Newsletter Fall 15

Sun Do News
Fall 2016 Edition
Volume 32, Issue 2
Dear Members,
Breath is the fountain of life
Because
Breath cultivates energy,
And cultivated energy
Becomes insight.
Insight beyond conceptualization.
Sincere breathing
Nourishes wisdom,
And nurtures
Oneness with the Dao.
-Master Ron Catabia
Ron’s Summer Travels
By Ron Catabia
I was very fortunate this year to be able to
travel to some interesting places. The Tenth
International Conference on Daoist Studies was
held in Taiwan from May 26-29. I attended and
presented a paper on “Daoism and Peace
Psychology.” Boup Sa Nim also attended and
presented a workshop on Tancheon breathing.
This was the first time I had ever been to
Taiwan. After my plane landed in Taipei, I took
a modern, high-speed train far into the
countryside to the Tian-An-Tai-Ho Retreat
Center where the conference was held.
Although the retreat center had been recently
built, parts of it were constructed using
traditional Chinese architecture.
The Tian-An-Tai-Ho Retreat Center is owned
and operated by Tiandi Daoists, a Chinese folk
religious sect. They call themselves “The
Church of the Heavenly Deity” or “The Lord of
the Universe Church (Tiandi Jiao)” and have
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many centers, including some in the U. S. They
practice chanting, singing, traditional medicine,
Tianren Qigong, and a form of meditation called
“quiet sitting.” This was new and interesting to
me because I had never met any religious
Daoists. Philosophical (non-religious) Daoist
practices existed long before there were Daoist
religions. The Celestial Masters, who came into
existence between 100 – 200 C.E., are usually
considered to be the first religious Daoist sect in
China.
After the conference I flew to Seoul and stayed
in Korea for a week. I lived and worked in Korea
from 2007 to 2011 and still have friends there.
After landing at Inchon Airport, I took a twohour bus trip south to the city of Seosan and
then to the Hanseo University Airfield, where I
taught English as a second language, in the
small town of Taean.
I spent a few days visiting good friends and
eating lots of delicious Korean food. My friend
Sun-Kyung took me to an exclusive restaurant in
Seosan and told me to eat to my heart’s
content. I did! She just laughed when I
loosened my belt and sighed.
Park, Soo-bog, a close friend, is a professor and
the director of all pilot training at the Airfield.
He showed me a new plane the airfield had
recently purchased. It is an acrobatic plane
used to train student pilots on how to recover
from a stalled plane that is spiraling toward the
ground. I watched a video of Soo in the plane,
spiraling toward the ground, and then pulling
out. He offered to take me for a ride, but I
politely declined.
International Sun Do
Association
Grand Master
Hyunmoon Kim
Masters
Ron Catabia
Tora Strawderman
Teachers
Lucie Lambert
Virginia Platt
Betsy Forrest
Senior Instructors
Michael Dauria
David Delbrook
Jamie Bussiere
Betsy Barstow
Brian Quirk
Song-Am Min
Eunmi Han
Pauline White
Steven Wong
Al Passacantando
Ginger Hobbs
Hank Babcock
Maria Kim
Anne Lee
Christine Ucich
Instructors
Diane Matta
Jerry Geier
Stan Baker
Richard Barstow
Stephen Holmes
Heidemarie Holmes
Barbara McCandless
Kim Hedegaard
Joel Dunning
Don Zickefoose
Rich Kramer
Kwang Lip Pang
Stanley Szczabrowski
Ginny LeRossignol
Erik Spears
Heidi Meyer-Bothling
Lucy Young
Roy Bushman
Theresa Dunning
Bob Felekey
Instructor Trainees
Mina Kim
Young June Kim
Sheila Pfeifer
Patrick Studley
Teresa Lenzen
Karl Pátek Jr.
Alexander Wolf
Sharon Kamenka
Ada Rios
Sharon Meigs
Karl Pátek Sr.
