Theatre, Tae Kwon Do

Hi all,

My apologies for the lengthy delay in between my last post and today's. I've been busy, and sick, and while having a cough and working on report card's is no excuse, I hope, as an explanation, it will suffice.

We spent yesterday in Seoul--camera-less, for which I apologize--after Kindergarten class in the morning at school. I'm up to 8 munchkins, now, and I've got them hopping around happily all class. It's a ton of fun, and they remain incredibly cute--it's tiring, but totally worth it. And if it helps give our campus a shot in the arm, which it looks to be doing, more power to 'em. I hope this project succeeds--if it does, we could start getting more kids to learn English at a younger age. For fiscal reasons, this is incredibly important--they stay longer, after all, but more importantly, it will help give them the phonemes necessary to learn English from an early age. Phonemes is a fancy linguistic term meaning the sounds used by a given language. I can hear, for example,t he phonemes in Korean, but I miss the ones in Chinese by a mile, having never been exposed to it. I'm very good at hearing Japanese, French, and Spanish sounds, having spoken or been around speakers of those languages regularly in the past. 

That said, while it's entirely possible (and, indeed, some argue, easier) to learn a foreign language as an adult, it can't hurt to get 'em hooked on English young. I agree with this website's assessment of language learning--we can learn as adults, too, if we work at it, but getting used to language when young makes it incredibly easy to develop one's skills in it as one gets older (I can still, for example, speak reasonably good French, thanks to my mom and dad exposing me to it early, and living in France for a year when I was young).

Anyway, I digress. We went into Seoul with Jessica, one of our new teachers. We're going to be losing Sarah and Amber, both of whom have been here for nearly two-and-a-half years. The loss in teaching experience, in addition to the transfer of another teacher, Oliver, who came when we did, means that our school is going to be changing a lot in the next few weeks, between that and the new books and new term we're starting (Korean schools begin their new grades on March 2nd this year). It's sad to see those two go--they helped ease us into Korea, and they're a great pair of people. 

So, we went into Seoul to show Jessica how to get into Gangnam (pronounced Kang-nahm), Kyobo books, and a few other things. We got a few cheap movies while we there, including John Woo's Red Cliffs, which, frankly, is made of pure awesomeness. 

We then went further North, leaving Jessica with Sarah and Ashley, our coworkers, while we went downtown to meet up with another friend for some Korean performing arts. We saw a traditional dance (very different, it was all men doing the dancing), zither performances, and some really amazing folk drumming. Just when you thought they couldn't go faster, they did. Ditto with the volume--my ears are still ringing a bit.

We then went off to Myeong-Dong with Sumi, our coworker, and her friends Janice and Andrew. Why Myeong-Dong, you ask? Well, that's where Seoul Tower is. We had planned to get back to Gangnam for 9 PM to meet up with Ashley and Jessica again, but by this time it was 8, and I was pretty sure we weren't going to make it, with the 30 minute wait for the cable car, and another 30 minute wait for the elevator to the top of the tower.

The view was awesome--dark, yes, but worthwhile to see the lights of the Sprawl below stretching out like trees across the mountains. It was like looking at a William Gibson cyberpunk novel, a city that has become so large that it integrates the surrounding, formerly independent cities, into it, and claims the title Megapolis or Megacity with ease. Tokyo, I hear, is the same, and I look forward to seeing that colossus in time--it reminded me of looking at Beijing by night--massive, and unapologetic about it. But Seoul has a unique feeling to it. Smaller in terms of population (if only slightly), but cramped into tighter space, the city grew up instead of out--apartments rise and stack on top of each other like cardboard boxes, or plants reaching towards the sun, while 10 million people happily swarm around each other, hive-like, but each an individual.

Humanity has always fascinated me--we are capable of producing some real wonders, and cities are one example of this.

-------

Tae Kwon Do

Why a digression on my favorite Korean martial art? Well, because, after nearly fourteen years of studying it, I am coming to the conclusion that I either have to look for a new form of training, or a new art. I love Tae Kwon Do--its eminently practical at times, utilizing the power of the fighter's legs to give one the ability to do massive damage to an attacker, fast, and then get out of the fight once you've made sure that you can't get hurt.

