How did you make Hapkido your "life"?

[SmellyMonkey]

I've still a newbie. I've only been training for a bit over two years. But even after a few months learning hapkido, I knew that I wanted to pursue the study and teaching of hapkido for the rest of my life.

I am going through a stage of assessing what I want to do with my life. Right now I work in the treasury department of a well known company. The job is starting to get stale, and I'm trying to figure out what I should do from here.

I'm debating if I want to go to school and get my MBA. If I go that route, I'll at least end up with a more fulfilling career, but it probably won't be related to martial arts. Perhaps I could use my MBA to help set up a martial arts business, but I don't see the degree helping me gain a better understanding of hapkido itself.

I could take the path of my master and move to korea to attend yong-in university, where my classes would be directly related to martial arts. But if I went that route it would mean moving my family to a country where I don't know the language gain a second undergraduate degree. Seems like quite a daunting task.

I read about US universities that offer PE-Martial Arts degrees, but I haven't met anyone who has gone that route.

Or I could continue what I'm doing, where I treat my career as a way to earn money to support my 6-8 hours a week training. 40 hours a week will be spent doing something I don't exactly love, but at least I'll still be able to train and take some student-at-large courses at Chicago universities that relate to hapkido (Korean language, Korean history, healing arts, sports training, etc) in some way. Then, 6-8 years from now I'll hopefully be able to trash the career and somehow make enough from hapkido to make a living.

Enough about my struggles to figure out what I want to do with my life. What I'd love to hear is other people's stories relating to hapkido and how they took the leap to make hapkido their life.

(And Bruce, I know you have a problem treating martial arts as a for-profit venture. You have some very valid points. But I'm looking to make enough money to live a modest middle-class American life. If we can try not to debate the for-profit issue, that would be great.)

Looking forward to hearing some great stories,
Jeremy

 

[Brad Dunne]

Jeremy, wanting to partake of the martial arts on a fulltime basis has been the dream of many a student. The odds of making a "good enough" living from such a venture are WAY against you. I realize that there are always exceptions, but they are in fact exceptions. Having a family also deters the aspect of success in even attempting to follow that path. Just way to many obstacles to overcome.

There is also another matter to deal with. How true do you want or need to be to your art? Many schools, from what we have all heard and seen, have softened up what they teach in order to get and hopefully keep students. Please note that I said many, not all. Again another exception. Life is a compromise for most of us. How we adjust to the compromise dictates how well we survive. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[ajs1976]

What do you do at the treasury department of this well known company. Have you thought about something that combines your work experience and you interest in hapkido and MAs in general. Maybe a financial / business consultant for schools, working for an MA company, etc.

 

[glad2bhere]

Dear Jeremy:

As much as I condemn the role of commerce in the MArtial Arts (and true enough, it is not my cup of tea) it is not the commerce but the way that it is done that makes the difference. If you can make a living with Honor, Integrity and to the benefit of your community, why NOT do it? One of the Eightfold Path in Buddhism is "Right Occupation". It includes its own challenges and temptations and thats all to the good. It is not the challenges or temptations that make commerce toxic but what people do with it. It seems as though most people have to "sell-out" to make a go of it. Most--- but not all.

As far as your original question I would secure gainful employment and use that employment to fund your goals in training and teaching the art of your choice. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[SmellyMonkey]

Thanks for all the advice so far.

If people would like to share, I'd love to hear stories about how others have made hapkido more of their life. Bruce, Kevin, Rudy, and others out there have made hapkido more then just something they "do" a few nights a week. I'd love to hear how they did that.

 

[glad2bhere]

Dear jeremy:

For me its not so much what I "do" as something I "became". There were a great many influences and events that shapped the place I find myself in now, and most are a bit to personal and too painful to go into here. All the same... remember the story of the kids who followed a string of breadcrumbs and one day found themselves in the middle of a forest? Kinda the same thing. I followed a string of decisions at unique points in my life and this is where I came out. I don't think I took a college course to be a mentor, or to encourage growth. In fact I didn't need college for that at all. I could have stayed in Banking and still done what I am doing now.

The same it true of being a "warrior". I suppose I could have stayed in the Army, maybe joined some elite fighting unit. But there are a lot of folks who have done that and I would not call some of them "warriors"--- just "fighters". There is a special joy of polishing oneself even if the venue is some art thats 1000 years old.

The other day I was working on the kwan dao (K. Wol-do) I am making. I am slowly polishing the steel by hand. I start with a rough-cut and pitted surface and slowly grind away with various grits. In time the surface takes on a luster and almost silky complexion which is a joy to touch. I think the product of martial training is very similar, except the "metal" you are polishing is your character. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[gatser_83]

my real post is below

 

[gatser_83]

Just wanted to say that i have a lot of respect for all the true artists on this forum. I am very new to the hapkido scene, only eight months in fact, But the threads on this forum are so insightful and informative i can't get over it. just wanted to say that so that you guys know the post is appreciated and keep em coming in.

Thanx,
gatser_83