Will a statesman (stateswomen) please stand up!

Aristotle -- "What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuous actions."

















Azalina Othman - no need to stand-lah.

Your first press statements was absolutely confrontational - any good leader would start with start with a reconciliatory note.

No, not Azalina, seems she prefers to pick a fight.

Being a 5th Black belt in Tae Kwon Do She obviously did not understand the spirit of this wonderful art of self-defense. In any case, to refresh her memory here are stuff she would know and appreciate. Which Tae Kwon Do school did you learn from?

TaeKwon-Do’s philosophy can be mainly summed up by two things, the oath, and the tenets.

Oath

I shall observe the tenets of Taekwon-Do

All students must swear to carefully observe, acknowledge and live by each one of the TaeKwon-Do tenets.

I shall respect my instructors and seniors

A student vows to respect their instructors and those senior to them (both in age and rank). An instructor must also act respectfully to all students and persons in order to be respected and therefore not misusing TaeKwon-Do.

I shall never misuse Taekwon-Do

One will never misuse TaeKwon-Do to harm others, for their own personal gain or for any other manner that is unjust.

I shall be a champion for freedom and justice

The 4th line, “I shall be a champion of freedom and justice”, can apply to many areas of life and although many may think one would have to do something amazing to achieve this, this part of the oath can be respected by even the littlest things one does in their daily activity. If one becomes more open-minded to understanding others ideologies, or the way others go about their lives instead of being quick to judge, then maybe the world would be a more understanding and accepting place. Thus allowing people to have the freedom they deserve. By accepting this belief one is bringing justice to this world and therefore being a champion of justice.

I shall build a more peaceful world

The final line of the oath is “I shall build a more peaceful world”. One can also easily obtain this goal by going about their daily lives in a more peaceful manner. If everyone did this, the world would obviously become a more peaceful place. Although some may think this means to never show any aggression, it does not mean that a student would be prohibited to defend themselves against an attack directed towards themselves. That would be defeating the purpose of TaeKwon-Do, an art of unarmed self-defence. However, it does not mean that a student may provoke aggression towards another individual, as this would be breaking the oath. In this world, conflicts can often occur over common misconceptions of information. One must understand the full story and have all the facts before he can truly make a justified judgement.

Tenets

Courtesy (Ye Ui) Showing courtesy to all, respecting others, having manners as well as maintaining the appropriate ettiquite at all times, both within and outside the dojang (designated training area).

Integrity (Yom Chi) Although may be similar, this form of integrity takes on a more wider role then defined in the common dictionary. In TaeKwon-Do, integrity means not only to determine what is right or wrong but also having the conscience to feel guilt if one has done wrong and to have the integrity stand up for what is right.

Perseverance (In Nae) One will persevere time and time again until they have achieved a result which is adequate towards what one was trying to achieve.

Self-control (Guk-Gi) This means to not only have control over one physical acts but also their mental thoughts and actions.

Indomitable Spirit (Baekjul Boolgool) To have indomitable spirit means to have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, no matter what odds you are up against to always give 100% effort in whatever you do.