Pay It Forward

Maybe you've seen the 2000 film of the same name where a boy is assigned to come up with some idea that will improve mankind. He decides that if he can do three good deeds for someone and they in turn can "pay it forward", positive changes can occur.

Seems like a simple way to give back and give hope to your fellow inhabitants of our planet.

I did say this is a martial arts concept, and it is. As a practitioner of taekwondo, you are bound by certain principles. One of those principles is the art of happiness, or how to live your life in order to maximize your happiness.

A parallel path to the art of happiness is the pay it forward concept. My master tells his students that they have a duty as students of tae kwon do, to do a good turn daily.

If you are a white belt, you should carry out at least one good turn a day. A black belt should be doing ten good deeds each day. The higher the black belt, the more good turns. Now unlike the film where the boy tells his recipients that he expects them to pay his good deed forward, martial artists make no such demand.

We lead by example. And believe me, when you are seen doing a good turn by those who know you, or complete strangers, you are teaching them both how to pursue the art of happiness.

It's impossible not to feel good about helping others. And the more you give back, the more you receive. I know, you've heard that one before, but it really is true.

So when you hold the door open for someone else, you're doing a good deed. When you buy a candy bar from the kid on the football team who is fund raising, you give back to your community. When you text "HAITI" to 90999 and donate $10 to the Red Cross, you give hope to the victims of an impoverished nation.

And when you pay it forward with good deeds daily, you lead by example and pursue the art of happiness. This is the taekwon-do way of life.

Post Your Taekwondo Tournaments

Several of you submitted upcoming tournaments that are now listed in that section of the website. A month's notice would be appreciated in order to get your tournament posted in time.

Good luck to everyone who is preparing for an upcoming event. TKD Tournaments are a great way to improve your tae kwon do techniques. It's very educational and gratifying to take your skills out of the dojang and put them up against other competitors. It will make you a better martial artist.

Visit The Tae kwon do Tournaments Page

Taekwondo Philosophy

from Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee

TKDspace.com

Use this invite link to join TKDspace.com for free. Invite

What's Happening at
The Taekwondo Network...

You can take the poll now by visiting the tae kwon do styles page and share your style.

Here are the current results:

Your Feedback

I am going to turn the Your Feedback page into an interactive submission process. So rather than just my seeing the feedback, we will all see the questions and stories that until now, were only shared with yours truly.

This way, you can all comment and offer advice to the other visitors of the site, much like the comments section of a blog. I'll have that up and running soon so check back and see what others are thinking while on they walk the path.

Nominate Your Master

Tae kwon do Master

Soon, I will create an invitation page where you can write about your Master directly online for more immediate publishing.

If you enjoy TkdTimes, please forward this copy to a friend. You can help me spread the joy of tae kwon do around the world. The more of us who walk the path, the greater the journey. We are a great community with a so much to share.

Oh, if you need the link to the free clip art page again, here it is and thank you for signing up for the eZine.Free Clip Art

"Learning never ends."-Japanese Proverb

Do Your Success...

Kam sa ham ni dah,

Kalynn