Kim's Karate visits Washington State ~ September 19 - 22, 2007
By Lili Rehak

Grandmaster Chong Su Kim announced during a SWAT meeting that he would like to visit Master Bob Aubrey in Yelm, Washington, a half hour south of Seattle, and that he would be opening the trip to black belts interested in going. The "Chile/Argentina" group of Master Jim Sprich, Kimberly Grim, Jen Beatty and Lili Rehak quickly signed on as well as Master Georgia Golden who had to overcome her fear of heights to get on the plane.

The dates were set and Master Jim Sprich prepared a detailed itinerary so that the few days we had would be well spent with a balance of training, teaching and sightseeing. Leaving at 3:00 a.m. Wednesday morning may have been a stretch, but the group nonetheless, made it to BWI with time to spare. We flew to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport via Atlanta where we picked up our brand new minivan and headed to our hotel, Garmin GPS locked and loaded.

As luck would have it, there was an amazing Korean restaurant right next door, so we feasted on authentic dishes while the owners conversed in Korean with Grandmaster Kim. Following this, there was a slight snafu with the hotel rooms not being doubles, so with a few swift phone calls, we promptly checked in and out within ten minutes and were on our way to another hotel where we all ended up with huge private rooms complete with kitchenettes and all the comforts of home. Without unpacking, we drove to the town of Yelm where Master Aubrey and his students awaited us.

Following a very interactive evening at the dojang with the students, we retired to our hotel ready to hit the sack. The effect of a missed night of sleep and three hour time difference was beginning to take it's toll on some of us!

Thursday morning, Master Bob joined us as we headed to Seattle to locate the Original Starbucks for morning coffee. We discovered the Starbucks as well as Pike's Place Market where we had breakfast overlooking Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains with ferry boats going back and forth. We meandered about the market for a bit, spending some time in a Tibetan boutique learning about the latest developments in Tibet from the owner while basically buying up most of the shop. After we stopped at the Original Starbucks again, we hit the road to find Volunteer Park and the cemetery where Bruce Lee was buried up in the hills behind the Space Needle.

Master Golden was particularly looking forward to this part of the trip and brought beautifully scented flowers along from Pike's market to lay at the grave. After making a few circles, we located the site which momentarily took your breath away. The sight of the polished red granite headstone with Bruce Lee's picture and gold inscriptions and his son's black granite stone to the right was quite startling, poignant, sad, and yet inspiring all at the same time. We spent some time and conversed with other visitors at the site.

On our drive to the cemetery, we had passed the Seattle Museum of Asian Art and decided to try and stop in on the way back. Unfortunately, we could only enter and spend a few minutes as we had to get Master Aubrey back to his school in time for opening. However, Jen did find time to have her picture taken upon a huge stone camel in front of the museum. We drove back along the infamous I-5 interstate, second in congestion to Los Angeles freeways, and made it in time for classes. Grandmaster Kim spoke with the students and parents and answered questions and explained some of the more traditional aspects expected of Pan-Am Federation Schools.

Following the children's and adult classes and having many photographs taken, we were escorted to the Super Buffet Chinese restaurant with Master Aubrey and some of the students and parents for dinner. There was a massive display of all sorts of food including tiny octopus, sushi, king crab legs and the like. It was a great place to eat as we were all quite hungry and it was nice to spend some social time with the Yelm students out of the dojang. We returned to the hotel around 11:00 p.m. which was actually 2:00 a.m. East Coast time ready to hit the sack.

