"Centre Region Gup Clinic 2002" --  By Mr. Nick Favorito, 5th Gup

   The Penn State Martial Arts Group held its annual Gup Clinic on Saturday, February 16th at the Moshannon Valley YMCA. The Gup Clinic is a time when students get a chance to try aspects of martial arts that they have never experienced before and to learn from masters and instructors who have an enormous depth of knowledge. The day was made up of a wide variety of activities and was attended by people from all over Region 8 and some from even further. After the opening ceremony we started off with an aerobic workout called Cardio Kick led by Mrs. Homschek to get everyone warmed up for the busy day ahead. Next Master Homschek lead the group in detailed basic drill and got everyone energized and working together. The group then broke up to work on forms appropriate for each individuals rank. It was very interesting to see the small differences in forms depending on each student's school, but I was more amazed at how closely we could work and move together even though several of us had never met before.
   After forms training, students had a choice of which electives they wanted to participate in over the course of the day. I started off by going to Master Beam's meditation seminar and I am glad that I did. It was incredibly relaxing to try some of his meditation techniques. Master Beam taught us techniques that we could try right there, but more importantly he taught us things that we could work on at home. I took this elective because I am always looking for ways to relieve the stress of schoolwork. After lunch I participated in the basic knife class taught by Mr. Faria-Santos. We used wooden trainers and I learned how to correctly hold a knife and do some basic cuts and drills. My next elective was nunchaku under Master White. I had never even held nunchaku before so this was brand new to me. Master White emphasized thinking of the nunchaku as one stick and to always be in control of it. I had a hard time doing this and at first it just felt like I was throwing them around, but I slowly got a basic feel for what Master White was trying to show us. I really enjoyed doing the basic knife class so with Mr. Faria-Santos' permission I did the advanced knife class next. I learned some more advanced partner drills that required a lot more coordination and control of the weapon. I learned how important it is to have a good partner for this, because it wouldn't have been possible to do these advanced drills otherwise. This class was fast paced and by the end I was doing things that I wouldn't have thought I could do. I really enjoyed the knife work and I think I found something that I will continue working on.
   My last elective of the day was a Survival Skills class by Mr. Donaldson who had spent many years in the Armed Forces learning and applying these skills. This class is probably the one that will be most likely to help me in my life. Mr. Donaldson's presentation took what he learned in the Armed Forces and applied it to our daily life. He showed us how to take a stressful situation and break it down so we can get through it. This may seem like common sense but Mr. Donaldson made us realized just how many times in our life we overreact to a situation or make a mistake at a critical time just because we don't stop for a second to think and use the resources we have. One of the ideas that impressed me the most is that just because you are in a bad situation doesn't mean you stop being who you are. Mr. Donaldson's example was that even if a man who can send a rocket to the moon is trapped on a desert island, he can still use the skills he has gained. He doesn't stop being a rocket scientist. He needs to use every skill and experience he has ever had to help him survive.
   At the Gup Clinic this year I got to experience many exciting aspects to martial arts beyond my usual training. I saw some brand new things and some things that I wish to continue to explore. Activities like these allow me to meet new people and make friends from many different places. Catching up with old friends and creating new friendships is as much a part of the Gup Clinic as the martial arts training. In my opinion, the Gup Clinic shows what Tang Soo Do is all about.