Tae Kwon Do is not a new martial art--it's about fifty or sixty years old, and was explicitly designed after World War Two to combine the various divergent Korean martial arts into one that could be universalized across the country, and, eventually, around the world. I recall reading somewhere--don't remember where exactly--that it's become one of the most popular martial arts in the world, partly due to its usefulness, but, sadly, also because it becomes exceptionally easy to turn into a McDojang (you go in, pay your money, and get a black belt in a year, which is, pardon the phrase, bullcrap in my mind).

It evolved from Tang Soo Do, Takkyeon, and older forms of Korean fighting, which date back to the original fighting arts of the old Three Kingdoms period. The Hwarang, a group of young men picked by the Ssilla (Shilla) Kingdom's rulers, which eventually evolved into an elite, aristocratic fighting force, helped develop some of these arts, which may well be the origins of the style I've practiced for over half of my life.

In its best forms, Tae Kwon Do mixes speed training, kicks, punches, 'harder' strikes (elbows and knees, in my mental classification), throws, and self-defense training (close in combat techniques for when someone grabs you or comes at you with a knife). My first dojang (training hall) in Dallas, was an exemplar of this. Our instructor borrowed liberally from Hapkido (a Korean variant on Aikido), weapons training, and Ju-Jitsu  (Japanese grappling) to produce a martial art that was flexible and focused on developing the art of fighting and self-defense. 

There, we studied dozens of kick variants, arm techniques, weapons forms, poomseh (katas in Japanese, or choreographed forms in English), and sparring techniques, all designed to emphasize the training of the body to react instinctively to threat. In short, Tae Kwon Do can be an extremely effective martial art, especially if it leads the practitioner to realize that it can be supplemented with, or used to supplement, other arts and thus combined to make a better whole. Tae Kwon Do is not without flaws, even then--the emphasis on jumps, spin kicks, and high kicks can leave one exposed in a real fight, which, I think, is the real reason one studies martial arts. In its purest forms (whatever that means), it lacks strong hand and arm techniques, and often, emphasizes the legs to the exclusion of all else. That's fine, except if your opponent knows how to fight up close and can grapple.

In its worst forms, I've seen Tae Kwon Do dojangs where the student goes in, pays their money, and gets their black belt in such a short matter of time that they could not possibly hope to fight a real opponent and win, or, worse, where they lack the self-discipline and enlightenment necessary to realize that the most valuable fighting technique is the ability to avoid a fight in the first place. I hold a second-degree (2nd or Ii Dan) black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and have held it for almost 8 years--I've not levelled up higher than that because I've had to move often in the last eight years, and went to a few dojangs that basically told me I'd have to start over, again, in their style (annoying, but when they're the only dojang around and one doesn't have a car, you smile, nod, and swallow your complaints, and take from the school what you can). I have not fought another person in that entire time, nor will I, if I can avoid it, for the remainder of my life. I know I could cause the other person harm, and that entering the fight in the first place is a failure on my part, as a martial artist, to find a more appropriate way out of the situation. 

Some dojangs, like one I went to, here, are exceptionally good--but focus on sparring, training for the Olympics and competition, or demonstration. The problem I had with the local dojang is that they were trying to get me to do the same. I'm not interested in sparring much anymore--I have significant knee injuries that I have acquired over fourteen years of heavy training (most of which are my own fault, or came through sparring!). I also recently discovered I have a problem with one my vertebrae, so, while I'm also simply getting older, I'm not so stupid as to willingly throw myself into sparring with the Korean National Demonstration Team, nor try their tricks. I don't see any practical use in throwing a 720 degree kick in mid air, upside down, in a fight. 

I emphasize practicality in my own training, and when I teach others. If you can't use it in a fight (if you can't get out of the fight, I should add), then what good is it? Unfortunately, I lack the Korean language skills to explain my concerns to the instructors at the dojang, and I've had one too many injuries while there. Part of this is the language barrier... but the other part is a sense in some Tae Kwon Do dojangs, and especially, it seems, here in Korea, to wave off pain as part of the learning experience. Sure, pain, sparring, and the occasional bruises are normal in martial arts training. 

