September's Life Skill: Honor

Every month as part of the ATA Leadership Lifeskills curriculum, we adopt a lifeskill to practice and learn throughout the month. This month we're working on Honor.

What does "Honor" mean for a taekwondo student? It means a lot of things, but to start out, "Honor means deserving the trust and faith others have in you."

A great example of honor is in the life of Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi was born in 1869 and grew up in a small province of India. Gandhi began his career as a lawyer in both India and South Africa. However, because of his race he had limited rights. He could not travel to some areas of the country, and when he traveled he was forced to ride in a separate train car from other people. This angered Gandhi, but instead of fighting back with violence Gandhi fought back with nonviolence. He refused to obey laws that he believed were unjust. Because of this, Gandhi was put in jail many times, but he accepted the consequences of his actions.

Eventually, Gandhi and the nonviolent protests he led in India gained international attention. Gandhi showed the world that the British rule in India was unfair and that changes needed to be made so that the people of India could rule their own country. And in 1947, after 40 years of struggle, India was granted its independence.


Even though it was difficult and he was sent to jail many times, Gandhi knew that he was doing the right thing for his country and his people. He refused to respond to British threats with violence and persevered through difficult times, always teaching others to follow his example.


Because of his example and honor, the people of India began referring to him as Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma means "great soul." Because of his honor--his commitment to doing the right thing; his belief that the Indian people had the power to choose their own destiny, and his commitment to nonviolence--Gandhi helped lead India to independence, and he helped influence people all over the world to seek peaceful change.