What is Mastership…and what is Mastership NOT?

I believe, over a year ago, a debate came up in the ATA world on Facebook. A strong, controversial opinion was stated…”No one under 35 should be a Master, honestly.” And the debate went on from there. Is a Master under 35 really a Master? Can you really be a Master of anything when you’re under 35?

I remember, at the time, watching the debate with interest. There were people on both sides of the talk with some really good points. I had thoughts about the matter, but I chose to observe and listen and not to speak. We’ve all seen that “I just came here for the comments” meme? With the popcorn? That was me.

There were some great thoughts. What were the merits of Mastership, exactly? “Oh, well, I’ve known LOTS of people under 35 who exemplify those, and I’ve known lots of people over 35 who haven’t.” But still, the question was an interesting challenge, and a thoughtful challenge. I mean, would you take marriage advice from someone who had been married for 5 years? Or 35-65 years? The question, the challenge, had merit.

So now, more than a year after the question was presented, I have now been (for slightly more than 24 hours) a Master, at age 32. So now, I want to put my two cents in.

Should we have Masters under 35? What is my answer?

Well……….that depends on how you define Master. As I define Master, my answer is yes. But I can understand why one would say no.

I enjoy watching Facebook advertisements for this “MasterClass” product. You can pay to get an online course on cooking designed and taught by Gordon Ramsey, or a stand up comedy class designed and taught by Steve Martin. This is their “MasterClass.” They specialize in a topic, and they teach you that topic.
But…you’re only getting that topic. If I sign up for Daniel Negreanu’s course, he will teach me poker. He will NOT be giving me parenting advice. And if he did, something would be wrong with that. I didn’t sign up for parenting advice. I signed up to learn about poker. He is a Master of poker, but not of all things. He has his craft, his skill set.

Why our role as Martial Arts Instructors can be kinda confusing

But then…you have Martial Arts. Martial Arts seems to be an interesting animal, in and of itself. We teach both our sport and our self-defense system, but we also teach these things called “Lifeskills”. Respect, discipline, courtesy, confidence. You see, we cannot succeed at teaching the physical martial arts skills without the mental. But because of this, many martial arts instructors find themselves in the “life coach” role. (And many do, well, excellently in that role! And some don’t.)

It’s natural, really. One of the powerful things about martial arts is how it affects your life off the mat, outside of the school. If you only have discipline, self-control, and confidence inside class, but not outside of it, then what good is it, really? So this “wow, instructor, please be my life coach” is pretty natural.

And you’ve probably seen that thing circulate on Facebook, right? That thing about “When you sign up for martial arts lessons, you don’t just get an instructor, you get a…mentor, coach, trainer, life coach, etc.”? You see, society that is informed about martial arts also sees us as life coaches.

If a martial arts instructor is, in fact, a life coach, I can understand (not sure I agree, but not sure I disagree, either!) why one would believe that you simply cannot be a real “Master” under 35. Sure. You haven’t experienced enough life yet. I get it.

However, if Mastership is about “Mastering our craft”, being a Master Instructor of Taekwondo, then there can CLEARLY be Masters, real Masters, under 35. I mean, I’ve been teaching adults Taekwondo since I was 14, and I SUCCEEDED. By success, I mean the adults learned from me. I made the adults better. At 14. I had more knowledge of my art than they did, and I taught them my art, as it was taught to me.

