As we woke on Friday the sixth of December to the sad news
that Nelson Mandela, or as many South African’s call him Madiba, passed away,
there was still a feeling of shock, even thought it was expected for some time
in the last months of his extraordinary life.

As South Africans we have an endless amount to be grateful
for, from this wise man. As my family went to his home and nearby memorial site
which was previously his post presidential office to pay our last respects by
laying down cards and writing in the memorial book from my family and another
from Taekwon-Do South Africa. I had time to really reflect on his life and off course
the tenets and oath of Taekwon-Do. Our organisation with its many cultural
background members, training side by side would also probably be very different if not
for this man’s part in our country’s history, due to the strict laws of keeping
races separated in the past.

As an interesting point Nelson Mandela and our founder General Choi Hong Hi were both born in 1918 and both demonstrated an inner strength and many other attributes that are building blocks for greatness. Mr Mandela also boxed as a young man which was also an example of his inner fighting spirit which would bloom to legendary levels over the next decades.

 I am sure the late General would agree that Mr Mandela was a shining example of courtesy of which
he was very well known for, as well as his humbleness in treating everyone equally. He
had an abundance of integrity and showed he would not budge for what he
believed in. His perseverance was tested severely through his twenty seven
years of incarceration and many more stumbling blocks along the way. He was
elevated to being an icon in my opinion, by being one of the best known examples
of self control in history, by choosing to forgive his oppressors instead of
exacting revenge. He demonstrated a rock solid indomitable spirit by
maintaining and boldly demonstrating his dignity and refusing to be degraded by
an unjust law or system, even though it was at an immense cost to him
personally. Undoubtedly a champion of freedom & justice and is surely a person
who will go down in the history books as helping to build a more peaceful world,
most notably in South Africa but as an example for the rest of the world and
generations to come.

He laid the table for South Africa and its long walk to what he hoped for our great country, let us hope we can live up to his expectations for our future generations.

We sincerely thank you and hope you rest in peace Madiba,

Taekwon

Norman Magua V

President of Taekwon-Do South Africa