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After a few days in Seosan and Taean, I took a
bus back to Seoul. I practiced at the main
Sundo Center, which is located close to an area
of Seoul called “Insadong.” The main center is
in a modern building and has both public and
private practice areas. It also contains a tea
cafe where practitioners often sit and drink tea
after practice. Sometimes Bekyung’s wife, who
owns a restaurant in nearby Insadong, can be
seen sitting in the tea cafe.
Kim, Ki-Young is the director of the main center.
We had a nice conversation about Sundo and
Chung San (Bekyung). During the last year that I
lived in Korea, 2011, the main center moved
from an area of Seoul called “Jong-No Sam Ga”
to its present location at Anguk Station. The
Jong-No Sam Ga location was the original Sundo
center established by Bekyung. I really liked
practicing at the original center since I knew
that Bekyung had also practiced there.
Unfortunately, I never took any pictures. I wish
I had.
About a week after I got back to the states, I
flew to Nebraska. Tora and I led the Nebraska
retreat from June 16-19. Joel and Teresa
organized the retreat, which was held at the
Creighton University Retreat Center. Many new
practitioners attended, and they asked many
questions. I learn a lot from beginners when
they ask questions.
Ron Catabia and Master Kim at the summer
retreat—All photos except Czech Republic retreat
photos are courtesy of Lucie Lambert
While Joel drove back to Omaha after the
retreat, I saw the largest corn field I have ever
seen. It was probably two to three miles long.
The University of Nebraska sports teams are
called the “Huskers,” and I totally understand
why.
I attended the first four days of the summer
retreat in Vermont, but then had to leave. I
really missed Virginia’s Saturday Night Gala (the
Sundo version of “Saturday Night Live”). After
the mountain retreat, I flew to Denver to attend
the American Psychological Association Annual
Convention. I presented another paper on
“Daoism and Peace Psychology.” Denver is
located on the South Platte River in the foothills
of the Rocky Mountains and is often referred to
as the “Mile High City.” Founded in 1858, it was
originally a gold-mining town. Today it is a
thriving urban center with a large population of
Native Americans.
Summer has come to an end, and I am back to
living a semi-normal life. I feel very lucky that I
was able to travel to different places. The
world is a fascinating place. Sundo adds to that
fascination.
Tora walks the microcosmic orbit at the retreat
Ron practices in Swansea, MA.
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Why I Want to be an
Instructor of Sundo
By Karel Pátek
I was born in 1955 and have been working as a
scientist with a PhD. in physics. I also worked as
a top manager of shareholding company. After
45 years of experience with martial arts, and
more than 30 years as an instructor of judo and
aikido, mostly for children, I became an
instructor of aikido for adults. Given my long
experience with yoga, meditation, and eastern
philosophy, personal and spiritual growth is
most important to me. Advaita vedanta is very
close to my heart.
In February and September 2016 Master Kim
led retreats in the Czech Republic to follow up
on the work that Ron Catabia began with the
Czech group last year.
The Czech Sun Do group in February 2016
Five years ago in 2011 I was introduced to
Sundo by my Polish friend Jacek Kozlowski.
Because of my past experience I recognized the
huge potential of Sundo practice. I appreciated
the complexity of the system, starting with the
physical level and progressing through the
psychological and emotional levels to spiritual
understanding. I also liked the fact that no
religious belief is necessary. I decided to do
around 1000 practices to understand what
Sundo is. After about one year I recognized that
I needed a real teacher, and Jacek had left
Sundo. There was a possibility that I could go to
see a master in Korea, but it would have been
only a temporary and personal solution, and I
wanted others to benefit as well, so I decided to
go another way. I formed my own Sundo
group, and we practiced the basic level together
for many years. In the meantime I was working
hard to find a teacher and invite him to visit us.
Talks with Nicolas Tacchi were unsuccessful,
and there was no one else in Europe ready to
support us.
