Story and Photos by DENNIS MAGEE, Courier Regional Editor

CEDAR FALLS - The blow stops short of its target, a woman's rib cage.

"Watch the precision," master instructor Joseph Philip says.

Balancing on his left leg, student Marshall Cowell, 20, recoils and lashes out again. His right foot - never touching the ground - stabs the air, higher. His heel pauses just below the imaginary foe's chin.

Practitioners of tae kwon do are lethal once they achieve a brown belt. Cowell has a black one cinched around his waist.

Reversing roles, Cowell's classmate attempts the double kicks. But the intended strikes are scattered from kneecap to forehead.

Philip says the white belt, marked as a beginner, will likely one day perfect the maneuver. How far the student advances, though, depends on more than repetition. That will require discipline and attention to more than the physical aspects of the 2,500-year-old martial art.

"Tae kwon do is a way of life," he says. "The development of the mind is as important as the development of the body."

The practice session at the University of Northern Iowa's Wellness and Recreation Center ends with about two dozen students seated on the floor.

Philip asks for comments, but there are no questions about technique or Korean philosophy. One of the first students to speak extends an invitation to attend her piano recital.

"Tae kwon do students refer to me as SabBumNim," Philip says. "The word means instructor and father."

Part of the martial art's philosophy demands students honor those with more skill and training. When a black belt, for instance, demonstrates a form - an intricate choreography of blocks and attacks - others in the room find a seat on the floor.

Philip, 57, has practiced tae kwon do for 35 years and is a seventh-degree black belt. He is one of the highest ranked non-Asian practitioners in the world. He was the first American to be certified as an instructor and is responsible for training 465 black belts.

But Philip doesn't command respect. He earns it.

"He is sparing in his praise. When he says something, he means it," says blue belt Danette Kobolt, 20, a junior from Des Moines.

And he keeps an eye on his wards.

"He's concerned about the development of his students outside of their training," black belt Hannah Gorczynski, 24, of Lamars, says. "He's concerned about the students' well-being."

Philip served as a press information specialist with the Marines in Vietnam.

"Twelve months and 13 days, to be exact," he says.

After his discharge, he saw a television ad extolling the virtues of tae kwon do and a studio in Des Moines. He joined in 1969.

"I realized practicing in class, it didn't matter what size I was," Philip says. " … I could be as good as the next guy without being as big."

He discovered he liked the discipline, which reflected his time in the military, and the art's philosophy.

Tae kwon do was created by traveling Buddhist monks who needed "an animated way to defend themselves," Philip says. Every form, as an example, begins with a blocking motion.

Those are followed, though, with blows from flying knees, feet, hands and elbows. Each is capable of inflicting serious damage.

"It takes 35 pounds of force to break two boards. And 35 pounds … will break any bone," Philip says.

Brown belt Michelle Jones, 21, a senior from Earlville, says that part of the craft leads to misconceptions. She says tae kwon do is about respect for self and being deliberate with your actions.

"If you truly learn it, it will spill over into other parts of your life," she says.

Philip works as an adviser for Iowa Workforce Development. But since 1976 he has been sharing his larger message through the UNI Tae Kwon-Do Club, the oldest sports club on campus.

The club's practice schedule includes two-hour sessions five nights a week. Though Philip's experience is priceless, he isn't paid.

"It just boggles my mind," club president Dylan Kline says.

Kline, 21, is a senior business administration student from Davenport. He is also a fourth-degree black belt.

Philip dismisses the money issue.

"I'm not a businessman. But I am an instructor," he says.

Kline says his master's rigorous adherence to tae kwon do's core tenets - courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit - inevitably forges an enduring bond.

"You can't hide the fact that the respect here is very genuine," he says.