Learning doesn’t just happen in school!

Three cheers for learning!

Most of you are right in the thick of a re-education, aren’t you? Your kids are bringing home math problems that you have long-forgotten how to do, perhaps asking questions about biology or science whose answers are fuzzy in your mind from so many years of being out of school. It’s probably a little overwhelming sometimes. Have you seen “Are you smarter than a fifth grader?” Some of those questions are kind of hard!

Whether or not you went to college, trade school, have four pHds, or went straight to work after high school, there’s always an opportunity to learn more now. We live in an age of instant information, and I for one love that about this time. From Google to Wikipedia to Pinterest, we have more resources than ever to better ourselves and our minds, which will in turn help our kids in their studies.

Do you still have educational goals? Do they include helping your kids with theirs?

(-Mrs. Hornbuckle)

Original message: Dear Students, We are currently waiting out the severe storms. Master Hornbuckle told the staff to stay home for now, and we will open the school when it is safe. Before you come in for your regular classes, please call or check Facebook or our website. We will let you know when we re-open. Please stay safe. See you soon. (Tuesday, April 3, 3:00 PM)

That southern charm will get you every time, won’t it?

It’s hard not to be won over by a man who opens doors, and says “yes ma’am,” and stands up when there are more people than seats. And he does all of these things. It doesn’t really surprise me anymore. Still impresses me, but it doesn’t surprise me.

In taekwondo, bowing is a traditional sign of courtesy and respect.

I see it in the other instructors here too (and in the students) – there is a courteousness inside this school unmatched in many other public spaces I have seen. I think it comes from mutual respect and practice – they practice saying “yes sir.” They practice putting away bags for one another. They practice putting others before themselves.

Unfortunately, I am still surprised when I see non-taekwondo kids doing these things out in public. I’m sorry to say that courteous kids are hard to find in the “real world.”

Because courtesy doesn’t come naturally.

It doesn’t come naturally to any of us, so it really, really doesn’t come naturally to children. We are naturally less-than-polite – why else do we act so differently at home than we do in public? And like anything that doesn’t come naturally, it has to be taught. Consistently. Like other skills, learning how to be courteous takes repetition, practice, and dedication, the way our instructors learned it.

That’s why we have our kids repeat the word-of-the-month when they enter the floor. That’s why we go over it multiple times in class over the course of the month. That’s why we correct the kids when we don’t hear them answer up with a “yes sir,” or “yes ma’am.”

And that’s also why we should be demonstrating it to one another as well. Showing respect to others (regardless of belt rank). Maintaining civility in our discussions. Putting others before ourselves.

The more we demonstrate this to our students and kids, the more they’ll pick up on courtesy as a way of life.

(-Mrs. Hornbuckle)

There’s just something about the new year. New beginnings. It feels fresh, exciting, new. Probably because it is! You get a do-over. And maybe you think to yourself “this will be the year I finally ____.”

What’s in that blank for you?

What’s on your to-do list?

Personally, I’m not a big “New Year’s Resolutions” person, but I think that might be because they just seem so… big. Unattainable. I think most people tend to set goals for themselves that they have a hard time actually attaining. Blog every single day! Keep my house perfectly clean at all times! Eat nothing but whole grains and veggies all year! Exercise two hours every day no matter what!

It’s important to challenge ourselves as we create goals, but it’s also important not to set ourselves up for failure.

So it helps to go back to the S.M.A.R.T. Goals we teach our kids as we consider what our New Year’s Resolutions really should be.

As a reminder, S.M.A.R.T. Goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely

New Year’s Resolutions don’t have to be something we forget about in mid-January. By setting goals for ourselves that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely, we can succeed at them. And we can show our kids how rewarding hard work can be.

What are your S.M.A.R.T. Goals?

-Mrs. Hornbuckle

I dug through my purse and found the tiny post-it note on which I had scribbled the year’s words-of-the-months (hoping that the word-of-the-month I was about to find wasn’t “organization”) and found December’s word.

Master Hornbuckle and Mr. Hornbuckle

“Integrity,” I read aloud. Master Hornbuckle’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, good, that’s my favorite,” he said, excitedly. I smiled, unaware until then that he had “favorite” words-of-the-month.

“Why’s that?” I asked him.

He explained that he enjoys teaching the kids about integrity because it’s one of the ideals he really believes in, one that he desperately wants to see the kids learn through their training at our school.

It made a lot of sense to me that he would think that; Master Hornbuckle’s integrity is one of the things I admire most about him and one of the main reasons that I was attracted to him in the first place.

We discussed the concept a little more, and I wondered aloud whether his valuing integrity came more from his southern upbringing or his 25+ years in the ATA, where ideals like integrity are stressed.

“Actually, I think it’s from my dad,” he said after reflecting for a moment. “I mean, of course I learned about integrity in taekwondo and that reinforced a lot of ideals like that for me, but when I think of what integrity is all about, I think of my dad.”

And it’s true. Mr. Hornbuckle (the original Mr. Hornbuckle, that is) is an incredible man. He is kind, gentle, chivalrous, and honorable. He is a man of his word and does what is right even if it’s not what he desires. It’s no wonder Master Hornbuckle turned out the way he did; he had a role model full of integrity growing up.

It struck me that at 32 years old, Master Hornbuckle still looks to his father as a strong example of integrity, even though he hasn’t lived with him in 14 years.

His dad’s integrity made that much of an impact. What a legacy to leave.

Character. Virtue. Soundess of moral character. Honesty.

Integrity is doing what is right even though nobody is looking.

But chances are, somebody is.

