A discipline for mind and body

Oregon Moo Duk Kwan on McVey Avenue caters to all ages and skill levels

By Linda Hundhammer

The West Linn Tidings, Mar 5, 2010

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Master Rosenthal, or Sa Bom Nim, the fifth-degree martial arts teacher at Lake Oswego’s Oregon Moo Duk Kwan is a quiet man, but you can tell by the color of his belt that he packs a punch.

Jeremy Rosenthal and his wife moved to Oregon from upstate New York in 2008 to open the only studio in the state certified to teach the Korean martial art of Soo Bahk Do.

“I knew once I opened my school, I wouldn’t be going anywhere. I wanted to be sure I found a place I could see myself staying for the rest of my life; a community that valued education and physical activity.”

After a year of searching while teaching Hebrew at Neveh Shalom in Portland, Rosenthal found the perfect location for his studio at 1115B McVey Ave., in Lake Oswego.

“I took my first lesson in Soo Bahk Do when I was 7,” Rosenthal said. “My goal is to recreate the experiences I had with the sport for my students.”

Martial arts training is a tough physical activity, but there is much more to it than just kicking and punching. The lessons of courage, concentration, honesty, humility, discipline and respect are all woven into the lessons. These are the values that Rosenthal sees are relevant to real life.

“You can see kids’ confidence growing as they set goals for themselves and make steady progress towards those goals. This kind of achievement is not always as visible in other sports.”

The beginners wear a white belt, the color of winter, purity and a fresh start. The next level is green, the color of spring and a period of blossoming. Next is red, which is for summer, fire and a period of active training. The highest belt is midnight blue for autumn, a time of harvesting the benefits of hard work. The Moo Duk Kwan organization does not use the customary black belt because they feel midnight blue represents the always-existing room for improvement.

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