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HELPING TROUBLED TEENS GET A KICK OUT OF CLASS
SCHOOL-BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP AIDS STUDENTS THROUGH MARTIAL ARTS, OTHER
PROGRAMS
Washington Post
March 7, 1991, Page v3
The teenagers stand straight and stiff in neat rows on the gym floor.
As the instructor Master Ken Carlson shouts commands, first in Korean,
then in English, the Woodbridge High School students follow the
instructions knowingly They are learning the martial art of Tae Kwon Do
-- based on self-discipline, goal-setting and strength through
confidence.
About a dozen students with academic and behavioral
problems take the class, a recommended elective made available through a
"partners in education" program started last year with the
business community.
About 45 local businesses have volunteered to
provide guest speakers or informational resources, or to conduct a class
at the school, said Principal Tom Gaul.
A group of visiting Soviet educators interested in
starting a similar partnership program in their country came to the
school recently and watched Carlson, a master Tae Kwon Do instructor
conduct his class.
"Remember, brainpower, not punching power. If
you exercise . . . you will motivate yourself to become somebody,"
Carlson told the attentive students.
Master Carlson teaches the class twice a week; he
also offers periodic seminars to the faculty and work with athletic
teams for off-season conditioning, Gaul said.
Some students say the program has helped improve
their attitudes and their grades. Teachers have praised the program as
well.
"I'm sure time will tell, but it seems to have
had a positive impact on some of the students," Gaul said.
"For the most part they seem to be doing better. I think the fact
that an adult in the community is spending time with them and giving
them a lot of positive feedback is a positive thing for them.
________________________________________________________________________
CHANGE YOUNG LIVES AND CHANGE THE WORLD
William Raspberry
July 9, 1990; Page a11
To tell the truth, I have come expecting to see a bunch of fledgling
fighters, put through their paces by their world-famous teacher. I am
expecting a 6- or 7-year-old's version of a blood-curdling battle cry, a
few heel-of-the hand blows to some vital spot (punches pulled, of
course) and a take-down or two After all, I am at Amidon Elementary
School to witness the graduation to white-belt status of Jhoon Rhee
and Ken Carlson’s class of first-grade tae kwon do trainees. I
am expecting action. What I get is philosophy.
"I am smart because I always learn something
good," the incredibly disciplined youngsters shout in unison after
going through a few of their basic, non-contact moves. "I'm perfect
because I never make mistakes knowingly," they shout, resplendent
in their crisp white uniforms given them by Master Rhee. "I like
myself because I always take action to make things happen."
The 58-year-old Rhee has been a teacher of martial
arts for some 40 years, 30 of them in the United States, and he expects
his young charges to know how to take care of themselves by the time
he's done with them five years from now. He may even produce a champion
or two. But that's not the reason he and instructor Ken Carlson have
volunteered to devote six years of twice-weekly teaching sessions to
these Southwest Washington youngsters. His goal is nothing less than to
change their lives. No, Jhoon Rhee seriously expects
He knows that most of the children enrolled in his
karate course to learn the art of self-defense, and Pauline Hamlette,
Amidon's principal, was so concerned about the prospect that she nearly
decided not to allow the course. "I thought the children would be
so eager to show off what they learned that they would be hurting each
other on the playground," she said. Instead, it turns out that the
45 or 50 youngsters in Rhee's and Carlson’s class are the least
trouble-prone youngsters she has.
Rhee is not surprised. From the outset he was more
interested in teaching philosophy than in training kick-fighters.
"You know, philosophy is something we should
teach the elementary school students, not in college after a certain way
of doing things has been molded in their minds," he tells me after
the belting ceremony. "Philosophy should be taught as soon as
reason begins to function -- at 3, 4 or 5 years of age."
And what is the relation between Korean karate and
philosophy? "It is a matter of balance," says Rhee.
