In the beginning of the new decade the World received a wakeup call, a reality check in the form of an unseen enemy that would alter the course of history and our lives will never be the same. During the last two years of the so-called pandemic of the Coronavirus, it revealed many aspects of our true human nature as individuals as well as the collective, of governments and our leaders, of mass media and conglomerates, of the super wealthy and the powermongers.

The "Day of Calming" begins this Thursday November 11th at 11AM for 11 minutes!

To begin the meditation, the starting technique we recommend is the 4-7-8 breath.   You breath in for 4 counts, hold breath for 7 counts and breath out for 8 counts. And then repeat 4 or 8 times. Afterwards, breathe normally and sit quietly for the remainder of the 11 minutes of meditation and just be mindful.

Now that summer is over and everyone is getting back to a more consistent training schedule, there is opportunity to clean up and progress on your Belt Level curriculum.  Summer brain fog is real when it comes to keeping all the material straight, but there is a great online resource available to help you or your child out!

“Live by the Sword”

A Podcast by Hwa Rang Do® Grandmaster Taejoon Lee

I have been asked by many students to publicly share my teachings through a podcast or in a book format. And so, I have finally decided to launch an official podcast starting this month of October 2021 and I also have made plans for a future book.

On Sunday July 11, 2021 the WHRDA hosted a special day of seminars and global celebration of Italy’s 20^th Anniversary.  While there is normally a global gathering in-person each year for a world championship tournament and a week-long training conference, this year we coordinated world time zones to connect via zoom due to the continued COVID restrictions.

The majority of participants were able to join in with their peers from their local Academies & Clubs, as most dojang locations were able to setup a big screen TV experience for the event.  Everyone else connected from home, from cabins, or even from summer vacation settings, and the couple hundred participants moved through a quality online event experience.

For us the championships, tournaments, seminars, the activities, the events, is all an expression of our love, created by a labor of love, and an opportunity to commune, share, and unite as one global family. I wanted to say “One big global family”, but we are not, we are actually very small in comparison to other martial arts and I am not sure that we will ever be much bigger in numbers as that is not our only aim.

First, I want to express my immense joy and gratitude to be able to see my wonderful Hwa Rang Do family and share this historical moment during these crazy, unstable times.

My message to you is that we as Hwarang must never forget who we are and why we practice and train daily in this beautiful art.

Centurion to Hwarang

One could have never imagined that in the 21 Century that the stronghold of the Hwarang Warriors would be in what was once the center of the Western Civilization, the Roman Empire, but in retrospect it seems as though it was destiny. It would take a man who has dedicated his entire life to become a strong warrior, who is of the most disciplined character and unyielding fortitude, living a life of military service, unknowingly being exemplary of the Hwarang Spirit, who would ultimately connect with its kindred spirit.

IM JEON MU TWAE

Courage to Never Retreat in the Face of the Enemy

Now more than ever we need to reflect, understand, and exercise our Fourth Code. Our ancient leaders, king, and sage were all wise to establish a warrior code which can stand as a foundation for the cultivation and development of perfect warriors. Before any physical training, formation of troops, devising of battle plans, the Hwarang O Kae was written and laid down by a Sage Won Kwang Bopsa. He wrote down five simple, eloquent, yet powerful codes to follow for the perfection of a person desiring to serve and protect the king, the people, and the land by exemplifying what is good, honorable, and noble, the highest value being one of self-sacrifice.