The three-part class meets twice a week. After circle time, students work with Yongsun “Sun” Lee, a doctoral student and taekwondo instructor, to practice the restorative values they’ve learned while they learn taekwondo fundamentals. “I emphasize bowing to partners before and after drills as a way to show respect and trust,” Lee says. “And I ask students to share the ways they show respect in school, home, or community – and in physical education.”
Lee points out that, while many Westerners think of martial arts as the art of fighting, the Chinese character “wu”, which is often translated into the word “martial,” means to put down weapons. “The true meaning of martial arts practice is to seek peace by knowing how opposite forces, like peace and conflict, can be interrelated.”