"Integrating knowledge in the mind, character in the heart and
strength in the body. I teach them the physical qualities of tae kwon
do, but I also teach them that these physical qualities must be
translated into human qualities that can be applied in our daily
lives." Thus quickness in the gym translates into alertness in the
business world. Endurance becomes perseverance. Timing become
punctuality. Power becomes knowledge. Even a simple ritual like bowing
to the instructor (which he insists is not merely an Oriental custom but
a natural and universal show of respect) lays the groundwork for respect
of teachers and parents.
So what brings this eminently successful athlete
and businessman to his unpaid labor of love at Amidon (and at nearby
Bowen Elementary, where he has a class of sixth-graders, and Woodbridge
High School in Virginia, where he and Carlson trains the football team)?
"Well, I've been very successful, and I really
feel that success unshared is unfulfilled. I have a nice home, all the
children are out of college now and healthy and happy, and I want to
give the rest of my life for society. I'm going to make some
history."
The first phase of his attempt at history will be
to transform the lives of these first-graders. He has no doubt that by
the time they finish Amidon, they will be noticeably different: smarter,
more confident, disciplined -- and happy.
"The thing I teach them, when we talk about
life, is that the purpose of life is to be happy. But unless they are
nice to people, people are not going to appreciate them, and they are
never going to be happy. If that is clear in their minds, they will be
nice to each other."
That simple notion, writ large, is how Rhee hopes
to change the world. "My goal is to make truth, beauty and love the
basic rule by which we deal with each other. You can't even have a game
between the Redskins and the Cowboys with two different sets of rules.
Well, we have literally five billion rules of the game of life today in
this society, which is why human history has been nothing but
bloodbaths. What we must do is to bring a single value system to bear on
our universal problems."ion (where martial arts training is
officially illegal) as he did on a recent tour. With that as a start,
and with the technology of TV and videotapes at his disposal, he really
does believe he is "going to make some history happen.
______________________________________________________________________
D.C. PRINCIPALS MIX MOSCOW, MARTIAL ARTS
Lynda Richardson Washington Post Staff Writer
May 11, 1991; Page d2
Nine D.C. elementary school principals are learning martial arts in
Moscow this week in hopes of improving the self-esteem and discipline of
their students back home. The educators will learn about kick-fighting
and the philosophies of taekwondo in a privately financed training
program with 100 Moscow school principals under the tutelage of martial
arts master Jhoon Rhee and master Ken Carlson
The training program is sponsored by the Jhoon
Rhee Foundation for International Leadership in Arlington, which
hopes to strengthen American and Soviet education by restoring
discipline in the classroom through the martial arts.
The Moscow seminar is modeled on discipline lessons
conducted by Rhee during the last two years at Amidon and Bowen
elementary schools in Southwest Washington. The school system plans to
expand its martial arts program to seven more elementary schools this
fall.
The principals heading those nine schools arrived
in Moscow yesterday for a nine-day stay.
"It's not a junket, it's a working trip,"
said schools spokeswoman Cheryl Johnson. "Every day, they are
jampacked with activities and will be working up until midnight."
Besides training their bodies and minds, the
principals will visit Red Square, the Moscow Circus, the Bolshoi
Theater, the Russian Parliament and some Soviet schools.
District officials said they have no proof that the
martial arts approach motivates students, other than anecdotal evidence
from the principals of two schools where the program is in place.
"These two schools profess the wonders of the
program," said Perry Handy, who works for Constance Clark,
assistant superintendent for elementary and early childhood education.
"They have improved in terms of their attitude and approach to life
. . . . For example, you have youngsters who might have reputations for
fighting. They learn how to walk away from altercations."
The principals won't be the ones kick-fighting in
the classroom when the programs are implemented in the schools next
fall. Instructor Ken Carlson will teach the students at no
expense to the system, school officials said
For more information on having this program at your
school, contact Ken Carlson,
Co-developer of the Joy of Discipline program.
703.273.5425
Email: Ken5425@aol.com
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