Connection, Everything, and Nothing" written by Christine in the USA ��🇸

[HAEDONG]

Connection, Everything, and Nothing

Hi Christine,

After reviewing your feedback through the USA HK Seminar from April 4 to 8 in 2024, here's what I'd like to share.

I read through your reflections on the seminar, and I must say, your honesty and depth of thought about change and connection truly touched me.

It's completely understandable to feel like nothing has shifted internally despite external changes. But you know, growth often starts from within, quietly and steadily, before it blooms outwardly.

Think of the seminar as planting seeds within yourself. With time, those seeds will sprout and blossom, bringing about the change you seek.

I can't wait for you to feel that transformation down the road.

Here's to creating opportunities for even greater growth at the next seminar!

JS Kim

Connection

I knew the school needed to make a change and was excited for possibilities the change would bring. I wanted to learn more about Internal Martial Arts, and the additional curriculum would have provided that. I had met and chatted with some of our new extended Kumdo family and our International Kumdo family. We had help with the new curriculum from our International Kumdo family and Grand Master Kim’s writings. With all of this, I was still feeling that nothing had changed even while getting ready for my Odan (5th Dan) test leading up to the seminar with Grand Master Kim. Everything still seemed stagnant and unchanged. Even knowing the school had changed, I had concerns that the change might not have been a good one.
Bringing Grand Master Kim in for our Black Belt Testing and Seminar weekend, it allowed me to connect with him; my other classmates; other school owners, and some of their students. It allowed me to experience for myself the connection to everything. The training he gave us allowed me to realize some of the possibilities I was looking for.

Everything

We even surprised Grand master Kim with how far we had come since the school changed over. We had the basics of the new Kimu Kibon and the two sword forms, with some help of our International Kumdo family and Grand Master Kim’s materials. We were very close with what we showed him. It was very nice to get the actual versions to help bring us into alignment. Most of it was small changes, the intent and explanations on some movements we had. For the seminar, this was expected and appreciated with how much he gave us to help us better understand. He was willing to answer all of our questions.
What was even more amazing was the mind and life expanding experiences that were given to us. It helped to expand my thinking further and has changed everything. I am hoping that these experiences will help me to better understand the second English book, Searching for the Forgotten Half in Martial Arts, Grand Master Kim has written. I felt so lost and confused with my first reading the book. But now, with the information from the seminar sessions and the conversations outside of the sessions, I hope that I can grow in my understanding. I can already understand some of the things I read about. I hope that when he returns, I will be open to a deeper understanding.

Nothing

Even though everything has changed with the knowledge gained over the weekend, nothing has changed. My body still moves the same. The curriculum and my mind are still the same. I can see and feel the points in my past training where I struggled, plateaued, and broke through. I can see the new knowledge and how to apply it to my training and myself. Now, I am better connected to everything and nothing.

Christine Keenan