The Natural Progression Of A Bright Future

By Robert McLain, 2004

Let’s imagine a man, named “William.”  William is an honest man and has learned in the value of an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, saving money, and living frugally.  He teaches his children these same principles and at the end of his life has betrothed a considerable amount of money to his children.  This family fortune is free to be used by the children as they see fit.  There are many choices for the children as William’s life and experience has given them a step-up in life, so that their lives can now reach beyond what their father could achieve.  If these children continue practicing William’s knowledge and principles they could grow the family fortune to even greater amounts of wealth for the next generation of children.  They could expand William’s knowledge and find other ways to make that money grow into greater amounts of wealth.  Imagine how rich and fortunate the future generations of this family would be if they continued following William’s original principles and expanding them.  But, none of this would be possible without the original lesson learned by William through a lifetime of hard work and life experience.

Just as William forged a strong foundation for the future of his family, Grandmaster Kim Soo has established the foundation for the future of Chayon-Ryu students.  Through his hard times, injury, health problems, and serious study, Chayon-Ryu students enjoy a 53-year advance into the world of martial arts knowledge.  It is an advancement that only a lifetime of continuous study and training could make possible.  If Chayon-Ryu students continue with the principles given to them, imagine the wealth of knowledge that they could grow themselves after 53 years of their own training and study.  Their students would benefit from 106 years of study and knowledge and present them with an enormous boost and step-up.

This is the Natural Way things should evolve in life and the Chayon-Ryu system.  The foundation and principles are established and do not need to be re-invented.  The next generation can learn from the original knowledge by training, sweating and studying.  From this will come “new” knowledge and the Natural Progression of our system will continue.  But, never let us forget the Foundation Principles that made our original knowledge possible.

The greatest gift a parent can give is the ability of his children to reach beyond what the parent could achieve.  Students of Chayon-Ryu have been given this gift and have the responsibility to learn from it, grow it, and pass it to the next generation.

I once heard someone say, “A gift not acknowledged is a gift not appreciated.”  But, how do you acknowledge such a gift?  The way to say “Thanks” for this gift is simple….

1) Pay tuition on time, 2) Clean the dojang, 3) Train hard and sincerely, 4) Help and attend special events such as TukSu Suyron, Rank Exams, Reunion training, etc., 5) Promote the system by telling friends, family, and co-workers about Chayon-Ryu and your experience.

Ironically, this method of “Thanks” benefits the system and the person doing the “Thanking.”  It helps reinforce a greater future for generations of students to come.