Blackbelt Message

The martial arts are more than just a series of moves passed on from instructor to student; each one has a legacy...a history. And yes, that history does include the results of physical training, but mostly, it is the emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual aspects that each discipline effects that are most valuable in the student's, and more so, the instructor's life.

~Joshua Tobler, 1st Dan Tae Kwon Do

There is so much evil in our world. It amazes me sometime that there is good at all. But amidst all of the endless struggle on earth, there is always good. And often, we who count ourselves among the opposition of evil forget that we can be easily drawn in toward the ways of the world. We must constantly catch ourselves when we make a mistake, and hopefully fix what we can.

Who hasn’t heard the phrase, “What harm could this be?” A little candy mom said you couldn’t have, your first taste of a caffeinated beverage. Chances are, this causes little or no harm at all. So what makes it wrong? A little Mountain Dew hardly affects you adversely, but the problem is, how much more likely is it that you will take…Bawls, near beer, a little vodka? I refer to the analogy of the frog that was boiled alive.

“If you put a frog into a pan of boiling water, it will jump out faster than the eye can see. But if you put the frog into a pan of water that is the frog's body temperature and then slowly turn up the heat the frog will stay in the water -- even to the point of boiling alive. Why? Because the frog does not notice the gradual change in temperature.”

We are not tempted to take drugs. We are tempted to disobey in some small, hardly noticeable way, then in a slightly less noticeable way, yet…still “harmless”. We underestimate the power of temptation. Don’t ever be caught saying, “That will not happen to me”. Rather, say “That will not happen to me, so long as I live my morals and standards each day, and be the best person I can possibly be!”

~Josh Tobler, 1st Dan Tae Kwon Do