Good Morning

Been a little bit since my last blog post. That is because I am taking some time to fill my brain with some new knowledge. Really getting into reading and learning more than I have before. I have a more methodical way of learning each and every day. So I have just been letting the brain and my mind get use to the new routine and exploring my thoughts. So you can expect more regular blog posts coming soon.

Also on Monday September 5th we at Cobourg Tae Kwon Do will be closed for Labour Day. Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend before heading back to school or work.

Master Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do


The 500 year old mind is the mind that sees everything in white or black.

Meaning it is either this way or that way. It’s wrong or right. There is no room in the middle for other ways of looking at it.

This 500 year old mind is outdated.

A better mind set is to realize that there is somethings that are in black and white but everything else it various shades of grey.

Almost like white belts and black belts with a bunch of colour belts in the middle.

Anyway in today’s society with all the knowledge that we have about almost everything, or what we believe anyway is not either wrong or right, this way or that way. It is a mixture of a bunch of things.

We need to realize that there may be many different ways or answers to any given.

There is room for many different view points and opinions. Many different ways to do things. Not necessarily the right way and the wrong way. Granted there may be better options but not the right or wrong way in most cases. Yet in some cases there is a right or wrong but not as often as you may think.

The 500 year old mind is more of a mind that is closed. Our new modern mindset should be that of an open mind with very few exceptions of course on things that we all in society can agree that is wrong like killing people, robbing banks, and etc,.

The focus should be to have an open mind that sees everything from various viewpoints and is aware of all options, opinions, circumstances, and so forth.

The new modern mind is more open to make things work versus shutting things down. To see everything for what it really is and not through the eyes of our built in filter.

Master Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do


I saw this quote twice yesterday and I believe in it wholeheartedly.

Just because you are trained in fighting or violence does not mean you cannot be peaceful. I believe you can be more powerful because you understand what you can do. You know you can take care of yourself so there is no need to show aggression. There is no better confidence than knowing self defense.

Martial Arts brings a balance when trained and taught properly. In order for there to be beauty and light, there must also be ugly and dark.

One must go about their days as the gardener but when it’s time for battle, the warrior appears. Simply to do what is needed then goes back to being a gardener.



Wow! I just found out via Drew Serrano of the USBA/WBA that the USBA/WBA European Breaking Championships at the World Power Show in London England on July 2nd and 3rd was voted Most Impressive Show! That is a huge accomplishment for the USBA/WBA, the sport of breaking, and all the talented breakers who attended.

Here is the link if you would like to see a few pictures and a video of the Power Wood Elbow.


Master Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do


Good Morning

Well all the team wolverine members are back home safely from their trip to the 2016 US OPEN, WBA Worlds, and ISKA Worlds hosted at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando Florida on July 8th and 9th.

Our team did fantastic as we won 19 first places on the Friday events and 1 first place on saturdays event. Team members from Ontario, Florida, and Tennessee did a great job representing team wolverine, their state/province, and the sport of breaking in general.

Congratulations to Michael, Samantha, Eric, Todd, Eryn, Amber, Shawn, Michael, Daniel, and Jonathan for your wins and hard work. You did the team proud.

Master Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do



Good Morning

Well I made it back safely from London England. This past weekend Darren Everson and I travelled to London to compete at the 2016 USBA/WBA European Breaking Championships held at the World Power Show and Expo at the London ExCel. It was a great tournament with a great vibe to it. It was a lot of fun and very competitive. Both Darren and I ended up winning an European Championship each. Thanks to Grandmaster Ralph Bergamo, Master Drew Serrano, and the people of the World Power Show and Expo for hosting an awesome event.

While we were in London we spent two days travelling and exploring the city. We took a few guided tours, went on the London Eye, and just spent a lot of time exploring the city and all it had to offer. If you have not been to London yet I recommend you go check it out. Lots of beautiful buildings, landmarks, scenery, and lots of history to learn and see.

And thanks to the instructors who looked after the dojang while I was away.

Master Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do


Why does everyone experience the same things differently?

I often wonder how many people can go through the same thing or see the same thing and yet the experiences are different as night and day?

If the same thing happen to many people at the same time, why is one person seeing this, another feeling this, and another hearing this?

How come the feelings and memories of the experience be so different from person to person?

I have visualized the following example in my head.

There is three people of the same age, fitness level, same general background, and so forth. Two of these people are in a big glass room together. The third person is outside of the big glass room. The two people in the room are asked to do 50 push ups, 50 burpees, 50 squats, 50 crunches, 50 clapping push ups, and another 50 burpees. Both these two in the room went through each exercise with very similar results and finished at about the same time. They seem to have gone through the same amount of overall stress to their system. The third person outside of the room could only watch them go through this similar experience. They could only see what was going on. No other senses were involved. So to the third person the two in the glass room should have had the exact same experience. However the two in the room had very different experiences. One person absolutely loved what they went through. They were ready to go at it again. The second person absolutely hated it. Yet both people had the same physically experience and outcome. So what makes one person have a totally different experience than the other yet both went through the same thing?

Well some of the things that could make up someone’s experiences are

  1. Past experiences
  2. Dreams and Goals
  3. Motivation
  4. Positive or Negative mindset
  5. Whether they like challenges or do they see problems
  6. How they were raised
  7. Their genetics
  8. Emotional state
  9. Mental Health
  10. Physical Fitness
  11. Age and what generation they grew up in
  12. Social conditioning
  13. Religious beliefs
  14. and many more factors

There is many reasons why many different people can have many different experiences about the exact same thing.

