Taekwondo Creating Stir in Small Massachusetts Town

Apart from practicing the Korean martial art taekwondo in a school gym, students looked disciplined in their monthly mental training class.

They repeated getting up and down according to their instructor’s directions. They cannot move their eyes for ten seconds in accordance with the order “charyeot (attention without difficulty).”

Next was a lesson in etiquette. One student asked, “What do we do when we enter a classroom.”

The taekwondo master, identified only as “Kim,” replied, “You should bow and focus on your teacher.”

When asked to give a good example of respect, one of the five principles of taekwondo, one student received a round of applause by answering, “We should always listen to our elders and behave ourselves.”

After the instructor left the classroom after supervising mental training, all of his students got up and shouted, “Thank you,” in Korean. When they met reporters in the corridor, they bowed and said, “Annyeonghaseyo (Hello).”

Students at Patrick Bowe Elementary School were hardly known as polite until early last year. Teachers had difficulty teaching their students as many of them were out of control, lacked attention and fought in school

This school has many children of immigrant parents, with Hispanic students accounting for half. The ratio of students from low-income families is 80 percent.

Student attitudes, however, began to change after taekwondo was adopted as a formal class in physical education in fall last year.

A fourth-grade teacher said that after taekwondo was implemented, the ratio of students doing their homework rose from 75 percent to almost 100 percent, calling it a miracle.

School principal Samuel Karlin said, “After students learned discipline and moderation through taekwondo, we witnessed a remarkable change. Though it’s too early to know whether this change will lead to improved academic performance, I believe we will see good results.”

Taekwondo instructors at the school say they teach the importance of manners and self-control. They also emphasize basic virtues such as doing homework and cleaning one’s desk.

One fourth-grader said, “I quarreled with my brothers a lot, but I have learned how to behave and get along with them through taekwondo.”

A fellow student said, “I now know that doing homework is very important. I always try to remember the spirit of taekwondo.”

This significant change at the elementary school has drawn attention in Massachusetts. With more parents and teachers learning that taekwondo is helping kids, many public schools are trying to start classes in the Korean martial art.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has ordered the expansion of taekwondo programs. Students at 26 public elementary schools in Springfield and Chicopee are learning taekwondo from Master Kim.

“The number of taekwondo instructors is insufficient to meet the demand,” he said. “More than 30 schools are on a waiting list.”

kong@donga.com