Beyond Taekwondo and Ballroom Dance

Life Lessons

By Christine Trask, Special Editing by Debbie Mackerwicz

A few days before my birthday, my best friend Eric Gentry presented me with a wonderful gift---a dinner date to meet Master Richard Chun, a 9th Dan International Grand Master instructor of Taekwondo and a member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame and his lovely wife, Karen. Eric received his lifetime achievement award for his dedication to Taekwondo from the Aaron Banks World professional marital arts organization in February 2014. Forty-one years ago, Eric began his study of Taekwondo as an American solider while stationed in Korea. Master Chun has been his teacher for several years.

I could immediately sense the fatherly care and love Master Chun has for Eric. I felt so honored to finally meet the man who had such an influence on Eric’s character development. Taekwondo is not just about learning self-defense. It is more about learning life lessons such as patience, honesty, integrity, respect, leadership, humility, and self-control. Master Chun keeps track of his senior black belt students to make sure they are practicing the principles and techniques that they have mastered. He and his wife, Karen are blessed with two children, Yong Taik and Kyung Mee, but also consider the black belt students their children.

Master Richard Chun’s rating as a 9th Dan International Grand Master instructor of Taekwondo makes him one of the highest ranking instructors in the world. He is a graduate of Yon Sei University in Seoul, South Korea, in 1957. He organized and served as a team captain of the Taekwondo Club and came to the United States in 1962 with $200 in his pocket as a foreign student. He earned his M.B.A. in marketing and a Ph.D. in education. He is a retired Professor of Health and Physical Education at Hunter College, City University of New York, and was training senior black belts from around the world at his center in New York. He was a member of the Lions Clubs International for over thirty years, where he served as District Governor of New York and Bermuda.

Master Chun also published a number of videos and books. Reading his fifth book, “Taekwondo, Spirit, and Practice beyond Self-Defense,” his lessons teach the values of patience, persistence, honesty, integrity, respect, setting and achieving goals, leadership, humility, self-control, inner peace, moral development, and yin/yang balance. These lessons result in a positive, less fearful attitude that radiates dignity and refinement.

The chapter entitled “The Challenge” told about a great lesson Master Chun learned from his teacher, Master Hong. Master Chun challenged a friend to a fight to gain back leadership status over his young group of friends after losing a battle with another boy. When his friend said he did not want to fight Master Chun anymore and allowed him to be the leader again, Master Chun told this story to his teacher Master Hong. Master Hong said, “Never enter martial arts to seek revenge. The purpose is not to be an instrument of violence, but rather an instrument of peace. Think before you act. Acting with grace and dignity is simpler and even more powerful. Think and rise above everyday existence. Overcome obstacles and become greater than you are.” The event was a turning point in Master Chun’s life.

Throughout our dinner conversation we chatted about Master Chun’s love of ballroom dancing and afterwards I connected with him again to find out more about his dance experiences.

As a young man, he practiced Taekwondo and dancing at his home on the spacious wood floor in Seoul. His older friends were well recognized in the college dancing circles and introduced him to various ballroom dance steps. He had so much fun and was so impressed that he began learning on his own, starting with the foxtrot. He practiced every day for hours and within four months mastered waltz, tango, cha-cha, rumba, and jitterbug.

As a sophomore in college, he organized a ballroom dance group consisting of seven to ten boys. Every month he enjoyed inviting other dance groups from different women colleges and instructors to practice with them. The program included inviting a professor and also a professional dancer to the dance floor making it a very respectful, educational event.

When Master Chun came to the U.S. to study in Washington, DC, one of his friends took him to the Arthur Murray studio to introduce him to his teacher. The steps he learned in Seoul were slightly different, but the teacher was surprised that he knew so many advanced steps. In fact, after dancing the jitterbug to Glen Miller’s “In the Mood,” the teacher asked him to become one of her instructors. He thanked her but told her he needed to complete his graduate education.

When I asked Dr. Chun what life lesson he would like to leave for the students and teachers of ballroom dancing, he replied, “Dance is an art. Instructors should teach students with patience and perseverance. Respect each other and continue to keep that elegance and grace that surrounds the ballroom floor alive by showing respect to one another on and off the ballroom floor.”