One of the big steps we can all take as students or parents of students, is to take our training out of the dojang and bring it “home”. This is a simple task yet it is not easy. It takes discipline on the part of everyone concerned. Students must understand the importance of this and parents must demand it takes place.
You cannot decide to be disciplined in one place and not in another. You cannot be respectful in the dojang and choose not to in school. You either are a disciplined and respectful person ALL of the time or you are just faking it when you need to.
This is why I tell my parents to require the child to say “yes mom” or “yes dad” rather than “yeah” or “uh-huh”. The meaning is the same but the attitude behind it couldn’t be any more different. Children MUST respect their parents and this only can happen when parents and kids are on different levels. There are too many techniques to cover in this article that can assist in this process but starting with the one aforementioned will get the ball rolling. Once you have accomplished that one, see me personally for the next step(s).
The unfortunate part is that most parents will not follow up on this. They end up telling me, ”well he listens to you better than to me.” Of course it is because they are not on different levels with their kids as I am. By the way, some parents have done this (and it is a tiring process), and it has worked wonderfully. And then the snowballing effect begins. It starts carrying over into school and other parts of their lives. Also, future desired behaviors are easier to achieve…all from just getting our childrent to behave the way we want them to.
This is just one of many things TKD can assist individuals with, in becoming a better person. I hope you give it your best effort whether you are a student or parent.
