It has been one year since my family and I joined Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan. Only one year! At first, it seemed like we would never be able to do anything. We had no flexibility, no strength, no endurance, and no clue. We were white belts and we were sore but intrigued. We kept coming back not only for the physical training but for the hope of learning "something to protect ourselves".

If we had only known just how much more there is to be gained.

Then we saw our names on the "test list" for the next month. Then came the questions. "Surely it hasn't been enough time?" "I don't feel we are ever going to be ready, do you?" The only one it seemed that had faith in us was everybody but us. We were going to be testing for Orange belt and we were scared but excited. We asked our seniors, "What do we need to do to pass our test?" Their answer was so simple it seemed like it would never work. "Just keep going to class and practice what you learned outside of class."

The simplest advice is the best advice.

We did what we were instructed to do. We took it to heart. We practiced at school, at work, in the grocery store, in the car riding down the street, at the laundry mat, at the swimming pool, in the swimming pool, and anywhere we felt like we could. Do you know what? It worked. We passed. We were Orange belts and we were developing good habits.

That feels like it was a lifetime ago and yet it seems like only yesterday.

We have become active in our art, not just in attending class. We have been learning to "give back" or "put cookies in the jar" as Sa Bom Nim says. People can give in many ways, this may be in helping to keep the floors and mirrors clean or helping to paint the walls or recover the chairs and benches. This could be helping to take the role or make sure all of the supplies are stocked or helping in the children's class. There are many ways. We are learning things like: "strength is not just a measure of physical ability but a measure of the inner being", or "with regards to training, a little done each day is better that a lot done in one day". These things are just a scratch on the surface. We heard terms like: "being on the path" or "following the way". At the time, they had meaning but we didn't really understand the depth of that meaning. Only now, after one year, do we truly realize we are just now starting to recognize that there really is a "path" and there truly is a "way". We are Green belts and our eyes, hearts, and minds have opened.

Dean, Debbie, and Donya Fagan

June 1999