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In 2014 I contacted Associate Master Ron
Catabia, and he started to guide our
development in Sundo. In 2015 when he came
to the Czech Republic to hold a seminar, he
become my friend and helped us a lot. In 2016 I
invited Master Kim himself, and he spent
almost two weeks with us leading a retreat. I
told Master Kim about my work with Sundo,
and we agreed to form the European Sundo
Center and to organize international retreats
twice a year. For the time being I am at the red
belt level, having more than 1000 practices. In
the last year I led regular practices in three
cities: Prague, Mladá Boleslav, and Doksy
(Žďár). I also took care of my local group. My
aim for the future is:
 To convince more people to practice
regularly at home, not only with me
 To find new instructors in the Czech
Republic to lead regular classes on the
basic level
 To organize a regular practice in Brno,
and
 To maintain cooperation with Romania,
to find cooperation with Poland and
Slovakia, and to search for cooperation
with other countries.
am teaching Sundo it helps me first of all,
because by teaching others I am growing, and I
understand more. If I teach others, I
understand how much I have to learn myself,
and I am working hard. My priority is spiritual
growth, and by growing in Sundo, I follow my
spiritual path.
I am very grateful for the help of Master Kim. I
think that Master Kim understood my way for
Sundo development, and this was the reason he
came to the Czech Republic and why he is
committed to coming on a regular basis. I am
also very grateful for the help of Ron, because
his personality convinced us that Sundo works.
I will be very happy to be a part of world Sundo
community and share the teaching of Master
Chung San.
Karl Pátek practices in the Czech Republic
I plan to have several weekend seminars per
year under my guidance, to lead regular classes
as before, and to organize twice-per-year
international retreats. It is important to find
other people to help me, because so far Sundo
in the Czech republic is too dependent on me. I
will try to establish some connections with the
Korean Embassy and promote Sundo wherever I
can.
Since there was no other way, I have been
working as a Sundo instructor for years without
any certification, so it is a logical step to apply
to become an instructor trainee. On the other
hand, my goal is not to become a teacher. If I
Promotions at the Czech Republic retreat in
September 2016
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Senior Instructor
Pauline White, W. Hartford
Pauline White and Bob Felekey are promoted to
Senior Instructor and Instructor at summer retreat.
Instructor
Bob Felekey, W. Hartford
Instructor Trainee
Karl Pátek, Czech Republic
Karl Pátek, Jr. (“Pegas”), Czech Republic
Teresa Lenzen, Nebraska
Won Ki Dan Boup I (Red Belt)
Sharon Meigs, St. Johnsbury
Karl Pátek, Czech Republic
Petr Rajt, Czech Republic
Vladimír Bureš, Czech Republic
Teresa Lenzen becomes an Instructor Trainee
Keon Kon Dan Boup (Yellow Belt)
Karl Pátek, Jr. (“Pegas”), Czech Republic
Pavel Hruzík, Czech Republic
Jung Ki Dan Boup II (White/Yellow Belt)
Milan Strnad, Czech Republic
Jiří Bešta, Czech Republic
Florin Serbanescu, Romania
Sandy Shelton, Nebraska
Rebecca Newhouse, Montpelier
Jesenka Curak from Vancouver—summer retreat
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Winter Retreat 2917
White Memorial Conservation Center,
Litchfield, CT
January 5-8
Spring Retreat 2017 in Barnet
May 26-29
Summer Retreat 2017 in Barnet
9-day retreat: July 28-August 6
5-day retreat: August 1-6
3-day retreat: August 3-6
All retreats begin at 4:00 PM on the first day
and end at noon on the last day.
For more information see
http://www.Sundo.org/retreats/.
The Sun Do News welcomes stories, articles
poems, photos, and announcements. Please
send your contribution to Betsy Forrest as an
email attachment, if possible, at
[email protected].
Website:
www.sundo.org
Visit the Sun Do website for information on Sun
Do history, retreat dates and registration, and
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Editor:
Betsy Forrest
Jerry Geier carved the faces of Master Kim, Chan
San, and Chan San’s teachers; you can see them and
play them (they’re also drums) at the top of the hill
at the retreat center.
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