So this is my official declaration/conclusion: I am a Master Instructor of my art. This doesn’t mean I’ve arrived at perfection or anything, it means three things…
1) CONFIDENCE: I am confident, not arrogant nor insecure, about my Mastership. I’ve earned it and I know it. I got this title because, although I could always be better, I know how to teach it.
2) HUMILITY: Context…I am a “Master Instructor OF MY ART.” My Mastership has a context, and I must keep that in context. I am not a Master Parent. I am not a Master Husband. I am not, really, a Master life coach. A parent would be a fool to tell me how the front kick is REALLY supposed to be (unless they are quoting a higher authority, like a Senior/Chief/Grand Master), but I would be a fool to offer uninvited parenting advice to parents of a teenager (I watched a mom of preschoolers tell my mom how to parent me when I was a teenager. Both of us just rolled our eyes, hard).
3) CONTINUED OBLIGATION: Although I am not a Master Instructor of parenting or marriage, I AM still a Master Instructor of Taekwondo. That means I must ALWAYS be a Master of Discipline, Positive Belief, Communication, Respect, Self-Esteem, and Honesty/Integrity. I am obligated to keep those areas at a high level.
3b) THAT BLURRY LINE: Although I am not a Master of Parenting, I AM a Master Instructor of my art, physical and mental. So I CAN teach/discuss how discipline might apply to our marriages. I can teach/discuss how respect might apply to our parenting strategies. I can teach/discuss how integrity or self-esteem might apply to our interpersonal relationships.

I am NOT a trained expert at psychology. I am not an authority on family counseling. But I AM a trained expert on how to use martial arts to develop and reinforce self-esteem in our children and ourselves. I am an authority on how to use martial arts to develop discipline/work ethic, and strength in mind and body.

How the student applies that to their parenting/marriage/friendships/workplace is up to them. I have some ideas. But the application is actually out of my field of influence…that’s their territory to navigate. The development of the mental skills, that’s my field of influence.

So the moral to the story?

I will be worthy of the title that has been bestowed me. Although I always have more to learn, the students, families, and society can know that I am an expert at what I do. And that I’ll embody the lifeskills of martial arts. And when I throw a side kick…it’s gonna be a frickin’ good side kick.
However, I will continue to respect all the other experts in what they do. I will treat everybody with the intrinsic respect of people created in the image of God, but as for achievements, I will treat an expert mechanic with the same respect as a Master Instructor. I mean, when my car breaks down, I don’t need my 22 years of martial arts…I need their 22 years of mechanical experience.

 

I am a Master Instructor of Taekwondo, figuring out what the next level of leadership is going to look like. I will learn from my seniors, and I will guide my juniors. But I am a student of life, a learner of other crafts, a respecter of other crafts.

Except cooking. I am scared of things that are hot and things that are sharp. I will stick with cup o’noodles.

What happens at an ATA Tournament?

What happens at an ATA Tournament?

An ATA tournament has LOTS of opportunities to try different events! Some students find they enjoy some events more than others, but there are enough different events that most practitioners will find something for them!

This blog post is meant to explain, in detail, exactly what happens in each event! For a detailed explanation of the tournament rules, please visit www.atarules.com. However, for the new student, let’s go over each event, and what they do.

By the way, most all students compete in the staple events, Forms and Sparring. Some students who, like me, love weapons training, will also choose to add either Protech (weapons demonstration) or Combat Stick Sparring (with sparring gear and a padded stick). Leadership members can compete in any of four additional events, Creative Forms, Creative Weapons, Xtreme Forms, or Xtreme Weapons.

(ONE MORE THING! White, Orange, and Yellow belts may choose between Point Sparring, with the gear, or One-step Sparring, with no equipment but also no contact. I’ll explain below)

Only die-hards (myself and a few of my past and present students) compete in all 8. Most pick and choose what they like.

I recommend starting with Forms, Sparring, and maybe weapons or combat weapons. I don’t recommend just “trying” the leadership events until you’ve been to a few tournaments and watched those events.

Now, let’s explain what events on available!
FORM

The competitior demonstrates a pre-taught sequence of moves and is graded in comparison to the other competitors.

There are three judges.

Judge A scores the student on the quality of their kicks and stances.

Judge B scores the student on the quality of their strikes and blocks.

Judge C (Center Judge) scores the student on the overall quality and presentation of the form. In competitive division (NOT novice division), they are also watching for memorization…they are the only judge who will mark a student down for incorrect memory or forgetting a move.

Students perform one at a time. The first two students will not be scored immediately. Once three competitors have demonstrated, the judges will call all three up and, one at a time, give them scores comparing them to each other. After this, each competitor (4th, 5th, 6th, etc.) will be scored in comparison to the standard established by the first three.

