Black Belt Society I first started in Tang Soo Do in 1979 and trained until 1982 receiving a red belt. I returned to the art in the late ‘80s in Southern California but did not advance in rank until returning to the art again in 1998 in Fremont California under Mr. David Bell. I had been around martial arts in my childhood and had trained in several Japanese and Okinawan arts before finding Tang Soo Do. One of the things that makes me appreciate Tang Soo Do as an art among arts is the way it makes values and morals a part of the training. This is what ultimately brought me back to the art after my long absence. Mr. Glen Evan I reached a point in my life in the late ‘90s where I wasn’t very happy with myself or where I was going in my life. I was quite the workaholic and had very little peace in my life. I thought about the time in my life when I felt most balanced and it came to me that the most balanced time of my life was when I was training in Tang Soo Do. This brought me to Fremont and the school of Mr. David Bell. The training I have received from Mr. Bell has helped bring back the peace I had temporally put aside in my life, and has helped me to find new purpose and resolve in both my personal and professional lives. I have now reached the level of Black Belt and have the opportunity to teach and help others to reach this level of peace and balance in their lives. Teaching is an awesome responsibility that I take very seriously. Mr. Bell has pointed out to me something which helps me to step up and accept the responsibility of teaching and indeed put all of my years of training in perspective. Mr. Bell has stated that other students, as well as members of the community, see me now, as I see my teachers from the past. I Greatly admire all the teachers I have had in the martial arts and it is difficult at first to put myself in the same arena as I have put them. Whether I realize it or not, other students are placing me in that arena. They are doing just what I did from the very first days of my training. Namely, looking to an accomplished martial artist, in particular a black belt, for inspiration, guidance, and a sense of what it means to be peaceful, confident, and skilled in the martial arts. I can accept my role as instructor with the confidence that comes from having a good teacher and the firm knowledge that I have been given the tools I need to get the job done. I look forward to my continued training in Tang Soo Do, and to the adventures I have ahead teaching and learning from students placed in my care.