Before starting World Taekwondo training I had never attempted a martial art. I did very little sport at school as I was always very small and light and asthmatic, but at university I dabbled in several sports, most notably rowing which I continued for several years. I work as an engineer, which means that most of my time is spent sitting at a computer and dealing with the resultant back and neck issues.
I can lack motivation when exercising on my own..
I became interested in World Taekwondo because my younger son started training and I was trying to do something other than sit around watching whenever my children are involved in sport, to model what I’m encouraging them to do. I can lack motivation when exercising on my own and without a goal, so was already looking for a group activity that set targets and I soon realised that this is what my son was getting through World Taekwondo. I started a year after him and when he moved up to the youth & adult class we were able to train and practice together. Although both my sons have since stopped training, World Taekwondo has remained my primary focus for keeping fit.
World Taekwondo has improved my confidence both physically and mentally. Even if I feel tired at the end of the day, I know that going to a World Taekwondo class will fill me with energy and I always feel better after training.
I have also enjoyed assisting with kids classes and trying to help students learn and improve. I believe that it is important to give back to the junior students as much assistance as I have received myself.
I have learnt the following from my World Taekwondo training:
- It’s never too late to start something new, especially if you can enjoy it with your children;
- Patience, as it takes time to learn and develop mastery of each element, and even when I think I’ve learnt a technique or pattern there is still always something that can be improved;
- lifelong learning as every technique and pattern learnt leads to the challenge of the next technique or pattern.
My favourite part of training is the challenge of learning a new pattern after each grading and then improving it every week. Even after learning a pattern and thinking I know it, there are always refinements to learn and errors to correct.
At the time of my 1st Dan grading, that seemed like such an effort to achieve that I wasn’t sure whether I’d ever commit to training for 2nd Dan. Preparation for Black Belt had demanded a sustained period of high performance and refinement of everything that had already been achieved, and surely 2nd Dan would set an even higher bar.
Training for 2nd Dan has also forced me to focus on my weaker elements, rather than train in my comfort zone. To this end, setting the goal of reaching 2nd Dan has improved my focus on all elements of World Taekwondo.