Tigers: The tiger goes to tournament with a slip from their instructor, telling the judges exactly what they are doing and if they will need help or not. The tigers are not “scored”. They are encouraged for the things they do well.

Novice division: Again, remember! Memory is not a factor in their score. In fact, if they don’t know the form, the center judge will tell them what to do next!

Competitive division: No help can be given. If the form is incomplete, the center judge MUST give them a 9.1 (scoring goes from 9.1-9.9) However, the other judges do not penalize for memory. They are ALL about the quality of whatever technique is thrown.

ONE-STEP SPARRING (White, Orange, Yellow belts ONLY):

Competitors will perform two different pre-set combinations towards an opponent, without hitting or even making any contact on that opponent. Judges will award a point to whoever has the higher quality technique.

Attacker will always do this: Step back, left low block, step forward, right punch.

Defender will do the “one-step”. (A preset combination taught by their instructor)

Tigers: Once again, the slip the tiger takes to tournament will have all the assigned information on it.

Novice: Once again, memory is not a factor in grading, and the center judge may help the student.

Competitive: Once again, no help can be given.

SPARRING

Competitors, wearing full sparring gear, are attempting to make light contact to legal target areas (hand techniques to body, kicks to body or head), while preventing their opponent from doing the same to them.

Colored belts: Contact is not required to score, but the technique must come close.

Scoring:

Punch or kick to chest protector – 1 point

Kick to head – 2 points

Jump kick to chest protector – 2 points

Jump kick to head – 3 points

Pretty much anything else – penalty (no hits to back, no punches to head, no low blows, no elbows, knees, grabbing)

Sidenote: Remember, this is not pure self-defense yet. This is a sport, which leads to self-defense. The rules of sports are meant to prevent injury, thereby prolonging the health/abilities of the practitioners. The rules of self-defense (hint: there are none) are meant to do the exact opposite.

The game goes to either 5 points or 2 minutes.

Tigers: No contact. Judges are watching for their techniques, to reinforce the behaviors and techniques that they do well!
Novice: While the rules do not change, the judges understand that students often compete in novice if the feel nervous. So while it is always the judges highest priority to ensure safety, the judges give their extra concern to safety in a novice division.

PROTECH (Weapons demonstration)

Colored belt students will have 30 seconds to demonstrate a freestyle or a created form with an approved ATA weapon of their choice.

Black Belts must demonstrate a Black Belt weapon form appropriate for their rank or below.

Colored belt freestyle: Student cannot release/toss the weapon, nor can they do any acrobatic techniques.

Just like forms, competition, there are three judges who will compare the first three competitors to each other, and then compare every competitor after that to the first three. But all three judges are judging overall presentation.

Tigers: Once again, not scored. Rather, “reinforced.” Watching for good behavior, good attitude, and good technique, so judges can reinforce it.

COMBAT STICK SPARRING

Competitors wear full sparring gear and use the combat stick (not just the padded one, but the SUPER padded one).

The rules and slightly more complicated this time (don’t worry, the judges know them) and the game goes to 10 points or 2 minutes, not 5 points.

In order to simplify the rules, I have divided the into “rules of three.”

First of all, basically everything is a legal target area with a few exceptions. So assume that EVERYTHING is one point, except for the following rules of three.

THREE ways to score a bonus point

  1. Jump when you strike
  2. Opponent drops weapon
  3. Hit a bonus target area

THREE bonus target areas

  1. Head
  2. Weapon forearm (elbow-to-hand of the arm holding the weapon)
  3. Thrust to front leg (rare technique, and an advanced fencing technique. In self-defense, if you could make your opponent unable to put weight on their front leg, you have effectively eliminated their offensive capabilities.)

THREE illegal target areas

  1. Groin
  2. Throat
  3. Any thrusting techniques to the head

So those are the rules in a nutshell!

LEADERSHIP-ONLY EVENTS – The reason that Xtreme and Creative are for Leadership is because part of learning to lead is not just “doing-what-you’re-told” (doing the form you were taught) but rather, learning to create your own form. While one might think “wow, you should be less nervous because you can’t do anything wrong!”, quite the opposite is true. Students often feel more nervous because making your own form makes you feel more self-conscious, like it’s an expression of yourself.

