Answer from Sang H. Kim:

The essential quality to be a good student of martial arts, I think, is Attitude. What I mean by that are 1) The student should have the right reason of doing martial arts, 2) should have the right relationship with his or her instructor (respect, trust, communication, for instance), 3) should have right approach to learning experience, 4) should have right application of what he or she learned to daily life, and 5) should be able to formulate the right course of action based on the knowledge of martial arts training.

Of course, this is for those who are more serious in training. So you need to adjust your expectation according to the level of the student's life or training experience, or background. Attitude is not something we can teach or enforce. It is a personal culture. There is no such thing as good or bad attitude in terms of martial arts training. I always try to be free from the bias of judging people until I really get to know my students. When you know someone well, you don't need to judge them. You simply communicate with them verbally and/or non-verbally.

So Attitude is the base for learning, growing, and relating. It is the direction of our action. T

he second quality, in my opinion, is detached-focus. Detached-focus is the opposite of focus. But what it really mean is the most fundamental and yet highest level of awareness. By acquiring the detached-focus, student does not burn out from the training because he can maintain perspective. It is very important in the sense that martial arts training cannot be mastered overnight or over a few years. It takes at least ten years. At least the detached-focus has been very helpful for me in my 36 year training. It has prevented me from losing the sight of the right path.

When right attitude and Detached-focus are integrated with Integrity, I think you are on the road to the mastery. It is just a matter of time and tide. I hope this can provoke you to discover more qualities for yourself.

Thank you and Best Wishes!

Sincerely,

Sang H. Kim