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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Venus Agustin: A success story hinged on martial arts

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By Shinshin Gavaran

Long before the term Mixed Martial Arts became popular among combat sports fanatics, there were countries that practice the same unified system of fight sports.

If Russia has sambo and Vietnam has vovinam, South Korea has Tong-Il Modo or TIMD.

Tong-Il Modo combines the skills in striking and grappling
Tong-Il Modo combines the skills in striking and grappling

TIMD, which practices both the art of striking and grappling skills, was founded by Grandmaster Joon Ho Seuk in 1979 in South Korea. He called it “the way of the unified martial arts.”

When GM Joon Ho conceived TIMD, he wanted it to be more than just a martial art. It’s a way of life.

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It follows the principles and fundamentals that are not limited only to every kick and punch but to spiritual values such as character development, service to society, and filial piety.

Its main value is to overcome the desire of the body by strengthening the mind. Everyone without exception has their own greatest enemy, the self.

Our physical desires limit our capacity to love the family, society, nation, and the world. TIMD practitioners were trained to overcome themselves with an indomitable spirit.

Humble Beginning

There was a once timid schoolboy from Mindanao who traveled to Manila to find his luck. He found TIMD instead took to heart all its valuable teachings, changing his life for the better and eventually becoming a successful leader.

That young man is now the Executive Vice President of World TIMD and now called by his title Dr. Venus Agustin.

Through the support of his aunt, he studied college at a University in Ilocos Norte.  Before going there,

he was invited and became a member of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU, formerly known as Unification Church) in Cubao.

Dr. Venus Agustin: A martial artist and educator
Dr. Venus Agustin: A martial artist and educator

For the first two years, martial arts didn’t pass by his thoughts until one day he came back to Manila and saw well-trained martial artists.

In October 1984, the founder of Tong-Il Moo do (formerly known as Won Hwa Do)  sent an instructor to the Philippines, Master Gerry Servito, a Filipino-American missionary from America.

He began his missionary work and was able to inspire young people to join the martial arts. One of those he inspired was Agustin, who was then 21 years old.

Initially, Agustin was not interested in martial arts training until he discovered the philosophy and deeper contents of the teaching.

Grandmaster Venus’ training started in Laoag City. However, his training didn’t go like the training we knew of today, following a personal instructor. He started his training by just following the instructions from a book given to him, which contains the Fundamentals and Principles of TIMD

He stopped studying after two years in college to focus on TIMD. For the next two years, he started training by himself alone, and in the long run, taking in the teachings, he saw improvements in himself. Once, a timid person who can’t talk in front of a crowd found his confidence and humility.

 “It was tough that I had to do it alone but I overcame and faced the challenges during these hard times.”

Victories and Achievements

“Before you desire to have dominion over the universe, you must first gain dominion over yourself”, a quote by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the inspiration behind Tong il Moo Do.

From Laoag City, Agustin was sent to Baguio City and continued his training there to become a blue belt. Even if the training is tough and he’s not even at the top of his class, he never gave up. Until he was promoted to join the second generation of black belts.

He pointed out that the training in Baguio became his ‘stepping stone’ until he was assigned as President of National TIMD and National TIMD instructor in 1987.

From this time on, he started achieving greater things. He didn’t even have money to support himself when he started a family.

However, through the teachings in TIMD, he realized that ‘money is not the issue as long as you take responsibility. Through TIMD, Agustin traveled to 70 countries around the world.

After 10 years of acquiring discipline, determination, and passion in TIMD he continued his study and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in Business Administration at Central Colleges of the Philippines.

He also studied for a Ph.D. Major in Commerce at the University of Sto. Tomas in 2003. Currently,  he is taking up a Ph.D. in Peace and Security at Bicol University.

His lists of accomplishments didn’t end there; he is currently the Vice-Chairman of Universal Peace Federation – Asia Pacific (UPF), the President of Professors World Peace Academy (PWPA), the Executive Vice President and Secretary-General at World Tong-Il Moo Do Federation, and the President of International Peace Leadership College in Tanay Rizal.

Message to the youth

Agustin said that the youth should ‘go beyond the limit of the body. Once you take TIMD seriously you will take the advantage.`

He embodied the motto that was always iterated in every TIMD training– “No pain No Gain”.

The World Tong-Il Moo Do Federation (WTMF) had the vision to witness and transform young people to be better people.

Through this motivation, they initiated the 1-year TIMD Martial Arts Training and Peace Studies program called the “Zero to Hero Project ‘’ in July 2017.

Some of the targets of the programs were former drug dependents, orphans, and out-of-school youth from families with the aim of improving their lives and producing a better version of themselves.

Agustin may not belong to that kind of lost soul, but as a young man, he had dreamed bigger things.

“I don’t have money but I am not poor. Always blessing comes. Wealth is how much you impacted people’s life”

It is true that “all big things come from small beginnings”. 

Everything we do every day sums up the result of our end goal. 

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