However, and I must say this is a large however, one should not put a student in a position where one is liable to get hurt, simply for the sake of doing so, or for teaching techniques which are only to be used in demonstration. There are some wonderful demo teams out there--the group at this dojang included, they're simply brilliant. I'm not that good. Sure, I'm a good fighter, and I can hold my own in a sparring contest, and I know I could break bones if I got into a real fight. But I'm not interested in demonstrations--I'm pragmatic in my training, and maybe a bit old, and I know when I need to stop, back away, and think about things.

I hurt when I get up in the morning--another sign, sadly, that I need to take a break. I continue to keep up my exercise, privately, at the gym, and in the park near our apartment. I will continue my training, but I will do it my way. I'm not a master--I never earned that privilege. However, I am entirely capable of practicing on my own, and teaching others.

While this blog is dedicated to my travels here in Korea, I may, as time goes on, begin to discuss martial arts in more depth, and my thoughts on them. I begin to suspect that I will endeavor to begin blending, as my old master in Dallas did, various martial arts to find a more perfect union of them. Tae Kwon Do is incredibly valid, and I have no trouble at all with people who want to train for the Olympics and for demonstrations. I simply have no interest in that route. And while sparring is a necessary part of training, it should not be done in such a way that it is unsafe. One of my favorite lessons from my old teacher was that, in a dojang, one studies with the other students--one should not go out of one's way to hurt one's training partners!

I love the martial arts, and will continue to train in them--but I will do so in my own way, and with care and concern for myself, and those who train with me. The goal is to learn self-defense, and self-discipline, not self-injury. It is so much a part of my identity, that I have no intention whatsoever of stopping completely, but I sense a time has come for a pause to reflect on my progress, my capabilities, and what I want to do in the future with my studies. If I should continue in Tae Kwon Do, I will be happy. If I choose, instead, to begin branching out and to study other forms of martial arts, I will be equally happy. I continue to study, and in so doing, to discover more about myself as I grow older and, hopefully, somewhat wiser.

Anyway, rant over--I've meant to talk about this for a while.

Best regards,

Chris

Happy Valentines Day

Hi all,

A brief post, as I'm a bit rushed for time this week--between a sore throat and running around for work, parent-teacher meetings, and the like, I'm in vegetable mode when I come back home.

We went to Changdeokgung, a palace in Seoul. Once the secondary palace of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea for several hundred years, the palace became the primary one after the Japanese destroyed the main palace by fire during the invasions in the late 1500s. It's gorgeous, set into the hills and forests of a garden complex in the north end of Seoul. Tucked into the foothills, it's designed to be as natural as possible. 

It has a bit of a sad history, despite the beauty and its role as the former seat of power in Korea. It was there that the last Korean scion of the Joseon died in the late 1900s. It was there that the Japanese annexed Korea. 

It's a beautiful and sad reminder of how lovely this country is, and how much history is here, both good and bad. I love teaching here, and learning about Korean culture and tradition--it's just a wild turn to see the differences between, say, Canada and Korea, since we don't have the history of a war as catastrophic (within Canadian borders... World War One and Two were devastating to Canada in their own way) as what happened to Korea during the Occupation.

Anyway, enough of the tragedy. It was beautiful, and we had a laugh walking past the National Ddeok (Teok) museum... basically, a rice cake museum. Oh, bother.

We celebrated Valentine's Day by watching JCVD without subtitles and laughing ourselves silly.

All the best, folks,

Chris

Kindergarten

Hi all,

Started teaching, on a voluntary basis, Kindergartners on Saturday morning. The tykes are exceptionally cute, and I've got a trio of little geniuses in the class. All three speak very well in English, so it's almost like teaching English Kindergarten back home. 

We started out by playing Sit Down, Stand Up. Basically, the idea is to have the kids learn basic English words, most of which they already know, and to warm them up. It's also important, since it keeps the kids happy. Jen's mother said, and I think she's right, that teaching kids that age requires almost twice as much work as other classes: its like having 20 mini-two-minute lessons, so that you can keep their attention. 

We then went to finish the book, do some drawing, and at one point, I had them hopping around the room (saying the word 'hop' as they did so), to teach them the word, and because we were reading about a frog. The little ones were exceptionally cute.

I noticed that as well: we're using a basic readers book, which, while good, is a bit dry--it's lots of reading.

