"You big dummy!"
To the untrained ear, this may sound like an insult. For a long time, it seemed like I could never go to class or to a promotion test without having these words said to me. However, as time passed, I realized that I was one of the few members of the "old school" still practicing in the main gym. The "old school" being that group of hard-nosed students that practiced in Memorial Gym (where someone was always doing pushups for crimes ranging from not running across campus to class to skipping class to go to a frat meeting to getting injured in a basketball game instead of Tae Kwon Do to being the one who taught the form to the beginner who just did it wrong in class!)
YES! I did have my fair share of "You big dummy!" Along with the legendary "chocolate" (You had to be there- and I'm no dummy!)
However, the more I think about it, I think that just maybe I reminded Mr. Haw of the "old school" and that he knew I could take all that criticism and discipline and be an example and inspiration to all the up and coming students- especially the "lazy Americans." "You big dummy!" became a term of endearment. One day, I may be far away across the seas, and I hope that when Mr. Haw says, "You big dummy!" he looks toward the spot where I would be standing, has a little smile, and remembers his favorite "big dummy." Thank you, Mr. Haw.
-Kwabena Ankoma
Kwabena Ankoma
I have seen the formidable Mr. Haw recurrently crack jokes in the middle of class knowing that we can't laugh, and I saw him upset Frank and Joyce Lockhart during a talking class when they found out he wasn't a Buddhist as they had suspected, but a Methodist instead.
At the end of my senior year in 1979, I was terrorized by the amount of studying I would have to do in medical school at Vanderbilt and tried to tell Mr. Haw that I would have to drop Tae Kwon Do. Mr. Haw flatly told me that if I did not come to class he would have Brad Smith's father anesthetize me and drag me to the gym. This (and Patrick Ofner's- albeit occasional- class appearance) was convincing enough. The only other problem I had with taking Tae Kwon Do during medical school was an inability to shake hands, draw blood, and start IV's for a week or two after I broke a concrete slab during my Black Belt test. I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to study under Mr. Haw, and I am indebted to him for promoting me to Black Belt despite my total lack of
flexibility and my ineptness at remembering forms. He has not just been an instructor,
but an inspiration to continue to work toward a higher standard of humanity and an inspiration to continue his tradition of Tae Kwon Do for future generations.
-Dan Beaver
My fondest experience occurred while we were performing forms in the old gym: In the middle of a form Mr. Haw yelled out, "Beaver, correct your stance!" I was in a low block, and I straightened my legs and further squared my hips. Mr. Haw yelled again, even louder, "Beaver, correct your stance!" I again checked over my stance and tightened my muscles. Finally, Mr. Haw walked over to Bill Buechler and yelled at him, "Your name is Beaver, isn't it?" Bill responded, "No, sir- Buechler." Mr. Haw banged his fist to his head and just walked back up front mumbling.
Bill Buechler
Mr. T.W. Haw
Marcoo Avila
Anand Bahl
Hamid Baksheshe
Dan Beaver