This is a great teacher.

Taking in a student and giving him everything he needs to become a man and a fighter. Giving a boy a crash course on how to be a man. Teaching him everything he needs to know, giving him anything he needs; all for nothing but unquestioned trust and respect.

Han Chung Ryul took me into his home and did everything to teach me everything about anything. I look at myself now, and I've become a little mini-Han. I try to immitate everything he does, right down to the way he talks, walks, eats and even the way he seems to never be able to carry a straight face during a serious conversation. He even gave me his family name at customs before I left Korea. Always smiling, he taught me more than just swords n' fighting.

Master Han, my teacher, has fallen ill recently. He's in his brother's care right now, so I don't have any other way of expressing my gratitude for everything he's done for me. His dojang is closed until he gets better. I hope he recovers soon! I figure, the more people that read this and think about him, the healthier he'll get. Thank you for reading this far, and thank you for your support.

Sorry for taking up forum space for this. I apologize to anyone who'd rather be reading about swords and Gumdo.

Sorry to hear about the illness of your former instructor. I'm certain he is in good care.

Charles, mentors don't necessarily wish for those under their guidance to become carbon copies of themselves, but to discover and develop their own strengths and gifts. Certainly, notice and appreciate the strengths and positive traits of another, but know that you have you own combination to reveal and share as well should you accept that responsibility.

I sincerely hope all goes well for your teacher.

Thank you all for the support. Not everyone has responed to this topic, but a lot have read it. That's all I really wanted.

Tony, thanks for the support. Master Han has already asked my if I know you. In fact, he's the one who dug up his old edition of MARS so I could see the article.

Casey, thank you for the advice. It's strange you say that, because I know what you mean. My younger sibling all strive to be like me. As soon as I heard some Our Lady Peace playing in my 9 year old sisters' room, I knew something was up. However, when they started using some of my cuss words, I knew I had to set an example.

The reason I mimic almost everything he does, is mostly because I never had a very strong father figure in my life. I was raised by a single mother, babysitters and TV. Master Han was the first father figure I ever had, and in turn was the only guidance I had into growing into a man. Keep in mind, I was 18 when I met Master Han, and stayed with him until right after I turned 20. Moreso, since Master Han is the epitome of what I've strived to be since I was 14, I saw him as a good role-model. Yes, by Korean standards, he is an outcast because he is unmarried without children.

Sorry if I'm going on. I realise he has his flaws just as anyone else. You should hear the guy snore after a night out. Hahaha. What's strange is I never snored until I started mimicking him. Heh, weird.

Honestly, I feel this is exactly what this community is for. To talk about everything that effects us, our training and our hearts place in both.

I am sorry to hear of your Master falling ill Charles, I envy you for having such a bond with your Master, and I strive to slowly build the same type of bond with my own. I also think I see where you are coming from, to do everything you can in order to be more like someone you greatly respect and admire, to change your habits and traits to better match theirs. It is not a process of becoming a carbon copy, but rather of trying to become that which you respect and admire greatly. It is absorbing as much as possible and then incorporating it into our own being and letting it guide us on the path of who we become. One does not strive to become their Master, but rather to absorb as much of what we admire our Masters for and use it to guide and be incorporated in whom and what we grow into.

When one plants tomatoes they often put a steak into the ground so the plant can grow around the steak and use it to climb straight and upward. No farmer or gardener expects their tomato plant to actually grow into a steak mimicking the one set next to it. The purpose of the steak is to guide the plant and help it along in an upward growth pattern so it might grow in a favorable a way and bear good tomatoes. Just as such, our mentors are our guides, our inspiration. We don’t aspire to become them, but to become like them or more specifically to become like what we respect and admire about them. And if we do become better people in this way then all of their work, time, effort and heart is not in vain.

I send you and your Master my best wishes, hopes and prayers Charles.

Thank you George. That tomato/stick analogy was pretty good.

I will think good thoughts for your Master also.

what's his condition?

He got a seriously nasty case of the flu. Besides that, he's been having a very hard time with his joints, because the short sword sparring is hell on the wrists and knees. I think he's taking another week off and then he's going back to work. Anyhow, this is what I heard from a friend of mine in Jeju who is also one of Master Han's students.

Hey, I noticed something. When people get sick in Korea, they really get sick! I got sick the first month I got there, and I've never been so sick in my life. Do you think it's just because I wasn't very strong against Korean influenza?

That could be. I was in rough shape during my first few months in Korea.

I'm sorry to hear about your teacher.
I'd like to extend my best wishes as well for his recovery.

Oh, I was worried about him. It sounded like he developed serious illness. I'm sure he will recover from the flu.

In North America, people clean and disinfect everything and our immune system is not as strong as people in other part of the world. I always get sick when I go to Korea for a couple of month, really sick. But when I spend some time in Korea and return to Canada, I hardly get sick. Travelling to Indonesia from Canada was pretty intense experience in terms of health.

Do you think it has something to do with our immune system getting lazy? I read that it was mostly because our body's are used to Canadian influenza. Once we get to another country, our body can't defend itself.

Eesh... Indonesia must've been a rough ride.