My name is
Billy Kim,
and I come
from a poor
family, and I
was always a
troublemaker because of the pain and stress from
the world problems. I tried to hide from reality
by getting drunk, and I ended up an alcoholic.
I hung around the wrong people, and the world
I lived in no one does favors for no one unless
they will get something back from it. Nobody
ever stuck their neck out or went out of their
way for me unless they wanted something from
me in return. I wanted to get into martial arts
because I heard that it was great for self-discipline
so that I could clean up my life. I went through
the internet and came upon Grand Master Nam’s
home page. I saw his video and the style of his
art that he established and founded. Th is was
what I was looking for. A martial art form that is
not limited by one style of art but had a mixture
of various art forms that I can use in real-life
combat situations that would actually work in
real fi ghts. So I decided to go fi nd this dojo,
which was not at a very developed area. Th e fi rst
day I met him he had me put on a head gear and
he knocked me down three times. I had been in
many street fi ghts by that point, but the moves
that he used on me was very new and powerful.
He wanted to test to see if I was not afraid
to get hit. Also I told him my life’s problems
and worries I had fi nancially and personally.
He accepted me as his apprentice that day and
told me he does not want money from me but
only my loyalty to him as his apprentice and
to put in work to learn to self-discipline myself
and to better myself through Kyuk Sul Do.
Nobody has ever off ered me something like
this without any strings attached to it. People
always want
money for
them to teach
them what
they know.
But I found a
good-hearted
master whowas not about earning money but rather earning
companionship and true loyalty. Th e more I went
to the dojo to learn the skills of the Kyuk Sul,
I learned many things by my master. It wasn’t
about winning, rather to win without fi ghting
and the more eff ective skill he taught me was
wisdom. I felt a little bad for not paying for my
training and lessons, so one day I took as much
money as I can aff ord and tried to give it to my
master, but he told me never to try to pay him
again or else he will kick my butt. No one has
never gave this kind of kindness to me, and I felt
something new. I found a good-hearted master
who treats his apprentices like his own children.
Ever since that day he became my idol and hero.
His art form and his good character gave me
hope and a dream that I never had. Watching
my master’s life style gave me motivation and
inspiration to be a good martial artist of Kyuk
Sul. My master is not looking to branching
out and making his dojo into a franchise but
rather to gain good people and help people
better themselves through training Kyuk Sul.
Meeting my master was one of the biggest factors
that helped me become a decent human being
when I used to live a selfi sh and sinful, devilish
life style. Th ere aren’t many good masters or
coaches or teachers these days. Everything is
about making money off of the students .But
my master is more about gaining people’s trust,
loyalty and friendship by demonstration of his
life style and the way he treats his students.
Everyone under Master Nam has made positive
changes, and I am living testimony to that fact.
Master Guy Edward Larke has spent most of
his life devoted to all aspects of the martial arts.
He has spent the last 13 years working, studying,
and writing in South Korea. He is the founder of
Kisa-Do Muye (Th e Knight’s Way Martial Arts)
and Marketing.64 January 2018 / taekwondotimes.com