Here are the four events!
CREATIVE FORM

  • Competitor creates their own form based on traditional taekwondo techniques.
  • Optional: They may do the form to music if they choose (instructor must okay that the music is family appropriate)
  • It must be 2:00 or less. If it is 2:01, they are disqualified and no score can be given. (Shorter forms are not penalized based on time.)
  • Any jump spin kick that goes 540 degrees or more is illegal, leads to disqualification
  • Any acrobatic technique (cartwheel, round off, gyro, illusion, wushu butterfly, etc.) is illegal, leads to disqualification
  • Competitors MUST be competing in traditional forms in order to be allowed to compete in Creative Forms or Xtreme Forms.

CREATIVE WEAPONS

  • Same rules as creative forms, with an ATA approved weapon.
  • Weapon releases are not allowed (weapon must remain in contact with the body at all times)
  • Competitors MUST be competing in Wraditional Weapons (Protech) in order to be allowed to compete in Creative Weapons or Xtreme Weapons

XTREME FORM

  • Same as Creative Form, but now there are no illegal techniques.

XTREME WEAPONS

  • Same as Creative Weapons, but now there are no illegal techniques. Also, weapon releases are allowed.

If anybody has any questions about tournament, let me know! This is meant to be the fastest explanation. For a more detailed explanation, go to http://www.atarules.com!
Hope that helps, and I hope that anybody who has even a twinge of interest gets to try tournament at least once! (Of course, what I really hope is that you get hooked on it. They’re fun!)
-Carson Clews

Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee – The Entrepreneur

Every time I think “Wow, Eternal Grand Master was really smart,” I run into something that shows me what an understatement that is.

And this time, it happens to be the fact that I am reading the eMyth (by Michael Gerber), and that I approached the ATA Museum at the new ATA Headquarters with the eyes of someone who is reading the story.

 

In order to illustrate what I’m seeing, let me try and CONDENSE what I’m learning from the eMyth.

 

Quick synopsis of what I’m reading

  1. Within every business owner is an entrepreneur (envisions the future, comes up with new ideas), a manager (systematizes, runs quality control, and creates order, based on a knowledge of the past), and a technician (actually does the work. Everything else is a distraction)
  2. Ideally, we want balance between those three.
  3. Most businesses are started by technicians (people who do the work), who have unfortunately not developed the other two personalities, and therefore give little thought to creating systems (manager) or coming up with new ideas to approach the ever-changing future (entrepreneur).
  4. The most successful businesses we know of did not “become” successful by starting out technician-oriented but rather, began with the future in mind. When they were a small operation, they still “systematized” and “created”. Even though there was work to be done, they did not let the “work” distract from the “vision”.

 

And this leads back to my main point.

 

I love teaching martial arts. Therefore, I can take this two different directions.

  1. Because I love teaching martial arts, I must make sure that there is always a place where I can teach. And I must become the best instructor I can possibly be.

OR

  1. Because I love teaching martial arts, I must create opportunities, for anyone else who desires it, to enjoy what I enjoy.

 

Option 1 sounds nice. It sounds like someone who holds themselves to a high standard, to the highest quality. It is also the above-described “Technician” perspective. I must create a place in which I can do the work that I love.

But option 2 does not contradict option 1. Rather, it expands…rather than simply create a place where I can do the work I love, can I create a place where others can have this same opportunity as I have?

 

And that’s where I think Eternal Grand Master’s brilliance comes into play. I mean, MKF (Midwestern Karate Federation) grew so quickly that it had to be renamed ATA (American Taekwondo Association) and now ATA International in less than 50 years. We were founded in 1969. We are 48 years old. We have schools across the country. We have schools in a BUNCH of different countries.

 

Why?

Because in the beginning, he drew a map of the USA in the sand, and put dots on every location he wanted to put a school. In other words, he began with the end (bad choice of word, cause we’re still going!) in mind. He wanted to create instructors, not simply hold the position for himself.

