In The End

I thought Friday was going to be just like any Friday. Leave home for the dojangs at 3:30, and come home at 10:00. 5 hours of hard work, concentration, and muscle straining. Thats how it was Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Every night i come home exhausted, tired, and happy. Though i work my ass off, it pays off knowing that im doing this for my own good. I thought that Friday was going to be, get in, and get out. I thought everything was fine.........

4:00. i come in for my first hour workout. My mom comes in with me, but then goes straight to Master. The students all sit down, and i lead them in the stretches and warm-ups, while my mom talks with Master behind the door. Somethings wrong, i can tell by the tone in my mom's voice. Class goes normal as usual, we kick and then spar ( fight ).

I have to leave the TKD dojang at 6:30 to go to my Kumdo dojang. While we leave, my mom says, " Clyde (Actually, she calls out my korean name ), theres a problem with the dojang.

Im puzzled, ive been with the studio for years, since i first started, no way there could be any problems.

" Master has some......immagration issues, something didnt tranfer correctly, he cant keep the dojang open. Next week is his last week of working here."

I let it sink in, drinking in the toxin that has already started to destroy a segment of my life. My TKD Master, gone..........it was unbearable. We go to the Kumdo dojang in complete silence. I cant concentrate on my Juk-dok. My sword is unbalanced, i had to use all of my concentration to block out the problems outside Kumdo. Kumdo class ends. I go home.

Since i first started as a white belt, i started at Master's dojang when it first opened. It was me, Willie, Peter, Daylen, David, Josheph, and Ki-yong-ee. We would later joke about how we were the Orginals. The first students. Month after month i worked hard. In the summer i worked 6 hours. There was no time for exceptions. Only time for work. I rose quickly through the ranks. I became Master's right hand. And now, in a week, he is going to be somewhere else. A new master is coming to our dojang. But still, i think about my options about where else i could perfect my TKD skills. The Moo In Kwan studio was closeby, but ive seen the students there. They are all unorganized. And there's my old brother's dojang. The master there is the most strict person i have ever seen. And shes a woman. Yup, you heard right, but shes famous. Shes the first female martial artist.

Now its 2 days since ive heard the horrible news. I cant believe this is happening. Master's dojang was on the brink to success, more and more eager students were applying. And now everything's gone. What pains me more is that im the only one that knows about it. I'm the only student that knows about it, until now......

I roam about it my room. I look at my do-bok, my uniform. And then i see the pants that Master gave me. When i was outgrowing my smaller do-bok, i got a new one, but this one was made from China. The pants wore out easily. So Master gave me his own. That was on Friday.

"Thank you Master"i said in korean.

"Keep them, you need them more than i do" He replied.

I never realized until after that that was his last gift to me.



I remember in a Linkin Park song, that they always say it didnt matter in the end.

It always matters in the end...........no matter what happened



Anyonghegassayyo, sabuhneem...........