That said, it's a great idea: it's a pilot program to see if we can start teaching younger children at the Hagwon. This'd be a great strategy if it can work: the younger ones are more interested, and are exceptionally fun to teach. Plus, while it's great to have older kids, the younger ones, if they stay, are a more lucrative source of revenue--they stay longer.

I admit, I've come to enjoy teaching my young classes a great deal. They often get me laughing along with them, and I really and truly genuinely like my students. It's good to know that I can handle kids, especially if Jen and I ever decide to have children of our own.

I don't talk much about teaching on this website, if only because, well, there are a dozen other blogs and websites out there that already do--one of the best is Dave's ESL Cafe, which is expat central online in Korea. That said, if you're going to do this, it's worth trying. It's not easy--there are a host of things that can go wrong, Korean and North American work habits and organizational styles are different, and sometimes, no matter how good your school might be, you might have a bad day or have trouble connecting with a student. All that said, if you go in to a school with an open-mind, and a bit of determination, it can turn out brilliantly.

Like with my little kids, for example.

If I can, I'll try to take a picture with some of them, and post them online. I'm a bit no-nonsense in my class, and forgetful to boot, so I might not have time or might forget, but I will endeavor to do so and have some pictures online by the time I leave this country, since my kids are either: A) very cute; B) fun; C)funny as all get out; or D) just plain neat to be around.

We can probably all tell stories, those of us doing this mad tour in Asia. Some of 'em good, some of 'em bad. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to say that, so far, at least, things are going well.

-----

Went in to Yongsan in Seoul. The electronics capital of this tech-crazy country, Yongsan has anything and everything of a tech nature a geek like me could want. The only problem is money, and that some hardware (say, a Wii, or PS3), is wired for Hangeul, and I don't trust my computing skills to reconfigure it/care to pay the kind of money it costs to buy one. They're cheaper, here, but that doesn't change the fact that they're still pricey.

Or that I have a ton of stuff to do, as is!

Also, if you want to find cheap films, Yongsan is also the place to go. Holy smokes.

-----

On a sad note, we're trying to find someone to babysit poor Amy, our cat. She's a sweetheart, but the trouble is she A) needs attention, and B) needs to be the only cat in the house. Pete, a friend of mine from back home, has been able to take care of her up 'till now, but, well, she's started having dominance issues with his own cat, Penny. Not the cats' fault, really, and I'm sorry that Pete's gotten stuck having to clean up after Amy since she's upset.

I'm hopeful we can find a solution, since we don't want to lose our cat. 

----

Later,

Chris

Full list of Japan pictures

I'm including, below, links to the full range of photos from our Japan trip, due to size and space constraints in my story earlier.

Here we are:

Japan in January part 1,

1.b, 1.c

Japan in January 2

Japan in January 3

Japan in January 4

Japan in January 5

Japan in January 6

Japan in January 7

Man, I love facebook.

Japan

(Nijo Castle)

Hi all,

Jennifer and I ventured to Osaka and Kyoto, Japan, for the Korean/Chinese New Year. It was a nice break from routine, and I know Jen needed the time off from work--she's been doing more work than I with Intensives, and was getting tired, understandably. We set off on the morning of Saturday the 24th of January, taking the bus to Incheon International. 

With the snow being so heavy, it took us nearly two and a half hours to get there, when normally it takes an hour to an hour and a half. Thank goodness we left early!

We arrived at Kanzai Airport, about forty-five minutes outside of Osaka, and after a few minutes deciphering the Kanji of the train station schedule, slapped our foreheads when we realized that it was also in English on another board. Easy as cake. We got on the train, snapping pictures as we went of the countryside. 

We arrived in Osaka, dropped our stuff at the hotel, snapped more pictures as we walked towards Osaka castle, our first stop on the "tour" I had mapped out in my head. Well, that's like suggesting we had a plan, here, which we didn't. We decided to do what we had become comfortable with after five months in Korea: to throw ourselves into a foreign culture and just see what we could find.

The results were well worth it--open air markets, temples everywhere, shrines, castles, and incredibly friendly people. The only "planned" portion of the visit were our hotels, trains, and the visit to Kyoto's Imperial Palace, which has to be booked in advance.