 

So what about me?

 

This is my plan, my vision, my goal for my school and organization.

  1. Although it is human nature to attach to an instructor, and this is normal, we will take efforts to build in our students a love of the art itself, rather than a love of any instructor or practitioner. Because this feeds the long-term and not the short-term.
    • (No, don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon. But if our current team are still the only ones teaching in 5 years, then we are not fulfilling our vision!)
  2. Find those who love this enough to want to make it a career, and make sure that opportunities are created for them. Whether they take it or not is up to them, but it is my responsibility to make sure that the opportunities are present within my organization.
    • If the opportunity is not present, then if I am truly a caring instructor, I must point them to somewhere else, where the opportunity is. However, me no wanna. So I must create opportunities.
  3. Learn everybody’s goals and priorities, and then equip them to achieve them.
    • Students: One person wants to be a state/district/world champion. The other simply wants to get back into shape. I must recognize these, and although I use the same curriculum, I give different recommendations. The “get-in-shape” person does not need to come to class more than twice a week. The one with the goal of champion absolutely needs to come to class more than twice a week.
    • Instructors: One person wants to work 30 hours a week, make a comfortable amount of money, and spend time more time with spouse and family. The other wants to build an empire, make a whole bunch of money, and open more than one school. I want to be able to equip both to understand their own goals, and what it will take to reach them.

 

I love teaching. Therefore, I will teach. I also love owning my own school. And I love running it and learning how to run it better. So I will continue to do so, and I will kick butt.

But I will also be forward-thinking. If anybody else wants to learn to teach, or run a school, I’m not going to wait for them to be ready, and then build the system. I must work on building a system now for students I haven’t yet met, so that there will be a path towards career-ship for anyone who, years from now, is interested.

 

Bring it on.

“Every kid is a winner!” No, not really.

Today, my daughter took my nunchuck class. Now, because her instructor is Mr. Sipe (she trains at West Salem, so that Daddy is not her instructor. Trust me, it’s better this way), she often will do “Sipe-ism’s” when she takes martial arts class, or pretends to teach class.

However, today, I heard her do a “Clews-ism”…something that I do in my ATA Tiger classes that no one else does.

“Hey, Daddy, you lose! You didn’t go fast enough!”

Yes, I am the instructor that, in my attempt to build kids’ confidence with martial arts, looks straight at them and says “You lose. You failed.”

But don’t get mad at me yet…let me explain why.

When I was first starting ATA Taekwondo as a white belt, our school had a logo on the wall, up front and to the left. It was the same logo that you’ll find on the “old school” V-patch for the Karate for Kids program.

Above it were these words:
“Every kid is a winner!” and “Every kid is special!”
Now, I definitely believe that every kid is special. And I believe that every kid should be taught that message, as long as “special” does not mean “better”. Special means unique. Gifted. Different from the next kid, and you know what? Kid, you do not need to be like this next kid to be okay. Strive to become the best version of yourself.

However, I do NOT believe that every kid is a winner. I believe that teaching this message does the exact opposite of the desired result. If every kid is a winner, then winning is automatic. Not an accomplishment, but rather, an assumption, something that you take for granted.

 

Now, the good reason that this saying was on the wall was because many parents bring their kids to martial arts hoping that it will be a different sport than the others, and it is! For me, I was horrible at basketball (I did get the “Most improved award”, but I think I know why), baseball, and soccer. Pretty much EVERY other kid was stronger, faster, more coordinated, etc. So this saying was on the wall for kids like me to know this: “You don’t have to be the strongest or the fastest in order to win here.” And I definitely agree with that statement. This is not a place where only the elite win. Traditional martial arts is about you vs. you, or as I like to put it, you vs. yesterday.

(By the way, the “you vs. you” thing is not meant to diminish quality. Rather, it means that a 60 year old doesn’t have to be better than the 20 year old in order to move up in belt rank. Each should gain all the benefits they can from martial arts without comparison to others.)

