One of my favorite pictures on my wall is a small picture taken in 2002 which includes myself, three other students in traditional Taekwon-Do "do-baks" (uniforms), my instructor to one side of the group, and his instructor on the other side. It was taken at the conclusion of a testing, one of only a half-dozen times I trained or performed in front of Senior Grand Master Charles E. "Chuck" Sereff.
Yes, it was intimidating as hell. What you can't see in the picture is my intense relief that the test was over. And, no, I never --; ever --; called him Chuck.
For one thing, "Senior Grand Master." For another thing, the Senior Grand Master was, at the time, 69 years old, but he looked about 50, is easily 8 inches taller than me (but then, who isn't?) and has fists the size of footballs. But, as if that wasn't enough, you walk into his school, and on the wall are pictures of him with the founder of Korean Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong Hi, and such notable martial artists as Chuck Norris.
This very special man and great teacher taught his last class on Saturday in his martial art studio in Broomfield. How do I know Senior Grand Master Charles E. Sereff is a special man and great teacher if I've only been in his presence a handful of times?
Well, for one thing, my own instructor, Grand Master Dale Burkhart, to whom I feel a great sense of loyalty, is fiercely loyal to Senior Grand Master Sereff. What that means to me is that when I am corrected for a flaw in my technique, it is because my instructor was once corrected for a similar flaw --; the teachings flow downhill. When my instructor pushes me to one more flying kick than I feel like I can do, it's because his instructor infused in him a belief in Indomitable Spirit, one of the core tenets of Taekwon-Do. And when I see my instructor bow, in deep respect, to his instructor, it is because that respect was earned over the course of a long teaching career.
The resume is unbelievable.
G.M.Sereff began studying martial arts in 1961, formed the first Korean-style school in the Denver area two years later, coached the United States' team to a gold medal in the 1974 World Championships in Montreal and formed the United States Taekwon-Do Federation in 1979. He has, himself, worn a black belt for more than 50 years, and was awarded his 9th degree in 1997, the first Caucasian to achieve that rank and the third-highest ranking member of the International Taekwon-Do Federation. In addition, he has, over the course of his time leading the U.S.T.F., overseen the promotion of almost 12,000 students to Black Belt.
And, believe me, that promotion is never bought --; it is earned.
But the greatness is much more tangible than a resume, more personal and more important. I believe really great teachers send ripples out through time and space in the persons of their students. Those students take with them more than just the techniques; they carry the passion, the philosophy, and the belief in the art. And when those students --; who include Grand Master Sereff's wife, Renee (the "Lady General"), their two sons, my teacher, and literally scores of Masters, Grand Masters and instructors --; live and teach in the tradition of their Senior, very impressive things happen. The U.S.T.F. now has schools in every state of the union and sister organizations in more than a dozen countries around the world.
And every one of the students at every one of those schools all over the world stop what they are doing and turn and bow when Charles Sereff walks in the room.
Congratulations, Senior Grand Master. And thank you.
Sasung nim geh, Kyong ye! Taekwon!
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Honoring-a-masterful-career-earned-through-respect,211855?branding=15
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