Senior Master Leitzke has some words of wisdom about our word of the month for December: Integrity
Integrity is defined as one who is honest and having high moral qualities. A person with “Integrity” is someone who lives by a set of moral and ethical standards. In Taekwondo, we are taught tools that can be used for good or bad. If someone tries to harm you, your family, or someone around, you have the right to defend yourself to prevent harm to yourself, your family and others. A misuse of your Martial Arts skill would be using it simply because you are upset at the other person for their actions (that are not physically harming someone) or words. So, Integrity in Taekwondo then is to know WHEN it’s ok to use your martial arts skill.
Integrity in life is about being truthful in your words and deeds and acting according to your defined moral and ethical standards. An example of this would be saying that you want to help feed homeless people, and then acting upon those words by volunteering at your local church or community center or raising money to support this worthy cause. It can also be as simple as doing your homework, if you have promised your parents you would. In fact, having discipline, and also having integrity means that you don’t have to be told to complete a task or act a certain way. You are responsible for your actions.
Another part of Integrity is admitting if you have done something wrong, and correcting that behavior. Using the example of homework from above, if you neglect doing your homework, be truthful to your parents and teachers about it, and fix it by doing the homework, and completing future homework on time.
Some homework for the month:
Write out and then act on these questions:
- How can you show your Integrity in Martial Arts Class this month?
- How can you show Integrity at Home?
- How can you show Integrity at School or Work?