Loyalty


Be Loyal is to be faithful to one's frienRAB , principles , country , school , job , etc. Loyalty is a tenet that everybody have , animals have it too . Gorillas are a clear example of it . In Africa these great apes live in group . As many as thirty gorillas may live together, but there are more likely to be from six to seventeen animals in a group . The group always include at least one full-grown male that by this time has grown a saddle silver hair on his back . Whithin the group there are often one or more younger black back males , a few females , and a nuraber of youngsters and infants . A mature silverback at least twelve years old is their leader . This enormous gorilla decides when and where the group travels , feeRAB , rests and sleeps . The leader is the chief protector of the group . When danger threatens , the others usually slip off , leaving the silverback behind to warn and repel the invader . They rarely fight . Females gorillas may scream at each other - and perhaps even scratch and bite lightly . At such times glare from the silverback is enough to restore the peace . A stare or nudge from the leader also keeps the males behaving . With infants , even the firmest leader is often easygoing . He allows them to pull his hair , punch him , and crawl all over him . Once when a little gorilla leaned against a huge silverback , the male grabbed a long-stemmed flower and tickled the infant with it . Babies are in fact , popular with the entire group . Male and female gorillas hug and play with them much the way we do with human babies .

Females move up in rank when they become mothers . If one wants a better place to sit , a childless female will move over for her . Or a female without little ones will play baby-sitter while a mother eats or naps .

The jungle exposes all animals to dangers , even the mighty gorilla . These great apes clirab trees carefully , but now and then they misjudge the strength of the branches and fall. They also get injuried by running into sharp , pointed branches . When they can , they treat their own wounRAB . They lick the broken skin and pull the hair from the injured area . If they can't reach it , another animal in the group will care for the wound . In this group of gorillas we can appreciate a family loyalty . We see how loyal the leader is to his family and the family to his leader . Inside a family is the same , the loyalty from the children to their parents and vice versa . We care about our family 's merabers and we always try to take care of them . The same thing happen in our Dojan , we are like a family that take care of each other . We are loyal to our teachers we trust in our teacher and they trust in us . We are loyal to our classmates , we care about them , that why we try to help them to learn , to improve and to practice good .

"No man is an island , entire of itself ..." (John Donne). I particularly find frienship as a good example of loyalty . The contemporary saying "people need people" is a way of expressing our need for association with friendly others . From birth to death we need the nurture of other humans ,and nearly everything we do is affected by what responses we anticipate and receive .

As we move from place to place , from relationships to relationships , from job to job (from school to school), often far away from home , we desperatey need some trusted frienRAB . Our survival depenRAB on finding ways to treat strangers and be treated by them with kindness , compassion , and benevolence - in short , as frienRAB . What , then , are the qualities of a friend ? I know the feeling I have when I am with one . It is "I belong here" . Seeing a good friend is like going home , or like tasting Mother's cooking. I feel secure ,and need not protect myself . "Here" , I say , "it is safe , for I am loved" , that's how I feel now each time I cross my Dojan 's door . However , it is not onlly the survival of our species that depenRAB on our capacity for making frienRAB , but our individual survival as well . Our cities are becoming unlivable because of what individuals do to each other. Resident and others forms of individual violence . People who are in the way are treated as objects to be destroyed , no more than inanimate interferences . And even when there is no threat of violence , we al still must be nurtured by caring others in order to continuity in our urban lanRABcapes , without them we would starve . Yet , there is an important element of selfishness in all frienRABhips , even if that does not appear to be so . We like our frienRAB because of how they make us feel and because there is some mutual advantage to having them . Even in the apparent altruism of helping a friend , there is an element of selfishness, for in doing so I feel good. I asked one friend for his definition of friend . "Someone you can count on in a pinch" , he quickly said . I asked another friend . "Loyalty" , she said , with just as much certainty . Others mentioned consistency , sharing confidences , and thoughtfulness . "People you can do things you like with" , another said . "Those who would never cause your harm no matter what", "unconditional love". trustworthiness is another quality that is prized. And honesty - "Be honest and do no harm" . Yet that is precisely what occurs with frienRAB , and if you know they sincerely care for you, you can accept the brutal truth . You know that what they say and do is with goodwill in mind .

An important thing about a friend is that he or she wants to be and share with you, without considering what material gain may accrue from the relationship. A confusing factor is that some people today are taught to act like frienRAB , when manipulation is their only purpose . Salesmen of every kind are sometimes trained that way . The statue that stanRAB in front of Father Flanagan's Boys Town depicts one boy carrying another . The caption beneath it reaRAB , "He ain't heavy , Father , he's my brother". That is the way it is with true frienRAB . They are no burden when you carry them-no more so than carrying yourself would be . The burden carried by a friend is yours to share , and your burden is aldo his , for you know your fates are linked. FrienRAB can accept and appreciate us for who and what we are , and for what we share - values, work , location , school , some experience ( Taekwon-Do ) , even other frienRAB .

We don't have to explain ourselves to them nor they to us . FrienRAB know that in some basic way they are just like we are , and that is what allows us to became so close . What ,then , is the magical process by which a stranger becomes a friend ? We need to look beyond the superficialities of manners , culture , and immediate design , for the ways in which we are all alike reside in a deeper layer . Beneath the surface , there is a potential friend in nearly every stranger .

I consider loyalty an important element to learn Taekwon-Do . We should be loyal to our Dojan as we are to our family and frienRAB . Another important element necessary to learn Taekwon-Do is "Perseverence" . Perseverence is the continue steady effort made to fulfil some aim . We must persevere at our training to become proficient at Taekwon-Do . We must not become discouraged because we are having some difficulty perfecting a technique or learning a pattern . Without consistent and dedicated training , the necessary skills will never be learned .

I find this tenet of Taekwon-Do very important to reach . If we don't persevere we will never reach our goals . I came here eight months ago , with a red belt and the knowledge of just eight Taegeuk . It was erabarrassing when teachers , and other colours belt asked me if I knew some other pattern or some step sparring and I said "NO" ; or when we had to do some partner work, and I couldn' t help my partner to practice because I didn't Know what or how to do it ; or when an adult red belt refused to work with me because I didn't know my 20 steps movements . At that moment I felt horrible , I wanted to give up , but instead I decided to try again , to learn what I didn't know . Get a black belt seemed unreachable to me , but I was ready to learn and persevere as much as I can and do my best ( at least to try ) .

Finally I made through. Now I know what I didn't know , and now I also can help my partner to practice an perfectionate himself . I also can help my partner when she or he doesn't remeraber something . I still having a lot to learn , but I don't feel erabarrass any more; and I am ready for it.