 

So, if I don’t believe that every kid is a winner, then what do I believe? Do I believe that only the elite are winners, because I want to teach the kids the life lesson of “It’s a tough world, so buck up, buttercup”?

No, that’s not it.

 

Rather, I would love to change “Every kid is a winner” to: “Every kid, here, in our school, CAN be a winner.”

If you followed our “Parenting Hacks From Martial Arts” videos, then you might remember this one: “Choice vs. Ability.”

 

White through Purple: Victory by CHOICE, not by ability

For the first six colored belt ranks in our school (up to purple), it is our job to make sure that success is a matter of CHOICE, not ability. Choosing to focus. Choosing to follow directions. Choosing to copy the instructor. Not how high, how natural, or even how strong the kick is. What we’re going for is the CHOICE to follow the role model, the instructor’s example.

What that means is that if a student is not following the directions, we will bluntly tell them these three things. The first two are bad. But the third is meant to be empowering.

  1. You lost. You failed.
  2. It’s because of the choice you made, the bad action you took, or the good action you didn’t take.
  3. We believe that you are able. That you are capable of more. And that when you do make the right choice, you’re awesome.
    1. So…kid…do YOU believe that?

We believe that kids need to grapple with the feeling of failure, while being guided by caring adults. But we also believe that they need to know that they are believed in, supported, and liked.

So no, kids, you do not automatically become a winner. But, if we do our job right, “winning” is never out of your reach. It is always right there, waiting for you. All you have to do is CHOOSE it.

 

Blue and above: Victory by ABILITY (personal victory, but not just handed to them)

Once the student hits that seventh belt color (Blue), it is at that point that success is now a matter of ABILITY, and that ability is the result of previous choices.

White belt is not the time to prepare the kid for the harsh realities of the competitive world. But we can’t let the student get to Black Belt ever thinking that victory is automatic. In fact, saying that “victory is earned” is not even right. Victory is not a merit badge that you get by making good decisions anymore.
Nope. Now, Victory is fought for.

Sometimes, in an attempt to teach kids to always do their best, we end up accidentally teaching them this lie: If you do your best, if you put forth the effort, the universe OWES you what you want. Because if you work your hardest, then you deserve it. And deserving it is how you get it.

Nope. If a bad person attacks you, then you, as a hopefully good person, deserve to win. But “who deserves it” has NOTHING to do with the fight.

For the most part, if you apply for a job or to work for a company, the leader of that company is not thinking “who deserves this the most?” Rather, they are thinking “who will bring the most results to our company?”

So at the high belt ranks, “choosing the right action” is not enough. Oh, and “working as hard as you possibly can” doesn’t guarantee it, either. Sometimes, you have to work as hard as you possibly can for a long period of time. Victory will not come when you “earn” it. Victory will come when you TAKE it. That is, if you have the ability to take it. So I hope you’ve built up your abilities.

Choices lead to abilities and opportunities. If you slack off for 12 years of school, “doing your very very best” on your SAT’S won’t cut it.

And we have to teach children this at a young age, so how exactly do we do that without making them less? Without sending their self-esteem backwards?
(And no, I am not abrasively thinking “get over your self-esteem, snowflake.” Taking careful, considerate steps to keep self-esteem high is really important, if the child is going to be empowered to hit their goals.)

 

So how do I help kids with their self-esteem? Discipline? Confidence? Pride?

  1. By telling them, straight forward, about their victory or their failure, and then…
  2. Setting the goal of victory tomorrow, and showing them how it is within their reach.
    1. If they failed, the goal is victory tomorrow.
    2. If they succeeded, the goal is THE NEXT LEVEL tomorrow.

When our kids are empowered, when our kids are thinking more about what they will do to the world around them rather than what the world around them is going to do to them, THAT is when we’re going to see their confidence skyrocket.

 

No, every kid is not a winner.

Only the kids that choose to focus, follow directions quickly, and follow the leader.

Only the kids who prepare for the future by the decisions they make today.

So, here’s the question, kid. Are you going to win or not?

 

And high ranks…

……….are you willing to fight for it?