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¿Ü±¹Àλç¹ü¼ö±â(¿µ¹®)-¼ö·· ¼Ó Àλý(2)Burned, and Get off of the Drugs
Lessons in Life: Lessons in Loyalty-2

 Master Sang Ki Eun’s office was the first room we entered. My brother introduced me to Master Eun. As I watched my first taekwondo class, I was impressed by the white uniforms, the discipline of bowing and answering with “Yes Sir.” That is what I wanted to learn. I trained with Master Eun for about one year before he sold the school.

   The new owner was Master Jung Moo Lee. He taught me that taekwondo was   more than good techniques. Our home was about five miles from the school. I rode my bicycle there so I could stay all day. I earned the rank of blue first. When my   brother earned his red belt, he quit training. His remaining tuition was applied toward my membership. When those funds ran out, Master Lee made arrangements for me to work off the costs of membership by cleaning the school. I started to walk home the night my bicycle was stolen. Master Lee insisted on driving me. Most people who did not live in the projects would drive up to the entrance and let us walk from there.  Master Lee drove to our house and walked me to the front door. That was the first time that my mother met him. Due to his confidence and kindness, Master Lee earned respect in our neighborhood.

   Master Lee took me to my first tournament, though I do not even remember what city it was in. It was special simply because I was with him. I was so proud to be his student. I was bragging to all the kids sitting near me that he was my instructor. At the next championship, I won first place in sparring and third place in forms. I still have those trophies. After I tested for my red belt, Master Lee asked me to start a taekwondo program at the activity center at the Orten Keyes Projects. I taught classes there for about one year until Master Lee made the decision to quit teaching taekwondo and become a minister. Soon after he left, the center lost its funding and I my interest in taekwondo without Master Lee.

   He was far more than just a teacher of kicks and punches. He taught me that if I believed in myself, I could be something in taekwondo. It is his example that I patterned some of my business practices after. I will go the extra mile for those students who need it. I have also found creative methods of payment for those who need financial assistance. I make sure they find transportation to the dojang or to a tournament.

   After Master Lee left, I could not see a future for myself. I quit school and began to hang out with the wrong crowd. Even after I got a good job at the local Chrysler factory, I continued to party all night. I thought it would not hurt me. That paycheck was more than I had ever made before. I bought a nice car and plenty of nice things. I continued to try new drugs and my drinking increased. Eventually late nights and the party lifestyle caught up with me. I lost the job and all of the things that I had bought with the money. It was a low point in my life when I moved back into my mother’s house.

   About a year later my sister and I decided to move to Decatur, Illinois(in the central part of the state). I convinced myself that it was okay to make money doing something illegal or unhealthy - if I had to - just until I got settled into the job for   the Railroad Company. I found out that some of my co-workers trained in parks like we used to in Rockford, so I started working out with them. Most of their techniques were from Karate since professional martial art studios hadn’t made their way to Decatur yet. No one had heard of the word taekwondo - much less watched any techniques. They were impressed with my high kicks, especially the axe kick. They didn’t expect a kicker to have such fast hand speed.

   Within a few years, Decatur’s first taekwondo school opened. Master Park was a young man who just arrived here from Korea. He was not confident in his own abilities, especially in sparring. Master Park was surprised that the residents of Central Illinois had already been introduced to taekwondo by a red belt (an American red belt) whose name was Thomas Perry. I was actually excited about returning to a formal setting, so I enrolled with Master Park. It was a rough year for him. He sold the school to the Choi Brothers. I heard that he returned to Korea.

   The Choi Brothers were just the opposite of their predecessor. Their presence alone commanded respect. They were very skilled and had a lot of knowledge to share with their students. They did not ask their students to train any harder than   how they were, and their work ethic was outstanding. My friends and I improved our skills a lot with the Choi Brothers. I tested for my brown belt under their guidance.

   Although I enjoyed the discipline at the dojang, I still had not learned to apply   it to my private life. I was easily sidetracked. I became interested in becoming a disc jockey while still working for the railroad. Little did I know that I was just about to face one of the biggest challenges of my life. My job at the railroad was to weld the damaged rail tank cars. Oneday I was working alone inside of a tank car, and I had my shield over my head and began cutting a part of the floor. I felt something warm and getting hotter. But the shield prevented me from seeing anything. I did not take off my shield to look until the heat had become painful. When I looked at my pant leg it was already engulfed in flames. I could not slap it out and began to panic. As I climbed out of the tank to get help, the air hit the fire. It started to burn even faster. My co- workers tried to help but they said I ran too fast. Finally someone caught me and tackled me to the ground. I went into shock and grabbed his arm so hard that I broke it.

    I stayed in the hospital for about three months. My left leg was so severely burned that even after several operations and skin grafts, the prognosis was not good. Doctors said that I would never be able to kick again. They felt that if I continued to practice taekwondo I would only cause more damage to my leg. I spent one year in and out of hospitals and doctor’s offices. I had always had a very high tolerance for pain but never experienced this type of injury before. I became   addicted to prescription painkillers which led to trying to find relief from illegal drugs. After a few weak attempts to get off of the drugs, I honestly felt that I would have a better chance if I returned to taekwondo. When Master Choi saw how swollen my leg still was, he invited me into his office. He asked me if he could try to help me. Of course, I agreed. He reached into his desk and pulled out some needles. Just the sight of the needles made me nervous, but I was desperate. Master Choi stuck them in my foot and ankle, and the very next day the swelling went down and never returned.
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       Thomas Eugene Perry
   Date of Birth: Jun 24, 1953
   Country: USA
   Kukkiwon Seventh Degree Black Belt

 

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