrony and no one fell behind. Their feet moved at the same time, and their movements were precise and strong. When the pattern finished, Master Bledsoe and myself were smiling at how well they moved with each other, and Master Bledsoe clapped in approval, and said: “Good, now do it again”.