"To Be Here, It's Good" Transcending without Boundary featuring Master No Rae

Transcending without Boundary featuring Master No Rae

"Hello, I'm No Rae. People also call me Master No. I've been in Hong Kong since 2014."

Hello, my name is No Rae. “Taekwondo” is three letters in Korean. “Tae” means kicking and then have foot techniques, “Kwon” means to punch and then have hand techniques, and the last “Do” is the way of human and their learning about manners and respect. So we are trying to teach them not just punch and kick techniques. We also try to teach them how to control themselves, how to learn, how to respect your parents, teachers and each other.

I'm a Taekwondo master in Hong Kong. I have trained Taekwondo since I was young. I also studied Taekwondo major in university. And then I tried to go other countries to teach Taekwondo, like Ukraine, Indonesia and Philippines. I want to promote the spirit of Taekwondo in other countries. That's why I asked the professor, “Where can I teach Taekwondo instead of Korea?” So he suggested me to come to Hong Kong. So that's why I choose to come here.

I was not afraid to come to Hong Kong alone because this is what I want to promote Taekwondo abroad. Originally I planned to come to Hong Kong just for a year. But after I tried to teach Taekwondo in Hong Kong, I feel that Hong Kong parents care about the children's  grooming and their development, and they spend a lot of time, also efforts on the children’s development. And also they have a good mindset, an open mind. I think it can be good to promote Taekwondo in Hong Kong.

Taekwondo is not just teaching the knowledge and skills. We also need some connection with the children. It makes them more trained with the masters and follow the masters. Because after building a relationship and having a connection with them, they would understand how to respect, how to listen, how to concentrate and how to focus on the masters. We have several students who had some problems or some suffer with the ADHD. In the beginning they were very struggling to learn something because it was not easy for them to focus. But after training and then we encouraged them and trained them to focus, they overcome that and they get improved. And some students are already “black belt” now. So I think Taekwondo can help ADHD students too, to gain more focus and concentration. It's good to be here to be able to help nurture and contribute to Hong Kong society.
I am so proud of and moved by their transformation.

Actually when I came to Hong Kong, I feel that Hong Kong is not too different from Korea. Their work life and their lifestyle is very similar to Korean’s. They work hard and work until late and then they move very fast. And they are smart too and they are quick changing. In Korea, it’s also similar. Hong Kong is a very unique and also a multicultural city. Many other countries’ people come to Hong Kong to work. So I think that they have many chances to expose to different cultures and different styles. They don't have just a fixed culture because I think they have Eastern and Western culture together. So it's very interesting to have some stories with them and their mind too.

Hong Kong is a very good place to learn about the global mindset. The young Hong Kong people are very smart and have good potentials. Hong Kong people normally speak like three languages: Cantonese, Mandarin and English. That means they have more chances to go to more markets. So I think they can go more global. So like me, if I can speak only Korean, I cannot go to other countries or it would be very difficult in the beginning. But you guys, the Hong Kong guys are easier than us. They can already learn about different cultures. Hong Kong young generation has a good potential and advantage. I think you can use this advantage to work hard in the future. So Hong Kong people, you guys can be global leaders. Fighting!