December 2002 Master of the Month Master John Godwin, Yuk Dan Delaware, Pennsylvania, USA Master John Godwin brings a great deal of variety and knowledge to the World Tang Soo Do Association with his 20+ years of experience as an educator, a successful competitor, and an inspiring martial artist. He received his rank of Yuk Dan in 2006.  Master Godwin began his Tang Soo Do studies under Master Ki Yun Yi when he wanted to learn how to defend himself against multiple opponents. Master Yi is a charter member of the World Tang Soo Do association, and served as the Technical Advisory Committee Chairman. A special master/student relationship developed between the two of them. Master Yi gave him the finest instruction in leadership and teaching. It was as a result of this relationship that Master Godwin was introduced to someone very special, Grandmaster Jae C. Shin.

While working at Headquarters, Master Godwin was encouraged by Grandmaster Shin to study other martial arts to broaden his understanding. He became involved in Hapkido, where he is also a master instructor under Grandmaster Ji Han Jae. He also practiced kickboxing under the instruction of Master Steven Chambliss.

All of these experiences combined to make him an incredible competitor in the realm of martial arts. He was inducted into the Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame as the 1990 Forms Competitor of the Year. He became a World Champion in fighting, forms, weapons, and demo team competitions at the World Tang Soo Do Championships in 1986, 1988, and 1990. In 1999 he won 2 gold and 1 silver medal at the Hapkido World Championships in Korea. He now dedicates his time to training future leaders with his instructor training and leadership program.

While he does train all types of people for police, state, local, federal, ATF, FBI and military service, this is not his main focus. He enjoys developing commercial karate schools for teaching others about martial arts. He has 1,500 active students at the Korean Martial Arts Institute, including his 2 children: John, an 11 year-old E Dan, and Ali, a 7 year-old red belt.

Master Godwin used his first master’s thesis to pass on many of the teaching ideas he developed over the years. His thesis was entitled, “1001 Teaching Ideas for Karate.” To develop the basis for writing lesson plans, he had to keep it fun and interesting. By learning the type of organization required to publish documents, he learned how to structure information in a way he could communicate it well to others. He was good at speaking, but not at writing, so this thesis was a big challenge for him. “My physical test was a breeze, my thesis was painful.”

His second thesis was a submission for the Tang Soo Do business manual. He combined resource material with other information for a studio owner’s business manual. He is currently working on finalizing an instructor manual to submitted as a contribution to the Association to help studios with resource materials he spent 10 years researching.

As you can imagine, throughout his illustrious career, Master Godwin has had some incredible role models. “Grandmaster Shin has been my mentor since I’ve been his personal student back in 1983. I am very honored and privileged to receive special instruction from him. Master Yi was my primary physical teacher. I am fortunate to be able to take his philosophy and combine it with the instruction/leadership training I receive from Grandmaster Shin. Ji Han Jae (founder of Sin Moo Hapkido) is my mentor in Hapkido. He has generously shared his skills with me. Besides these great men, there are also many friends I count on for counsel and advice in making decisions. Unfortunately I don’t have many family members remaining. So now I look to entrepreneurs and successful business people. They are my role models and I respect them for that.”

As a professional Tang Soo Do instructor for past 22 years, Master Godwin continues to train, “very simply out of loyalty. I appreciate Grandmaster Shin. He saw my potential and provided the opportunity for me to develop that potential. I enjoy being part of his team. My favorite part of Tang Soo Do is the camaraderie and fraternity with everybody. The World Tang Soo Do Association is in some ways the only family I have, which is why I dedicate all my time and effort towards it.

Because of his extensive dedication to studying the teaching of martial arts, Master Godwin shares these as some of his favorite teaching methods: “I use 2 basic teaching methods in class for basics, matching and mirroring. Matching is when an instructor faces the same direction as the students face with his back to them and leads them through the form or exercise. This works better for adults, especially on more complicated forms. Mirroring works best with small children. The instructor faces the children and does the opposite of what they do so they don’t have to reverse it. My favorite skill to teach is rolling and then adding kicks.” 

“Tang Soo Do has given me so many great memories, such as winning the 1987 regional grand champion for our first regional championship. Another was receiving my master’s belt at the regional championship. Plus there is the privilege of traveling with Grandmaster Shin to China, Africa, England, and all over US teaching seminars.”

“Tang Soo Do is a personal power system that anyone can use to bring out their higher self. I believe there are four selves:

1. Person others see we put on display
2. How we see ourselves
3. Our real self - a combination of 1 & 2
4. Our higher self whom we are yet to become

I encourage everyone to share Tang Soo Do with as many people as they can. Knowing our martial art does a lot of good in the world. The work we do with Tang Soo Do makes a big difference.