When experiencing this, keep in mind all these factors and have a deep understanding of what is what, be aware of your mindset, and be open minded.

Master Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do


In this world today there is many types of leaders out there. From coaches to teachers, instructors to politicians, business owners to employees, the up and comers to the down and out. You will find leaders everywhere. Some leaders are more visible as they may be in charge or be the owner. They maybe the teachers, coaches, and instructors of today. Other leaders are not so visible. You see not every leader has a title or may be in charge. Look out for those who work really hard and do exceptional at what they do. They lead by example.

But either a leader is that person you know is in charge or that leader that kinda leads behind the scene, they all deal with stuff you may not even think of.

  1. Leaders put in way more hours than the average to create their goals and dreams.
  2. They have to make some tough decisions sometimes that some people may not understand.
  3. Leaders will not pay the victim role. They accept what is dealt to them and makes the necessary changes.
  4. Leaders will get tired and frustrated just like everyone else.
  5. Leaders are not perfect. They make mistakes but they learn from them.
  6. Leaders work hard to make sure everyone under them gets build up just as much as they do if not more so.
  7. Leaders make decisions based on as much information as possible so they can make smear decisions.
  8. Leaders never see problems but rather challenges that can be solved.
  9. Leaders don’t tare people down. They help build them up.
  10. Leaders are willing to take the hit to help spare the team.
  11. Leaders need their downtime too. Everyone needs a chance to rest.
  12. Leaders strive in a positive environment. They either go to it or build it themselves.
  13. Not all leaders want to be in the spot light.
  14. Not all leaders need to have a “title” to lead by a positive example.
  15. Leaders are out on the front lines doing the dirty work just like everyone around them
  16. Leaders are human like like you and I. They have good days and bad days.
  17. No leader is perfect.
  18. Leaders love to see others growth.
  19. Once a leader, it is hard to go back not being a leader.
  20. Leaders love watching people grow their inner leader.
  21. Leaders are willing to teach if you are willing to truly listen and learn.

To the most part everyone has the ability to be a leader, whether in charge or by example. However not everyone has that drive to lead. That is something special deep inside.

Master Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do


What others think of you is none of your business. People’s opinions are just that, their opinions. Opinions created in their conscious mind for them and them alone.

Yes obviously we all want others to like us, love us, and etc,. This is normal. However we only want the select few of those people like friends, family, some co-workers, clients, students, and etc,. The rest do not matter. And what I mean about the rest is those people that think negativity about you.

You do not need to concern yourself with the negative opinions of negative people who create negative experiences in their own negative conscious minds. Phew that’s a lot of negative. But that is the reality of the situation.

You see, people tend to form negative opinions about you based on their own insecurities about themselves. They cannot seem to or don’t want to deal with their own issues so they must find negative traits or faults in what you do or what others do. Whether they are jealous about the amount of success you have, or how you live your life, or you won something, and so forth. Or perhaps you had to make an ethical decision that they don’t agree with so they have to find fault in that.

What you will find from this though is that they have created these negative experiences entirely in their own head. Most of what happened is solely inside their conscious mind and they won’t or can’t take responsibility for these opinions and feelings. They would rather past them off on someone else than to deal with it themselves.

Instead of being inspired by someone else’s success they have to tare that person down so they can make themselves feel better. Or instead of looking at all viewpoints of any given situation they just find a faulty view and go running with that.

All humans including you and I are all guilty of this behaviour from time to time. Most of us control it though and not allow it to effect ourselves or anyone else in a negative way. But some do allow it. But like I said before, it is none of our business to care about the opinions of others. We should be focus on creating happiness and excellence in the lives of the people we meet and love, as well as in ourselves.

Master Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do


Good Morning

Well our annual black belt grading has come and gone this past Saturday. We had 13 black belt candidates going for the ranks of black, 1st degree black belt, and 2nd degree black belt. The students completed a 10 hour grading from 9am to 7pm at the dojang and at the beach/boardwalk. They were tested on their physical conditioning, flexibility, forms, blocks, punchings, sparring, self defense, one steps, kicking, musical forms, breaking, and korean terminology. This is what you would think they would typically be tested on for black belts in Taekwondo right? But they were also tested on team work, their spirit, self confidence, perseverance, integrity, self control, loyalty, focus, leadership, courtesy, and courage.

The grading is very important in achieving your black belt but what is of more importance is the journey along the way to black belt. How did you deal with all the tasks and challenges that were presented to you? How did you grow as a person? When things got tough, how did you deal with it? Who were the ones that supported you along the way?

What is more important after earning your black belt is what you do with it. What type of black belt are you going to be? Are you going to be a black belt or just a person who has a black belt? There is a difference. A black belt is how you carry yourself in your personal and professional life. How do you use your skills? Are they being used to help others or are they being used selfishly? Is your black belt a final destination or is it just the start of a life long journey?

I am very proud of this year’s 2016 black belt graduates. They worked extremely hard. They worked well as a team to get through their grading. They owned what they did throughout the day. They kept up their energy throughout the day. They took care of each other. They listened and focused well. They had fun. They were very respectful to the instructors and to each other. They displayed the traits that I mentioned above. They are going to be on a great show this Saturday night at 7pm at the Cobourg Memorial Temple during our annual black belt spectacular and hall of fame ceremony. If you have not got your tickets yet for the show please see me at the office.

I am excited for the show as I am putting something special together.

See you there.

Master Jonathan Field

Cobourg Tae Kwon Do