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The Master's Scroll
Journey of a Black Belt
By Master Lynn Stangle
It was a sunny
autumn day as I took a short cut through the school grounds to get to my next
class. There blocking my path was Denny and John, the upper classmen who
delighted in making my life miserable. "Well Stangle, you ready for your daily
beating?" Denny said with his usual smirk. This would be the fourth day in a row
I was to be thrown down and dragged though the dirt by those two jerks.
To Denny's surprise, I cheerfully laid my books down on the
ground and exclaimed, "Okay, let's go." I figured what have I to lose? I might
as well go down fighting this time. I rushed him, hitting him low and grabbed
him around the waist. I picked him up over my shoulder in the fireman's carrying
position. Having little fighting experience, I didn't know what to do with him
from there. This gave the conniving bully a chance to pull some kind of a
reversal on me and drive me hard to the ground. Stunned and dirty, I lay there
as Denny and his crony John walked away laughing at their pathetic victory over
their victim of the day.
A little over a week later, I was getting some books from my
locker wondering why Denny and John hadn't been bothering me anymore, when a
sharp pain resounded through my left kidney. I turned just in time to see six
foot three inch Joe making his get away from a sneaky kidney punch. I covered
the distance between us and punched him on the side of his head in an instant.
He grabbed his now red and throbbing ear and said, "Man you didn't have to hit
me that hard!" I said, "Man you didn't have to hit me at all." Joe never
bothered me again either.
As time went on and I stood my ground time after time, the
unprovoked attacks on me became less and less frequent. I finally realized that
after years of being a bully magnet that a bully isn't looking for a fight, they
are looking for someone to pick on. By me hurting them back, even if they ended
up victorious, they chose to find a less retaliatory victim to impose their poor
self-esteem on.
After my high school graduation, I went to work in a factor.
I thought, "Great, I'll be around adults now and they won't act like those jerks
in school." Wrong! They were worse. I had to start all over again.
After about four years of battling the same problems I had in
school, I decided to come up with some way to speed up the process that took
twelve years in school to accomplish. I knew that the only thing these
Neanderthals could understand was brute strength. My five foot ten and a half
inch, one hundred thirty five pound frame had no hope of securing that edge. So
I thought I must gain the psychological advantage. The catalyst that ultimately
gave me the peace of mind I spent my previous life without, was Taekwondo.
Taekwondo, an ancient Korean Martial Art, was offered at
Wabash Valley Junior College in Mt. Carmel, Il. I signed up with the intent of
learning how to kick the tar out of everyone that had given me grief.
My instructor Mahlon Hallam, a small statured American in his
early twenties, began talking about proper attitude and personal well being
through self-confidence. He stated that Taekwondo was ninety percent mental
training and ten percent physical.
Physically, for the first time in my non-athletic life, I
felt actual strength in my muscles. He demonstrated a few moves for me to learn
and when he felt that I had acquired adequate ability, he gave me a few more. My
ability stair stepped up along with the proper goal setting process.
Once I accomplished a lesser goal in my quest for the coveted
Black Belt, it propelled me forward with renewed vigor and determination to
succeed in accomplishing my next goal.
Taekwondo opened up a whole new world to me. I began to
develop coordination, flexibility, muscular and cardiovascular conditioning. The
more I learned, the more I became self-confident. As my confidence grew, the
less I wanted to hurt my adversaries. I guess the discipline of the proper
attitude changed me for the better.
It has been thirty years since the hand of fate moved me in
the direction of Martial Arts. In all that time, I had to use my training only
one time. As a Captain in the Indiana Department of Correction, I was physically
assaulted in a cell house by an inmate. It was a very quick situation with him
kicking me in the lower abdomen area and me breaking his nose ending the
incident.
The revenge thing left soon after I began training my mind
and body. I have met through this art, some of the most wonderful people that
have influenced my life in a positive and beneficial manner. The friends that I
have made through Taekwondo are the type that I know I can trust.
Taekwondo is not an easy Martial Art. The people who dedicate
themselves to endure the grueling training and intense mental development have
built strong character and are highly disciplined individuals.
I have accomplished many things over the years as a result of
my involvement in Martial Arts. I am a Seventh Degree Master and President and
Founder of the Traditional Martial Arts Association, Inc. I was a personal body
guard for Chancellor Chun of South Korea. I trained in the Hae In Sa Buddhist
Temple in the mountains of South Korea. As a Defensive Tactics Cadre for the
Emergency Response Operations of the Indiana Department of Correction, I
designed the Personal Protection and Defensive Tactics program for the state of
Indiana. I have a thriving Martial Arts school in Vincennes, Indiana that has a
group of loyal and dedicated students that I would not want to live without.
I'm kind of glad that I had to deal with so many adverse
situations in my early life. They directed me to become one of the greatest
things I can imagine, a Martial Artist.
Master Lynn Stangle
7th Degree Certified Master of the Martial Arts
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