An ailing martial arts master decided it was time to turn his school over to a student to run as he felt his time was growing near. He watched over each and every student, looking for the perfect student to run his school. Sadly, while he was proud of all of his students and their skills, he didn’t feel any were quite ready to take the helm.

He was then reminded of an old training partner of his youth. This training partner always pushed and motivated him like no other. He would be the answer! The old instructor set out of visit his friend and try and convince him to take over his school.

The two old martial arts rejoiced over tea, recanting stories of the old days. “Please old friend, take over my school! I have found no one capable of doing so”, the old master proclaimed.

“My friend, I am far too old and quite content farming my land and spending time with my family these days”, the old friend replied. “However, I have been training my three sons since they were born. Maybe one of them will suffice?”

The old master nodded, “I would like to meet your sons”, the old master responded. Noticing three apples on the kitchen table behind them, he asked, “Would you mind if I use those apples to test them?”

“Absolutely”, the old friend answered.

The old master placed an apple over a slightly ajar door before the father called in the youngest son to meet his old friend. The youngest son, training with his brothers in the field, darts into the home with haste. Upon opening the door to enter, the apple falls and strikes the son on his head. Before the apple hits the floor, and with a mean scowl on his face that would scare even the bravest men, the son draws his sword and slices the apple in half with lighting speed and accuracy.

The old friend responded, “You might be the fastest swordsman I’ve ever seen. You’ve clearly trained hard, come sit with us and sip some tea.”

The father tells his friend, “he’s the fastest and most physically talented of my sons, but it’s clear he still has more to learn.” The old master nodded in agreement.

The old master then places the second apple atop the ajar door while the father calls in his middle child. The middle child cautiously enters the home. With a calm, emotionless expression, the middle son, noticing the apple beginning to fall, swiftly unsheathes his sword and slices the apple in half. The apple had no chance of striking his head nor the floor.

The old master smiled and stated, “Outstanding young man, that apple had no chance to even strike you. Very intuitive of you!”

“Yes, very good. He’s come along way in his training. Though there is still more to learn”, the father proclaimed. The old master, once again, agreed.

It was time to test the oldest son, but as the old master reached for the last apple, he grabbed nothing but air. With a smile upon his face, he turned to see the oldest son in the corner of the room gnawing on the third apple with a content and pleasant look on his face, eager to meet the old master.

Before the oldest son was even able to introduce himself, the old master gleefully asked the oldest son if he would like to run his school.

This story has been told a hundred different ways over the years. Sometimes it’s the old masters’ sons. Sometimes it’s a vase to be caught, other times a wood board to be struck. No matter how the story is told, the idea behind the story is generally the same. It’s a way of explaining the different levels and depths to martial arts training. The aggressive physical. The calm intuitive or intercepting movement. And finally, the deepest level, avoidance and dissolving of an altercation with peace and happiness.

The vast majority of martial arts practitioners will never make it past that first stage. It’s understandable as it’s the only one that can be seen, calculated, or measured in some fashion. We are entertained and in awe of the physical talents we see in movies and sport fighting. Replace all of that with someone who learns to avoid a fight or dissolve one with their presence and those box office hits go away.

Understand that in order to reach those deeper levels, one must master the shallower levels. The “old master” in the story didn’t need to see the oldest son’s physical prowess. He just knew it was there. In order to intercept an attack, one must understand the physical techniques on a deep level. And to learn how to avoid or dissolve an attack on the level that the story represents, one must master the physical fighting skills, the intercepting/intuitive skills to have the confidence and understanding of what to expect before any altercation even begins.

Note the demeanor on the three sons faces with each test. The youngest son, with his haste, reacted with anger. This is how most people react to an attack or altercation. We are angry that someone is trying to do something negative towards us. We react with revenge and retaliation in mind. We have all of the physical skill we need, but none of the emotional skills we need at this point.

The middle son, with a calm demeaner, has conquered his emotions to think clearly before acting. This only comes from an abundance of experience and training to provide the confidence to have the ability to control a situation. This is where most mid-level black belts tend to reside. A full understanding of the techniques with experience in applying those skills.

The oldest son has surpassed the previous two and his demeaner resides in contentment and happiness, knowing that he doesn’t need to hurt anyone, and no one will hurt him. This is the ultimate in the eyes of most martial artists. Full control of not only the situation at hand but foreseeing a potential situation becoming a problem and dissolving it before anything happens.
Very, very few martial artists reside in this level.

As I explain to any new Hapkido students I teach, destructive self-defense is fairly easy. Humane defense is quite hard. The first joint lock I teach in Hapkido is a simple wrist lock takedown. To finish the technique when the opponent is on the ground, I explain you have two options. Slam your knee into their arm to explode the bicep and smash their nose and teeth into their skull
(destructive). Or trap their arm and apply enough torque to stop the opponent and allow them to repent their actions (humane). The first option is easy. The second option takes years to perfect. The third level involves providing no reason for someone to attack you in the first place.

If you’ve ever heard the line, “the real training begins at black belt”, hopefully this blog helps you to understand why.