Grandmaster  Stangle

The Master's Scroll

Journey of a Black Belt

By Master Lynn Stangle

    It was a sunny autumn day as I took a short cut through the school grounds to get to my next class. There blocking my path was Denny and John, the upper classmen who delighted in making my life miserable. "Well Stangle, you ready for your daily beating?" Denny said with his usual smirk. This would be the fourth day in a row I was to be thrown down and dragged though the dirt by those two jerks.

    To Denny's surprise, I cheerfully laid my books down on the ground and exclaimed, "Okay, let's go." I figured what have I to lose? I might as well go down fighting this time. I rushed him, hitting him low and grabbed him around the waist. I picked him up over my shoulder in the fireman's carrying position. Having little fighting experience, I didn't know what to do with him from there. This gave the conniving bully a chance to pull some kind of a reversal on me and drive me hard to the ground. Stunned and dirty, I lay there as Denny and his crony John walked away laughing at their pathetic victory over their victim of the day.

    A little over a week later, I was getting some books from my locker wondering why Denny and John hadn't been bothering me anymore, when a sharp pain resounded through my left kidney. I turned just in time to see six foot three inch Joe making his get away from a sneaky kidney punch. I covered the distance between us and punched him on the side of his head in an instant. He grabbed his now red and throbbing ear and said, "Man you didn't have to hit me that hard!" I said, "Man you didn't have to hit me at all." Joe never bothered me again either.

    As time went on and I stood my ground time after time, the unprovoked attacks on me became less and less frequent. I finally realized that after years of being a bully magnet that a bully isn't looking for a fight, they are looking for someone to pick on. By me hurting them back, even if they ended up victorious, they chose to find a less retaliatory victim to impose their poor self-esteem on.

    After my high school graduation, I went to work in a factor. I thought, "Great, I'll be around adults now and they won't act like those jerks in school." Wrong! They were worse. I had to start all over again.

    After about four years of battling the same problems I had in school, I decided to come up with some way to speed up the process that took twelve years in school to accomplish. I knew that the only thing these Neanderthals could understand was brute strength. My five foot ten and a half inch, one hundred thirty five pound frame had no hope of securing that edge. So I thought I must gain the psychological advantage. The catalyst that ultimately gave me the peace of mind I spent my previous life without, was Taekwondo.

    Taekwondo, an ancient Korean Martial Art, was offered at Wabash Valley Junior College in Mt. Carmel, Il. I signed up with the intent of learning how to kick the tar out of everyone that had given me grief.

    My instructor Mahlon Hallam, a small statured American in his early twenties, began talking about proper attitude and personal well being through self-confidence. He stated that Taekwondo was ninety percent mental training and ten percent physical.

    Physically, for the first time in my non-athletic life, I felt actual strength in my muscles. He demonstrated a few moves for me to learn and when he felt that I had acquired adequate ability, he gave me a few more. My ability stair stepped up along with the proper goal setting process.

    Once I accomplished a lesser goal in my quest for the coveted Black Belt, it propelled me forward with renewed vigor and determination to succeed in accomplishing my next goal.

    Taekwondo opened up a whole new world to me. I began to develop coordination, flexibility, muscular and cardiovascular conditioning. The more I learned, the more I became self-confident. As my confidence grew, the less I wanted to hurt my adversaries. I guess the discipline of the proper attitude changed me for the better.

    It has been over forty-five  years since the hand of fate moved me in the direction of Martial Arts. In all that time, I had to use my training only one time. As a Captain in the Indiana Department of Correction, I was physically assaulted in a cell house by an inmate. It was a very quick situation with him kicking me in the lower abdomen area and me breaking his nose ending the incident.

    The revenge thing left soon after I began training my mind and body. I have met through this art, some of the most wonderful people that have influenced my life in a positive and beneficial manner. The friends that I have made through Taekwondo are the type that I know I can trust.

    Taekwondo is not an easy Martial Art. The people who dedicate themselves to endure the grueling training and intense mental development have built strong character and are highly disciplined individuals.

    I have accomplished many things over the years as a result of my involvement in Martial Arts. I am a Ninth Degree grandmaster and President and Founder of the Traditional Martial Arts Association, Inc. I was a personal body guard for Chancellor Chun of South Korea. I trained in the Hae In Sa Buddhist Temple in the mountains of South Korea. As a Defensive Tactics Cadre for the Emergency Response Operations of the Indiana Department of Correction, I designed the Personal Protection and Defensive Tactics program for the state of Indiana. I have a thriving Martial Arts school in Vincennes, Indiana that has a group of loyal and dedicated students that I would not want to live without.

    I'm kind of glad that I had to deal with so many adverse situations in my early life. They directed me to become one of the greatest things I can imagine, a Martial Artist.

Grandmaster Lynn Stangle

9th Degree Certified Grandmaster of the Martial Arts

9th degree black belt - Grandmaster TMA - September 29, 2018