Do you Train as a Wolf or a Sheep?
Are you the hunter or the hunted?
Do you prey or pray?
If you train as a wolf—hard and with contact—you can always train with other wolves, they will recognize you as a wolf and will welcome you into the pack. Wolves are not afraid of blood, they have shed it, and they have bled it. They view sheep as prey. Wolves know that they do not always win, that sometimes the prey gets away. They know they sometimes have to hunt on their own, and that they sometimes have to fight their own without the pack. They kill and know that they may be killed—they except it as a part of being a wolf.
If you train as a sheep—easy and with no contact—you can always train with other sheep, they know you will not hurt them and will welcome you into the flock. Sheep feel safe while in the flock and the bigger the flock the better. Sheep avoid bloodshed, they just casually graze with their heads down as is if there were no wolves in the world. Then, when they see a wolf, they pray. They may fight each other in play but they avoid violence and confrontations with other sheep. Even though run from danger and fear injury or dying, they seem oblivious to the fact that—they are food.
Wolves are not afraid to walk into a flock of sheep. Wolves can be cute and cuddly if necessary and are able to quietly approach sheep and watch everything they do. They know they are wolves so they show no fear in the presence of sheep. Wolves may even wear a sheep's clothing and play with them, being careful not to harm them and cause alarm. Then, when it opportunity presents itself—they eat the sheep.
Sheep will never walk into a pack of wolves. Sheep are never threatening, they are always cute and cuddly. They cannot play with wolves, even if they wear a wolf's clothing. Sheep constantly baa and demand attention. They are constantly moving about and crave attention. They are easily hurt and easily scared, so they group together for protection. When danger approaches, they either run or look to the flock for protection because they cannot defend themselves individually. Sheep are fearful of wolves and wolves sense the fear. Therefore, sheep never play with wolves. Sheep just accept their lives as sheep, play with other sheepish animals, such as rabbits and squirrels, and view wolves as the outcasts of the animal world. A sheep that plays with wolves will only play—until lunch.
Taekwondo students are similar to wolves and sheep. Some students are wolves who understand that Taekwondo is a martial art created for warriors. They tend to be loners but may hang out with the pack. They accept the bumps and bruises and hard training and deal with it as a part of training as a martial artist. They are confident and capable of dealing with most any situation. They realize that when they spar other warriors that they may receive injuries and they know that, in a real fight, they may have to injure or kill or that they may be injured or killed—they except it as part of being a wolf.
Some Taekwondo students are similar to sheep. They like to be with, conform to, and to please the flock. They feel safe with the flock and are helpless when away from the flock. They play at fighting, but are careful to avoid blood, either their own or others. They baa a lot; they make excuses for their losses and mistakes and are always talking about what they will do in a fight, although they have never been in a real fight. They fear and avoid wolves—they consider wolves the outcasts of the martial arts world.
Wolf students may train with sheep students. All they have to do is be careful and not harm them. Wolf students observe and learn about sheep students by donning the clothing of a sheep and moving among them, keeping quiet, listening, and watching. However, sheep students cannot train with wolf students. Even if they dress as a wolf, they fear the wolves and the wolves sense the fear. The wolves will play with the sheep who visits the pack—but only until lunch!