Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu Cho Dan Essay written by Joshua Minnick 🇺🇸

[HAEDONG]

Joshua Minnick
Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu Haedong Kumdo
Cho Dan Essay
Shim Sa Date September 18. 2026

The Purpose of Human Life and the Role of Martial Arts

As I have progressed in martial arts, I have come to believe that the ultimate purpose of human

life is to spread positive and healing energy into the world. To me, this does not necessarily

mean accomplishing something extraordinary or changing the world on a grand scale.

It begins much closer to home. It begins with ourselves, with the people around us, and with the way we choose to live our everyday lives.

Before we can bring something positive to others, I believe we first have to work on ourselves.

None of us is a finished product.

We all have weaknesses, fears, insecurities, and parts of ourselves that we would like to improve.

Becoming the best version of ourselves is a lifelong process, and I have found martial arts to be one way of actively working toward that goal.

Martial arts gives us a safe and controlled environment in which we can challenge ourselves.

Through training, we can become stronger and healthier, develop confidence, learn discipline,

and discover how we respond when something is difficult or uncomfortable.

There are times when progress comes easily and other times when it can feel frustratingly slow.

There are techniques we understand immediately and others that require countless repetitions.

All of these experiences give us opportunities to learn something about ourselves.

For me, however, martial arts has value beyond its physical benefits.

Training has exposed me to philosophies and ways of thinking that I may never have encountered otherwise.

More importantly, it gives me opportunities to actually practice those ideas.

It is one thing to talk about patience, humility, self-control, or respect.

It is another thing to demonstrate those qualities when I am tired, frustrated, struggling with a technique, working with a partner,
or being corrected by an instructor.

The more I learn, the more I also recognize the responsibility that comes with martial arts knowledge.

The skills we practice can be used to protect, but they also have the potential to cause harm.

The familiar saying from Spider-Man, “with great power comes great responsibility,” may come from a comic book, but I think the idea applies very well to martial arts.

As our abilities increase, our responsibility to develop good character should increase with
them.

This is why I believe kindness, sincerity, humility, patience, and freedom from anger are so important for a martial artist.

Without these qualities, physical ability alone has very little positive value.

Kindness reminds me that strength does not require cruelty.

Sincerity requiresme to be honest with myself and others, especially about my own shortcomings.

Humility reminds me that regardless of rank or experience, there will always be something more to learn and someone from whom I can learn it.

Patience allows me to accept that real growth takes time.

Freedom from anger reminds me that learning how to control myself is ultimately more important than learning how to control another person.

Throughout history, we can see what happens when people gain power without developing the character necessary to use it responsibly. Political influence, military strength, wealth, authority,

or physical ability can all be used for the benefit of others or solely for the benefit of the person who possesses them.

When power is guided by selfishness, anger, or ego, it often harms the very communities it could have helped.

I believe martial artists have a responsibility to make sure that the knowledge and abilities we develop are guided by something better.

This brings me back to the idea of positive and healing energy.

I do not think self-improvement
should end with the individual.

If martial arts helps me become healthier, more confident, more
patient, more disciplined, or more compassionate, then the people around me should benefit from those changes as well.

My family, friends, fellow martial artists, coworkers, students, and
community should receive a better version of me because of my training.

In that way, the effects of martial arts can extend far beyond the walls of the dojang.

As I approach the rank of first-degree black belt, I do not view it as evidence that I have completed this process.

If anything, I see it as a reminder of how much more there is to learn.

A black belt represents increased knowledge and ability, but with that comes increased responsibility.

The physical techniques are important, but I believe what I choose to do with the lessons behind those techniques is even more important.

Ultimately, martial arts gives me a path for working toward the person I want to become.

It allows me to improve myself physically while also challenging me to grow mentally, spiritually, and philosophically.

The goal is not simply to become a better martial artist.

The goal is to allow martial arts to help me become a better person.

If I can continue improving myself while bringing kindness, sincerity, humility, patience, and freedom from anger into my interactions with others, then the benefits of my training will not belong to me alone.

They can spread outward into my relationships and my community.

To me, that is where the deeper purpose of martial arts connects with the purpose of human life: to continually work on ourselves so that, through who we become and how we treat others, we can leave something positive and healing behind.

■ Grandmaster’s Eval‎uation — The Humility to Begin Again
Joshua Minnick · Cho Dan Essay

Joshua,

This is a thoughtful and sincere essay, and I can see that you understand an important point of martial arts training: the purpose of training is not simply to become stronger or more skillful, but to become a better human being.

I also especially respect the attitude you have shown in beginning Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu.

You already have many years of martial arts experience and have spent many years teaching and guiding others. For someone with such experience to enter another martial art, stand again as a student, and sincerely begin from Cho Dan requires humility.

Therefore, when you write that regardless of rank or experience, there is always more to learn and always someone from whom we can learn, I believe those words have particular meaning coming from you.

A true martial artist does not allow previous rank or experience to close the mind. The more one has learned, the more one should be able to empty oneself and learn again.

I especially appreciate your understanding that self-improvement should not remain only within yourself. If your training truly changes you, your family, friends, students, and community should also feel something positive from that change.

As you continue your journey in Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu, I would like you to go one step further and explore more deeply what we mean by:

Follow the Energy.

The sword follows the body.
The body follows the mind.
The mind follows nature.

Observe → Feel → Follow → Let Go.

Do not begin by trying to change or heal others. Begin with yourself. Learn to observe your own anger, greed, ego, impatience, and unnecessary force.

This is where martial arts begins to move beyond Skills and toward Philosophy and Healing.

For a beginner, Cho Dan may feel like an achievement.

But for an experienced martial artist like you, I hope Cho Dan will have another meaning:

the courage and humility to become a beginner once again.

Your previous martial arts experience is not something you need to leave behind. I hope you will bring that experience with you, while keeping your mind open to discovering something new through Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu.

Cho Dan is not the completion of your training.

It is the beginning of another, deeper journey.

Good essay, Joshua. I look forward to seeing how your previous experience and your new journey in Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu grow together.

Grandmaster Kim Jeong Seong
Founder, Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu
President, United World Haedong Kumdo Federation