Grand Master Charles Sereff, 1933-2022

Grand Master Charles Sereff, 1933-2022

I attended many seminars, workshops, at testings at Grand Master Charles Sereff’s dojang, and not a day goes by that I don’t use some aspect of the skills and attitudes my training there helped me to develop and refine. One might expect that the president of the United States Taekwon-Do Federation — a national organization with schools all over the country — would have a large, impressive place to train. Sereff Taekwon-Do, however, is a humble building, tucked into a corner and easy to miss. From the outside, it does not give the appearance of a place that trained the world-class martial artists whose photos grace the walls.

The skills, knowledge, and expertise that made those competitors and instructors is not in the building, of course — it is in the people that teach and train there, the men and women that push themselves every day, striving always to be better. That attitude flowed from Grand Master Charles Sereff. He was a person that made you want to set standards for yourself impossibly high, and try every day to exceed them. Thanks to his dedicated efforts, countless students all over the country learned the art of Taekwon-Do. We push ourselves harder, trying to improve ourselves with study and practice. We try to act with courtesy, humility, and respect for all. We attempt to build a more peaceful world.

Left to right: Mr. Walt Lang, General Choi Hong-Hi, Mr. Charles Sereff, Mr. Rob Tobin

I can trace my own instruction from a series of dedicated teachers, beginning with General Choi Hong-Hi, to Mr. Charles Sereff, and then to Mr. Walt Lang, Mr. Rob Tobin, and finally to my own instructor, Mr. Jonas Pologe. Without GM Sereff’s decades of teaching, I would not be where I am now. Not only would my martial arts studies have not progressed, but all of the mental and physical benefits I have received from those decades training would have been lost. GM Sereff passed down a priceless gift to me, a debt I can only repay by passing it on to others.

General Choi wrote that instructors of Taekwon-Do should, “Be the eternal teacher who teaches with the body when young, with words when old, and by moral precept even after death.” Grand Master Sereff embodies that ideal.

Classes Canceled Until April 2020 Due to COVID-19

Gov. Justice has closed the West Virginia public school system to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As a result, Trillium Taekwon-Do will also be cancelling classes. We hope to resume in April 2020. My detailed thoughts are below. If you have any questions, please email info@trilliumtkd.com. Stay well, and keep training!

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Taekwon-Do is often focused on the individual. We come together in the dojang to do push-ups and kicking drills and patterns together, but the benefit is for the individual. Even when we are working with a partner, it's for the benefit of each student, not as a team. Taekwon-Do competitions are focused on individual competitors, as well. While you may have teammates cheering you on or a coach on the sidelines giving guidance, only one person is in the sparring ring -- only one person has an opponent trying to punch or kick them. Only one person is being judged on the quality of their patterns, or the number of boards they can break. During testing, only one person in front of the test board being graded; only one person's effort and skill determines whether they advance in rank.

Of course, like many things in the martial arts, there is another, seemingly paradoxical side. As much as Taekwon-Do is focused on improving students as individuals, we are also tasked with being part of the community. This emphasis on community is embedded throughout our art. Courtesy, the first of the tenets, can by definition only be practiced when interacting with others. Most patterns in Taekwon-Do are named for individuals or groups that were deeply involved in bettering their society -- educators, scholars, and patriots from Korean history. The student oath requires all of us to follow those examples and "build a more peaceful world" -- a goal that is perhaps as far as you can be from focusing on a single person.

Taekwon-Do is a tool for improving us as individuals. Training pushes us to make ourselves stronger and faster. It requires us to develop self-control, to deepen our awareness of both ourselves and the world around us. But if students of Taekwon-Do think and act only for ourselves, we are squandering these tools.

Opportunities to be of service come in many forms. In the spring of 2020, the best way we can serve our community is to practice social distancing and limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The Hardest Thing

What's the hardest thing to do in Taekwon-Do? The answer depends on who you ask. For some, it's getting the hang of the sine-wave motion. For others, perhaps it is overcoming nervousness about breaking, sparring -- or doing them in competition. Third dan students would probably uniformly say, "Juche".

All of these can be difficult, for one reason or another, but they are all things that can be studied and improved in the dojang. Diligent practice will make your punches and kicks better; all you need to do is keep at it. Patterns that seem difficult at first do gradually improve as you become comfortable with the new motions, the new techniques. Once a tournament is over, you realize it wasn't as scary or intimidating as it first appeared.

Perhaps the most difficult thing in Taekwon-Do isn't any complicated pattern or super-athletic flying combo kick. The most difficult thing is simply walking in the door.

Once you're actually in class, with other students, peer pressure starts to take hold; humans are social creatures, after all. There will be an instructor, giving you encouragement, things to focus on, information to learn; all you have to do is pay attention. Even if you're just going through the motions, chances are you'll start to have fun, you'll start to get the rush of endorphins from exercise, you'll start to enjoy even the difficult aspects of the art. But that can only happen when you're in class; when you've decided to get off the couch and drag yourself to another workout, even if you don't feel like it. Wanting to improve is necessary, but not sufficient; you have to take that first step. But if you do, everything else will follow.

Like most lessons from the dojang, this idea carries outside of class, as well. Ending a bad habit, or looking for a new job, or moving to a new place, or asking out that guy or girl you're interested in . . . wishing, wanting, and hoping isn't enough. Deciding isn't even enough. You have to walk in the door.