Dear Martial Arts Enthusiast,
The month of January takes its name from the Roman god, Janus who is depicted as having two faces on one head; one looking ahead toward the unfolding future and one to the past. At this moment, stretched out before us is not just a new year but a whole new DECADE. Instead of rushing ahead to fill all those minutes, hours and days, I thought we could take a moment to remember and reflect on our collective past and guiding influences as members and friends of the Chosun Taekwondo Academy.
To that end, I went back and read ALL the Chosun newsletters from the very first one, published in September, 2010! I busily wrote down all the achievements, honors, classes, workshops, milestones, events, celebrations, retreats and training tours on pages and pages of paper... it is quite an impressive list and that is only the last 10 years!
I thought about trying create a record by listing the many CHOSUN accomplishments in this issue, but where to begin? Hmmmm... Then as I organized and read, a theme started to emerge that can be summed up by one small entry that appeared in the May 2011 Chosun newsletter and connected our humble school with people on the other side of the world who had experieced a major natural catastrophe.
In March of 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake shocked Northeastern Japan unleashing a savage Tsunami with the effects being felt as far away as Norway. It is estimated that 20,000 people died or were missing and debris is still washing up on beaches in North America to this day. Japan is still recovering.
As the terrible news hit the media, Chosun students started writing letters of sympathy and condolences to the victims. We then sent a whole box of cards and correspondence to the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC, not expecting to hear anything in return given the nature of the crisis.
Then in April, we recieved a personal heartfelt letter of appreciation from the Japanese Ambassador, Ichiro Fujisaki, and a beautiful commemorative coin that are both proudly displayed at the school today.
As Grandmaster Cook says, "Taekwondo is a vast mosaic" ... it teaches you how how to defend yourself, become empowered, and strenghten mind, body and spirit. But as I saw by looking over the past 10 years at the life and times of the Chosun Taekwondo Academy, it seems that the plaster that holds the mosaic together is compassion... for yourself and others.
The announcement about the letter from the Japanese Ambassador (see letter below) in the May 2011 newsletter starts with this quote from Margaret Mead...
"A small group of thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." It brings to mind another quote from our dear departed mentor and teacher, Grandmaster Richard Chun... "Never give up" ... on yourself or others...
HAPPY NEW YEAR and HAPPY NEW DECADE!
Now, what to do with my whole list of CHOSUN accomplishments? Look for these gems sprinkled in the upcoming newsletters...From the Archives
View the 2019 Chosun Taekwondo Academy Video Retrospective
Check out all upcoming CHOSUN events on the events page of the CHOSUN website!
Please visit the updated and improved CHOSUN Yelp page! 
and CHOSUN on Instagram
Kamsahamnida,
HAPPY NEW YEAR! 새해 복 많이 받으세요
Patty Cook, Editor www.facebook.com/chosuntkd 
Chosun Taekwondo Academy celebrating 22 years!
Chosun Taekwondo Academy Newsletter celebrating 10 years!