It’s Blue Bell Butter Crunch ice cream. Have you ever had it? It’s insane. It’s basically ground-up homemade Butterfinger in Blue Bell’s perfect vanilla ice cream.

Insane.

Self-Control? Maybe not today.

It never even makes it to the freezer. I buy a pint at the grocery store, and while I’m putting away groceries in my kitchen, I’ll get a spoon out and open that beautiful little pint. Just one bite.

Okay, maybe two.

The next thing I know, the groceries are all put away and somehow my pint of Butter Crunch and I have made it onto the couch and I’m scraping the bottom with my spoon.

Doesn’t even make it to the freezer.

This is not my best quality, I know. I have a problem with sweets. (Actually, I believe the problem is that I DON’T have a problem with sweets. You know that little mechanism most people have that makes them feel sick when they’ve had too much? Yeah, I don’t have that.) Master Hornbuckle knows that if he wants to keep cookies in the house, he’d better hide them really well.

But, to be honest, my problem isn’t really with sweets. It’s with self-control.

Can you relate?

Maybe it’s not sweets, or even food. Maybe it’s Facebook. Or doing that one chore you hate (laundry for me!). Or procrastinating with homework or at your job. Or your temper.

Self-control is a decision you make. A choice that takes effort.

At home, I don’t always treat Master Hornbuckle with the respect he deserves, or use the kind of tone that I should when I speak to him, or act the way I expect his students to act toward him. And why? He has certainly earned my respect, and I know that.

It’s because I am not practicing self-control with my attitude. I am being lazy. I am being selfish.

So this month’s word-of-the-month is a good reminder. As we teach our students to practice self-control, we “grown-ups” can also spend some time considering what our weaknesses are as well. Where we get lazy.

What’s the thing you can add a little self-control to? Or the area in which you’d like to reinforce self-control in your children?

For me? Practicing self-control means monitoring my attitude. All the time.

And, you know, probably not bringing Butter Crunch home in the first place.

-Mrs. Hornbuckle

They exchanged stories, updated each other on what was going on in their lives, and enjoyed their time together. This was the first time we have all gotten together since Master H purchased the Murphy school, so many of them asked him about it. Every time he told them about it, they smiled big and expressed their excitement.

“I always knew you’d do it,” they would say. “I’m so excited that you finally got everything you had been dreaming about.”

Master H went to college specifically to earn a business degree to learn how to run his own a takewondo school. He has been incredibly blessed to have accomplished this goal, and the college education he earned has been a huge part in both purchasing the business in the first place and running the business itself.

Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee, founder of the American Taekwondo Association

And thanks to the H.U. Lee Memorial Foundation, some of the financial strain of college will be relieved for many young ATA Martial Artists, making higher education possible for more young people in the organization.

The H.U. Lee Foundation is a private, non-profit organization that has provided nearly 500 young adults across the United States with more than $400,000 to continue their education. During the month of October, ATA schools across the country raise funds for the Foundation with “Board Break-A-Thons,” in which students solicit donations for the Foundation in exchange for the opportunity to break boards in fun ways.

Murphy ATA will be participating in this Founder’s month fundraiser during the week of October 24 during regular classes. Pledges may be given in any number of ways:

• Ask for pledges on a per-boards broken basis
• Ask for flat rate pledges for participation in the event
• Ask for pledges in exchange for “cool” board breaks executed

(As an example, Master Hornbuckle will be doing a blind-folded triple board break in the class of the students who raise the most if a $200 minimum is raised for the foundation, so see Mrs. Simms at the front counter if you want to bid on this break for your class!)

We truly hope that you will participate in this fabulous opportunity to help young ATA Martial Artists earn a college degree.

You never know – those boards you break for this scholarship fund could be helping create the next generation of taekwondo Masters.

Honor.

It’s not really something most people take very seriously these days, is it? There was an age in which virtue, integrity, and respect were highly-valued attributes. One definition I like of honor is “a scorn for meanness.”

How times have changed.

Honor has become an elusive concept in modern society. Integrity and “nobility of soul” are no longer valued as the most important asset of an individual. The anonymity of the internet has made “a scorn for meanness” virtually extinct; rather, meanness is celebrated and appreciated as a sign of wittiness and superiority. There are no victims to meanness now, at least, none that we can see, so why consider the feelings of others as we type away in the comment sections of social media outlets or spew hate from the comfort of our couches? There is no need to respect one another or go out of our way to treat others well; we can get new friends, and after all, all that matters is our own happiness.

Honor is a fairy tale, a nice concept, a good idea. But it is not realistic.

Is it?

It is this change in society’s view of honor which makes the way individuals act all the more important. It was Gloria Anzaluda who said so simply, “I change myself, I change the world.” Mahatma Gandhi is quoted in a similar sentiment: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

It really comes down to this: it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world is doing. I can choose to act with respect toward others. I can choose to be chivalrous toward the women I encounter. I can choose to pay for my music, software, and movies, even when it is easy to steal them. I can choose to use words that uplift others rather than tear them down. I can put integrity over my own desires, and I can put the needs of others over my own comfort.

Unfortunately, I don’t always act honorably. Many times, I fail. It’s human nature to be selfish and mean. But when I don’t make an honorable choice, I can still display honor in the way I deal with the consequences. Did I take responsibility for my actions? Did I apologize to the person I hurt? Did I make right what I have done wrong?

This is where true honor lies, and that’s what we hope to teach your kids this month, at least a little bit. It’s not too late for the next generation to become a generation of honor – a generation who “scorns meanness” and does what is right even though nobody is looking.

They can be remembered as a generation of honor. And we can be the generation remembered for modeling that for them.

(Adapted for this month’s blog post from Master Hornbuckle’s paper on honor from Master’s training)