Anyway, we got to Osaka Castle, and wandered around the grounds. Built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the tail end of what's called the Sengoku Jidai (the age of the country at war) from about 1500-1620 or so (yes, over a hundred years of civil war), it was a massive series of fortifications meant to ensure control over access to Kyoto and Osaka's own shipping.

(Osaka Castle)

The building has been burnt down on several occasions, so the version we saw was a rebuilt one, but entirely worth coming to see. Lots of history on display inside the Castle too, and seeing dozens of sets of samurai armor was probably the best part.

We continued to tour around downtown Osaka, going to Tenjinbashisuji (I think) District, which is a 2.5 km long shopping arcade. We got dinner, which was, of course, overpriced (everything in Japan, food-wise, is expensive due to it being an island), but yummy, and met a very nice restaurant owner who helped us figure out how to get food in very good English.

Wandering around for another hour or two, we finally headed back to our hotel, with tatami mat floors, futons, and a communal bath house for washing. It was an interesting experience, especially being the only foreigner in the latter (I got a few stares). A nice hotel, however (Hotel Taiyo, if you're planning a visit), especially given the owners speak English pretty well.

One thing that is fundamentally different from Korea in the tourist aspect: the English on major sights' signage is damn-near perfect. I found one or two grammar goofs, but only in the subway, or on out of the way spots.

Anyway, the next morning, Jennifer wrote her GRE examination (they don't do that in Korea except twice a year, and she needed to finish it for PhD applications) in Osaka in the morning, while I checked out Shitennoji temple.

 

(Shitennoji Temple)

One of the oldest operational Buddhist temples (possibly the oldest extant one) in Japan, built to honor one of the founders of the Buddhist tradition in the country. One thing that is also neat to note about this place is that, en route, I found about a half-dozen smaller Shinto shrines scattered around Tennoji station. This was to become a bit of a fun footnote to our entire tour: we would walk past about five shops, find a shrine, pass a cemetery, another five to ten shops, then another shrine or temple, and so on. Japan, especially Kyoto, is literally history central, in a good way. There are so many sites to see that it is hard for me to describe them all!

Anyway, once Jen finished, we hopped aboard a commuter train to Kyoto, checking out the mountains on the way. 

Kyoto is a smaller city than Osaka, not that that is necessarily good or bad, but it has a very different, more slow-paced, feel to it.

We dropped our stuff off at the hostel (BJ Family House), the finding of which should provide a warning to tourists in Japan: city streets are not always clearly marked, or if so, are marked in Kanji (Japanese characters). When they are marked, as in Kyoto, they are often named as a combination of the two streets (so Shijo-dori and Kawaramachi-dori become Shijokawaramachi on the signs). We figured it out quickly, but it's something to be aware of. Streets are often labelled, but when outside the main 'tourist spots' it can be a little confusing.

Anyway, then we were off to check out some of the sights. We first visited two massive temples, Higashi- and Nishi-Honganji Temples, near Kyoto Station. The entire district is labelled as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, due to the sheer size of the temples and how gorgeous they are. It's interesting, again, to note the differences between the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese architectural styles we've seen so far. China tends to build large, with massive stone and jade and gold structures, Korea tends for more simple stone and tile buildings, while Japan emphasizes wood and bark (especially in the Torii or spirit gates of temples). 

We then went to Gion District, the old geisha area, to see if we could catch a show at Minamiza Theater--no luck, but we'll try again next time we're in Japan. I really want to see a Noh play or a Kabuki production.

The next morning, we were off to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which you have to get permission to visit beforehand. The Palace is interesting, and the former seat of the Imperial Family of Japan. It, and nearby Nijo-jo (castle) were where the Tokugawa Shogunate surrendered power back to the Emperor Meiji.

Nijo, meanwhile, was our personal favorites. Check this place out if you're in Kyoto--it has the world's only remaining nightingale floor. Jen has a link to it on her blog, here. The sound it makes is amazing: it sounds like birds chirping whenever you try to walk on it. No ninja getting in here, sorry to say!

The fortification was used by the Tokugawa Shoguns whenever they visited Kyoto (to meet the Emperor) and was quite impressive. What astounds me the most is how in tune Japanese buildings like this are with nature. In China, Tienanmen Square and most of Beijing is a concrete block. Beautiful and stark, yes, but very much man-made. Nijo and the temples are literally enmeshed in trees. Especially our favorite example, from the next day: Kiyomizu-deru.

