Grandmaster Ken MacKenzie - Taekwondo Times

convert the space in our barn to a training area.
I now own and operate Raven Moon Martial
Arts in Bernardston, Massachusetts. My son
Liam has been training with me all along and
recently tested for his second black stripe on
his brown belt. As the mom of a soon-to-be
black belt, I want to be careful that I am not
too easy on him, and I also want to be fair. My
son is working on overcoming an undiagnosed
learning disability. He has a great team at his
high school and they have worked diligently
with him and us to help him learn in his own
style. He makes his own action figures, mostly
Star Wars, and even has a space to display
them at a local comic book store.
I am amazed and impressed with my students,
who have never done any martial arts
before. They are learning quickly and rarely,
if ever, miss class. In the “old days,” I did a
lot of tournament sparring. Now, I am content
to watch my students spar and have all
the fun! One of my students has Asperger’s
Syndrome, a form of Autism. He has worked
very hard since he joined us nine months ago
and recently tested for his first green stripe on
his yellow belt. I believe that the discipline of
martial arts has been a huge factor in his success.
His mom reported that this year was the
first year that his report card showed all As and
Bs!
There is nothing more amazing to me than
to watch my students overcome a difficulty in
class, especially with forms. I tell them to let go
and trust their body, don’t think too much, just
let go.
A New Beginning
By Master Chuck Thornton
Being a martial arts teacher for many years,
sometimes the daily operations of running a
business can get to us. We start to wonder and
question why we chose this profession in the
first place. Then 4:00 rolls around, you walk
into the classroom and you see the smiling
faces of your students. They are ready, willing
and able to learn life skills that they will carry
with them throughout their existence. This not
only warms our hearts but brings a smile to our
faces every day.
One particular student has inspired me to
write about her. Her name is Galyna and she is
15 years old. She is from the Ukraine and was
adopted by Jim and Dana Hale. Although she
has only been training at USA Tiger for ten
months, you can see the limitless potential with
which this delightful young woman has been
blessed.
Galyna’s life has been anything but easy.
She never had a relationship with her parents.
Ukraine
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15-year-old Galyna
November 2009 / taekwondotimes.com