Colleen Cleveland
Age 48
1st Degree Black Belt
I stumbled into the Oriental Moo-Do School by pure,
dumb luck. My 5-year
old son was heavily into the "Power Rangers" and was gleefully
kicking our
furniture to emulate his heroes. I figured I could either fight
this trend
. . . or channel the enthusiasm and sign him up for a martial arts
class.
I started looking around for classes, not knowing
the difference between
Karate, Kung Fu, or Taekwondo. My only real criteria was that classes
had
to be late enough in the evening to match my schedule, and the school
had to
be willing to take children as young as 5. Not many were. While
driving by
South and Carmenita in Cerritos one Saturday morning, I saw the
OMS studio
and pulled in to have a look. As it happened, Jimmy Kim was there
practicing with a few junior Black Belts for a demonstration. I
talked to
two of the Black Belt parents who gave me enough information and
enthusiasm
to seek a meeting with Master Kim. I signed Kevin up, and he started
classes right away.
At first, I sat in the back with the rest of the
parents and just watched I
saw how much fun everyone seemed to be having, and I listened as
Master Kim
preached the many benefits of Taekwondo training and the importance
of
exercise. I did the math and realized that although I'd carved out
a
successful career in marketing, I hadn't really done any regular
exercise
for more than 20 years. There was a woman in Kevin's class who was
64 years
old, and she had worked her way up to purple belt. She wasn't very
flexible
or graceful, but she was in there giving it her best, and I had
to respect
that. The message became obvious . . . if she could do it, so could
I. I
talked to Master Kim and confessed that I wasn't sure I could hack
it, but
he encouraged me to give it a try and just try my best.
As it turned out, I couldn't do much. At 40 years
of age, I discovered that
I could no longer hop. The need to hop hadn't really come up in
the past
two decades, but I had never thought I'd lose the ability. I couldn't
jog
around the dojang during warm-up either - not without getting so
winded that
I had to stop and go outside for air. My flexibility wasn't too
bad, thanks
to childhood gymnastics classes, but I had little strength or muscle
tone,
almost no endurance at all, and was woefully out of shape.
But never at OMS was I ever made to feel self-conscious
or guilty. I was
only encouraged to do what I was able to do, whatever that was.
Master Kim
was genuinely kind and respectful . . . always . . . and I soon
came to
trust him absolutely. He and his son Jimmy, as I later found out,
had the
respect of the entire international Taekwondo community. And with
good
reason. Jimmy Kim, then still in chiropractic college, was an Olympic
gold
medalist - imagine taking a beginner's class from an Olympic gold
medalist!
And Master Kim, and it turned out, was really Grandmaster Kim, a
9th degree
Black Belt who had trained national and international champions
and
currently served as the head referee for the Olympics and the World
Games.
And despite all his international accolades, what Master Kim liked
to do
best was to teach Taekwondo and spread the gospel of martial arts
training
to small children and overweight, out-of-shape adults like me.
Kevin and I dutifully kept showing up to class,
and little by little, we got
better. We went to competitions, and although I usually lost, I
learned
from the experience and was always warmly congratulated by Masters
and
referees for getting out there and trying. We both advanced in rank,
and as
mother and son, we earned our Black Belts. What a great day that
was -- and
my son was not only proud of his own achievement . . . he was also
proud of
his Mom for doing it with him. It's a bond we'll always have and
one that I
deeply cherish.
I can't say enough good things about Master Kim
and the Oriental Moo-Do
School. I always feel welcome there, and I leave every class feeling
better
about myself. I've learned through the years that Taekwondo is truly
for
everyone . . . young and old, fat or thin. I've seen students in
class with
physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. I've seen well-toned
athletes, and many more who aren't - but who are still benefitting
from
classes. I've taken classes with children as young as 4, and I've
been at
competitions where the oldest competitor was 72. I've learned that
a Black
Belt is achievable by most anyone, as long as they have the desire
to work
toward a goal. We each travel a separate road - no two martial artists
come
to the dojang with the same skills, abilities or natural talents.
But each
person has the potential to achieve their personal best.
If I were to draw up a list of my "favorite
human beings of all time",
Master Kim would easily top the list. He is unique in all the world
- and I
have never met a single soul who didn't like him, love him, respect
him I
am deeply honored and humbled to call myself his student, and despite
the
fact that I have been attending Taekwondo training for more than
8 years, I
still have much to learn from him.
Colleen Cleveland
Age 48
1st Degree Black Belt
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