A Killing Art

I read A Killing Art, by Alex Gillis and it reiterated to me yet again that people ruin everything.

This is the "untold history" of Tae Kwon Do, and it was fascinating.  There were jealousies, fractures, kidnap plots, and even assassination attempts over the art of Tae Kwon Do.  It turns out that even institutions based upon moral teaching and respect suffer collateral damage from the human condition.  (You don't seem shocked.)

The canned version of any teaching follows a linear path.  Whether in the study of WWII, civil rights, or the Revolutionary War, there is a pretty clear narrative that has shut out all the clatter.  These things settle into well-worn grooves and coast along.  Then, voila, we have "history as we know it."  Winston Churchill famously declared his intent to write the story of the Second World War, and he did that and won a Nobel Prize.  His story now dominates school books.

The canned version of Tae Kwon Do is pretty simple, but it varies depending on which section a person joins.  Some credit one man (Gen. Choi Hong Hi), while other organizations (The WTF, for one) have wiped his name clean from the story.  It may not shock you to learn that petty squabbles and claims of purity widened fissures.

Tae Kwon Do has been a necessary addition to my life and I have enjoyed the recalibration of mind and body.  Its moral message is particularly important.  It has become a wonderful family activity and has provided a sanctuary where stress and pressure dissolve.  It has been a positive experience all around and I cannot get enough of it.  So, when I read this book, I prepared for the worst.  Will it ruin an outlook? Will it taint a joy?  The answer is a simple, "nope."

This book really only served as just one more of the myriad examples found in life to prove that people behave poorly in every arena.  It's true.  The civil rights movements, when examined, was a mess of infighting, jealousies, and some unfortunate acts.  It was successful and advanced our nation, and so the movement has earned its ruts and smooth, linear storyline.  Even WWII looks pretty ugly under the hood.  Examples abound in history.

The lesson, as always, is to take care before opening the hood on any part of history.  In this book, Jen and I found the stories amusing, unfortunate, and typical all at the same time.  It did nothing to change our view of the intentions of the art, but it illustrates the collateral damage caused by those who mean well.

Those who meant well committed acts of espionage, kidnapping, political corruption, threats to family, match-fixing, bribery, and more acts of intentional shunning (sometimes comical) than I thought possible.  And it was all done in the name of a martial art.  Is this unique to Tae Kwon Do? I doubt it.  After all, as the youngest martial art, its ruts have some rough spots still.  I'm sure the bodies buried in the name of Karate or Kung Fu have become green grass by now. 

So, we move steadfastly together into the imperfect world of an art we enjoy while leaving the noises under the hood of its history alone - observed, but left to hum safely out of mind.  It really is the only way to fly.