In war-torn Korea, sixteen-year-old Kyung-Ho Min lies about his age to fight in the war. Through benefactors, he leaves his homeland and travels across 1960s America teaching martial arts. At the height of anti-war protests, civil rights and feminist movements, Kyung-Ho — now Dr. Ken Min — builds his dream of a world-class educational institution uniting martial disciplines under one roof: University of California Martial Arts Program at Berkeley. Engrossing, entertaining, and inspiring, WORKING THE WAY celebrates one man's vision and generations of black belts who apply the lessons of hard work and gratitude to wide-ranging fields such as diplomacy, medicine, science, technology, education, and law enforcement. This community memoir will inspire students, educators, professionals, martial artists, and anyone else finding their way. The University of California Martial Arts Program (UCMAP), headquartered at the University of California Berkeley campus for more than a half century, is the only program in the United States to house six arts under its umbrella: Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Taiji, Wushu, and Yongmudo. Its ambassadorial approach also contributed to building martial arts on a global stage, including Taekwondo as an Olympic sport. The diverse career paths of UCMAP students have been remarkable, from anthropology to mechanical engineering, journalism to optometry, Asian American studies to political science. Martial arts often serves as an athletic and mental outlet beyond the grueling demands of graduate research and field work. These essays reflect on how martial arts shaped their career journeys — as well as their cultural perspective, intellectual resilience and deep kinship. As wth all martial arts ventures, WORKING THE WAY is a volunteer effort by Vera Chan, Patrick Chew and Lily Chou. Blood, sweat and maybe tears of victory fueled this extraordinary collection of essayists—all black belts across the different disciplines under the renowned University of California Martial Arts Program.