From Wikipedia: The common English translations are 'The Way of the Flowering Manhood' or 'The Way of the Flowering Knights.' The 'Man' idea in this title refers to an ideal man: one of honor, strength, responsibility, and virtue. The reason for the word 'Flower' is to state that just as a flower grows and then blooms, so should a man grow and then bloom into something beautiful. Also, just as a flower is beautiful just by being, so too should a man be honorable, loyal, strong, and virtuous by simply existing, without having to try to be any of these things. Obviously, since it is in the name of the Art, this idea is central to all aspects of Hwarangdo: one should be without needing to try to be. By this concept a practitioner is taught to be humble, strong, and honorable.
My teacher is very nice and is holding the lessons at CKS Memorial Hall twice a week for two hours; free of charge. Today the other two students were not able to make the lesson, so we had a one on one and I got the feel of the art form. We started with the white sash techniques, learning the 4 basic forms, and also the 6 defensive blocks. After that we went on the the long hand technique, all very cool stuff. After I do a bit more practicing I will post up a video so you can all take a look see.
Other that HwaRangDo and School I have just been doing my homework and hanging out. This weekend I will be going to Taibei de nanbu (Southern Taiwan). I am taking a 3 hour bus ride to some town where we are going to visit a museum and some of the more traditional markets and craft-makers. It should be a lot of fun and I will be sure to post more on that event after I return home. Sorry no pictures today, I will leave you all with a great bit of English that I found in the bathroom, sorry its the only picture I took in the past few days.
3 comments:
I love to hear about the derivative of the "Flowering Man Way", it sounds so inspiring. Can't wait to see the photos of you in action. Glad to see the exercise of the body as well as the mind. The travel aspect sounds fun too. Mom
Jake,
HwaRangDo sounds like it might be up my alley, or at least very interesting to experience. Since it references "manhood" does it only apply to males or is it open to everyone?
The picture was...well...um...funny and it was one worth seeing. Now that Steve and I have a digital camera we'll have to take some pictures and share some of home with you.
Lots of well wishes for you this year. I will miss you a lot on the trip. Right now you are like a vine, exploring the area looking for a good place to "settle". Once you find a place to settle, you might find that you will "bloom" faster than you realize. Much of our life we spend finding the right place to be. It is only when we find that place can any of us truly "bloom" into the "flower" we are meant to become.
Some people call it a midlife crisis while others call it acknowledging the truth. So many of us are herded into one career path or another, even if it is not what we would really choose to do. We follow the path for many different reasons - whether to make someone else happy, because it is easier, because we don't see any other path before us and it seems right at the time or for monetary gain.
As long as you choose your path for you and no one else, you will do well.
Take Care!
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