The next morning was Friday, our last full day and the weather was perfect for today's planned excursion; Mount Rainier National Park and Paradise Visitor Center at 5,400 feet above sea level. We piled into the car following our mandatory Starbuck's stop and picked up Master Bob at his dojang. The route was very scenic, passing the Nisqually River, winding through old growth forests carpeted with moss and ferns, and climbing up through the spruce covered hills to the famous alpine meadow known as Paradise. Here, we ditched the car, and walked to the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center, breathing in the crisp, clean air that you only get at such an elevation. We downed a simple lunch, checked in with a park ranger on a scenic hike and headed off on the Nisqually Vista Trail where we would be able to view Mt. Rainier (an active volcano) and the Nisqually Glacier. Lucky for us, Master Bob had informed us of what to do in case of a bear attack as the park had plenty of them. But he said the main danger was cougars or mountain lions which had the habit of stalking their prey for a few miles and then jumping them when they least expected it. I had determined not to be the first or last person in the group as we walked along, just in case. As it turned out, with everyone talking and laughing as loudly as we were, and Kimberly yelling out Marco Polo every few feet, the chance of surprising a wild animal was extremely remote. In fact, the only wild thing we saw was a pheasant which completely ignored us as we unloaded our cameras taking pictures of it.

The Nisqually Trail was exquisite, every turn in the path looked like a postcard. We wound our way up and down a few times and came to the scenic overlook; Mount Rainier 14,410 feet of pure majesty and the Nisqually Glacier, one of about a dozen glaciers or frozen rivers that come off the mountain. We could hear the rushing waters thousands of feet below us coming out of the terminus of the glacier echoing off the sides of the mountain; truly a sight to behold. It is at a time like this when we really appreciate the opportunity to go to such a place and marvel at the breathtaking beauty of a national forest and are so thankful that Grandmaster Kim invited us along!

As hard as it was, we dragged ourselves away from the mountain to head back to Yelm as it was about a two hour drive. We planned on leaving the park via a different route, passing Reflection Lakes, the most photographed area of the park, only to have to turn around due to the road being closed from a rockslide across the road. This was a reminder that Mt. Rainier is still an active volcano, and every once in a while there is an earthquake or tremors which can set off landslides and floods.

Our day finished with training and demonstrating at the dojang and being treated to dinner at the Outlaw Saloon by Master Bob. We had to get back to the hotel and pack up as we had another early departure to return to Yelm to assist in a gup test the following morning.

Our final day was a little overcast, but we could not complain at all as Washington State is a rainy place, and we had pretty much escaped rain for our entire trip. We breakfasted at Krispy Kreme and hit the dojang early, helping to set up for the gup test and doing some training with Master Bob. Many parents and some visiting instructors stopped by, anxious to meet Grandmaster Kim. Among them was a Master Robert Ott, a martial artist who had been blinded at a young age in a crime of violence. He had overcome his disability by putting on his dobok and continuing with his martial arts and ultimately moving to Washington State. Grandmaster Kim invited him to sit at the judges table and make a speech after the test was over.

Following the test, we said our goodbyes, and drove to Seattle for the last time. We returned to Pike's Market where we nibbled on specialty items such as raw oysters for Grandmaster Kim, and organic raspberries for Lili. We were saving ourselves for the piece de resistance; dinner in the Space Needle, 500 feet above Seattle with 360 degree unobstructed views of the city and mountains.

We made our way to the Seattle Center and walked around admiring the Frank Gehry designed rock and roll museum and the delightful International Fountain which shot water and mist out in conjunction with classical music. At the appointed hour, we ascended the elevator up to the revolving restaurant (Master Golden had a bit of a fit in the elevator and drowned out the tour guide with her screams), but Grandmaster Kim got her to the table and we commenced our dinner while savoring the sights and delicious food. Truly an evening to remember!

We walked around the observation deck later and checked out the gift shop at length and then headed to the airport for our flight home. We were all grateful to be able to make this trip and we all learned some valuable lessons and had some memorable experiences. Master Golden conquered her fear of heights; Master Sprich will no longer rely 100% on his GPS since it cuts out between high rises and mountains; Jen will be more careful when she orders dessert; Kimberly will not wear long flowing pants into a fish market again, and Lili will hopefully overcome her anxiety of being eaten by mountain lions and bears.

Tang Soo!!