Œlje
Januaiy 25, 2012
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
^ortlanh (Obstruer
Page 9
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
M E T R O
M a s te r Eddie A rnold w orks w ith local yo u th in the Korean m a rtia l a rts style o f H apkido a t Chaois A cadem y in north Portland.
Teaching Kids to Become Like Ninjas
Master of Korean martial
arts empowers local youth
by M indy C ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
Although historically secret and closed to most individu
als throughout the world, one local martial arts master is on
a mission to share his knowledge of the Korean-based martial
arts style of Hapkido, which he said can both empower and
benefit youth to find new meaning in their lives.
As the youngest ranked African-American Hapkido mas
ter in the world, Eddie Arnold, 37, began his journey with the
martial arts when he was just four-years-old in Cincinnati,
Ohio, where his father first introduced him to the lifestyle.
“We grew up in an inner city, and my father knew we
(Arnold and his brothers) all had to defend ourselves,” he
said. “Although we didn’t have a choice, I instantly loved it.”
Growing up, he experienced first-hand the profound
changes studying martial arts can bring to one’s life.“It
empowers kids and gives them something different,” he said.
“That is what happened with me. It changed my life.”
Hapkido, he said, like many martial art forms, is not just a
way to learn how to defend one’s self, but it is also a way of
life, filled with personal growth and self-discovery. “It’s a
process,” he said. “The man doesn’t go after the belts, the
belts chase the man.”
According to Arnold, as long as you’re working at improv
ing the technique of martial arts, and you’re healthy, then you
are going to eventually reach whatever degree you desire.
Hapkido, he said, is a way of coordinating energy, utilizing
both soft and hard techniques, and traced to the efforts of
Korean nationals in the post Japanese colonial period in Korea.
There is nothing in it but time and maturity, he said. The M a s te r Eddie Arnold, 27 , m e d ita te s before his class
secret is how you affect change in both your own life and in H euk Choo Kwan, a style o f the Korean m a rtia l a rt
other’s through the art, which stems down to a deeper level H apkido, which tra n sla te s as the way o f coordin ating
of self defense.
energy.
“This is what I try to teach my students,” said Arnold, who
leads individuals aged4-40-years old in his style of Hapkido
known as Heuk Choo Kwan, which translates to ‘black eagle
style.’
“After a while, it transfers from physical to mental and then
spiritual,” he said.
Teaching youth and studying under his teacher Grand
Master Son Young Gul, Arnold works six-days a week at
Chois Martial Arts Academy in north Portland, which is one
of four in the area that is part of the oldest traditional martial
arts associations in Portland.
“North Portland is struck with a lack of identity, and youth
are trying to find identity in gang activity,” he said. “With
Heuk Choo, we find identity in camaraderie, in the training
and with the discipline Heuk Choo provides.”
Fighting can be done by someone with no martial arts
training to someone who has trained their entire life, he said.
“But when teaching kids martial arts, I am not teaching kids
how to fight.”
Instead, he explained the highest form of martial arts
success is when you can outsmart a person without a finger
ever touching them.
" “It is a way of looking at all of your options within the skill
of seconds to decide what is the best way or option for you,”
he said. “This can benefit everyone.”
You begin to be able to read somebody’s vibes and mind
from their physical acts, he said.
In his own life, Arnold recalled his own experience with
martial arts when he began recognize the changes in the way
he perceived the environment around him.
“I saw how it gave me strength to stand on my own two
feet and make my own choices,” he said. “And If I could be
disciplined to do that, then I could be disciplined to make the
right choices in my life.”
Arnold received his first degree black belt in 1998, and has
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