Hello, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Jun Tong International Tae Kwon Do website. My name is George Gabrielides and after 28 years as an instructor (and 32 years as a practitioner), I believe that the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is a dynamic martial art because founder General Choi Hong Hi designed it to be a learning tool that shapes a practitioner’s way of life. General Choi’s vision was to create a martial art that belongs to all practitioners and operates around the globe without discrimination on any basis, including race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and political beliefs.
Taekwon-Do mirrors our thirst for education in terms of the real world, regardless of what age we start learning, and in spite of natural ability. This is the story I tell my students.
When you start training, you’re a Taekwon-Do beginner and you’re like an infant eager to learn everything about the world around you. By the time you achieve White Belt status in Taekwon-Do, you’re like a four-year-old: you don’t really understand everything that’s happening around you, but you’re having a lot of fun learning.
By the time you earn a Yellow Belt, you’re like an eight-year-old so addicted to learning that you’re oblivious to whatever growing pains may be occurring. iWinn Once you score a Green Belt, you’re like a 12-year-old wondering how much more you can possibly learn at high school. When you’ve fought your way to a Blue Belt, you’re like a 15-year-old who’s still learning and pushing on to senior high school. Once you metaphorically hit the final years of high school, you’re ready to fight for your Red Belt.
Kicking on from here, First Gup Red Belt is the equivalent of studying every day for an undergraduate university degree. It’s a huge personal challenge, and it feels like starting high school all over again, but it’s also immensely rewarding. Upon completing your first year of your undergraduate degree, you’re now at the equivalent of being ready to tackle your First Degree Black Belt.
At the end of the second year of your degree, the end of undergraduate education is in sight; you’re confident and mature, and ready for your Second Degree Black Belt. Once you’ve mastered the undergraduate degree, you’re now ready to convert from student to teacher: in ITF terms that means it’s time to prepare for the Third Degree Black Belt.
If you love a challenge, there’s still plenty to come. With a Fourth Degree Black Belt, you’re now a sabum (teacher): the equivalent of being out in the world and running your own business. When it comes time to expand the business, you’re at the Taekwon-Do equivalent of the Fifth or Sixth Degree Black Belt. You’re teaching others, but you’re also still learning.
At this point, your training starts to come full circle. You will now take on your own students, from young pupils to mature fighters: your metaphorical business is expanding, and business is good. You’re able to impart a lot of knowledge, but you also have the wisdom of understanding that you can still learn. You relish the opportunity to continue learning from the Grand Masters of Taekwon-Do who tirelessly visit all the continents of the world and continue to spread the good word of General Choi’s work in the all-inclusive teachings of the International Taekwon-Do Federation.
Regards,
Sabum George Gabrielides.
Black Belt VI Degree Founder of JUN TONG International Tae Kwon-Do ITF International Instructor and ITF International Examiner.