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Grandmaster Hee Il Cho is a living legend among martial artists. From humble beginnings, in a cold, hungry Korea ravaged by World War II, he has reached the pinnacle of achievement including back-to-back world championships in tae kwon do competition. It has been more than 35 years since I began training with him, and I never cease to be amazed. He just celebrated his 70th birthday and, to this day, teaches regularly at his studio in Hawaii Kai.
With an emphasis on jumping and kicking techniques, tae kwon do is known, among strikers and grapplers, as a hard fighting style. Yet Grandmaster’s senior students come to appreciate the deeper lessons of our art and its wisdom on the wealth of health. To support internal development and transformation, students seek to integrate enlightening models from Korean history into daily life.
The Hwa Rang youth group became prominent approximately 1,350 years ago and was the driving force for the unification of the three kingdoms of Korea. Five principles derived from Hwa Rang Do provide guidance for prosperity, health and longevity:
1. Respect leadership: Remember that there is no substitute for the wisdom of experience and that the actions of leadership must balance complex and competing priorities often beyond one’s purview. Leaders must work to be deserving of respect and cultivate compassion and skillful means.
2. Honor ancestors: To make skillful decisions, we must honor our ancestors, beginning with our parents. To be strong and stable, a tree must be nourished by its roots. Corporate memory and knowledge of history are essential to navigate the road ahead.
3. Loyal friendship: Pono relationships with associates, co-workers and classmates create a tapestry that builds reputation, stable operations and longevity. Balanced relations with peers are both creative and protective.
4. No retreat from core values: External conditions can trigger fear, greed and anger, placing us at risk to act out impulsively, in a manipulative or expedient manner or without transparency.
5. Attune to nature: It is essential to know and respect the vast and intelligent workings of inner nature and the external environment. This calls for an awareness of ones own tendencies. Success in business depends on the ability to appreciate what the other person is feeling and thinking.
As we work to cultivate and refine these qualities, we inevitably find from time to time that we have missed the target or come up short. The remedy is found in the principles. When a martial artist falls, Grandmaster explains, "Stand and begin again." This is the practice of freedom.
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Ira Zunin, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., is medical director of Manakai o Malama Integrative Healthcare Group and Rehabilitation Center and CEO of Global Advisory Services Inc. Please submit your questions to info@manakaiomalama.com.