I'll leave off at Kiyomizu, since it was the last big thing we saw: a Buddhist temple built into the side of a mountain, literally overhanging over the valley and forest, with a magnificent view of Kyoto beyond.

(Kiyomizu-Deru)

I also have to admit, while I have included pictures of the Buddhist temples (they are massive, after all), I tend to prefer the Shinto shrines: they are simple, peaceful, and almost understated in their intentions to honor the kami, or spirit, of the area they are built in. They are ubiquitous in Japan, and represent a polite quality to spirituality: instead of building up, the Shinto tradition seems to be to build in, that is, to create a space within an area, and allow people to simply become part of that space as well.

While both are not my tradition, I do have a great deal of respect for Shinto and Buddhism.

We got a few stares walking around the shrines of the former, as Shinto is an inherently Japanese tradition, but still, we never once felt unwelcome in any place we visited.

A wonderful trip, to be sure, and one I would recommend to anyone else. 

Best regards, all,

Chris

Inauguration

Congratulations, President Obama.

It's 21:33 hours on Tuesday, January the 20th. As of this moment, it is Inauguration Day in the United States, about 0933 in the United States, in Washington DC.

At 1200, President-Elect Barack Obama will become the next President of the United States, and the first African American to do so. I wish him the very best, and hope he will succeed in turning things around in the United States.

I am enough of a cynic to worry this will not be possible, but enough of an optimist to continue to hope, and to be willing to help in my own ways--if you are interested in doing so, and live in the United States, facebook is a great place to start, as is http://change.gov, which is the website Obama's team has set up so you can link volunteer groups and other organizations together with volunteers. In short, Obama has tried to start putting his words in action. On this front, I can salute him quite happily.

Anyway, it's a new day, and I'm hopeful it will be a new era for the US. I may disagree with the actions of their government, and I don't doubt I shall continue to do so. However, I still very much admire the potential that they represent, as embodied in the argument of their declaration that all men and women, are created free and equal.

It's interesting to note that it was forty years ago, yesterday, that Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered. President Obama's inauguration cannot atone for that death. It does, however, represent the beginning of the realization of the goals Dr King once had: to see all people united in the realization of their common humanity, hopes, and dreams. 

Here's to the end of the beginning of that dream. And here's to the hope that, in four or eight years' time, we can look back on this day and say that good things began here, and now.

Cheers, 

Chris

Week One of Intensives, Birthdays

Hi all,

Well, Jen had her birthday on Thursday, January the 8th. We celebrated with a bottle of wine at home and watching some videos from www.ted.com, which was nice since we were both exhausted. While it may not sound like the most romantic of evenings, considering that we both had had an extra 9-15 hours of work this week (before factoring in our presence at the office yesterday--Saturday) we felt a large party that evening before having to get up for another 12 hour day was out of the question.

Why so much work? Well, we just finished week one of our Intensives, which is when all the Korean kids come into the Academy for more studying when they're on winter holiday. I have one poor kid who is also in my wife's class. She is in 6 Academies, including two classes at our school--mine and Jen's. Both of those classes are 3 hours a-piece, and she goes five days a week. Now imagine how much more work she has on top of this from her other Academies, and homework and... well, I don't blame her for being less exuberant than Jen describes her as being normally. 

I can also understand how Korean kids hate vacation. I asked all of my kids what they planned to do for the January break, and the answer was, universally, study. The one or two who were going on trips were also, unsurprisingly, studying on the plane flight.

So, we took a break from that on Friday night for Chicken, Beer, and Noraebang. Exactly like it sounds, we went out to a Hof, which is basically a fried chicken and beer bar, and ate some stuff that will probably contribute to health issues in later life if I ate it everyday. It was, of course, utterly delicious.

The Noraebang was awesome, and we spent a good hour and a half belting out songs completely off-key, before heading to Pavox, a local bar, to have a few late night drinks. I think we've adapted well to the Korean style of partying: basically, all bloody night. While my headache the next morning was nothing to sneeze at, it was well worth it for bonding with our two new teachers, Paulina and Sionna, both from Bermuda, and for helping everybody unwind after a very long week.

Well, back at it in another twelve to sixteen hours. 

Cheers, everybody,

Chris