This is written from one of our adult students. He wrote this essay for his black belt test.
I joined Master Park’s Taekwondo practice in July 2021. I had several motivating factors that contributed to my decision to join. First, my son had already been participating in Taekwondo for a few months; but then, after I took a Father’s Day joint-training session with him, it occurred to me that Taekwondo could be an activity that he and I could share together as a hobby. Also, during that initial Father’s Day session, I realized that I could possibly leverage taekwondo as an activity that could help me achieve personal physical health goals that I had been struggling with for some time. Three years later, I have zero regrets!
Yes – my son and I continue to practice taekwondo at home as I had initially intended when I first began taking lessons nearly three years ago. However, to be completely honest, our time practicing taekwondo has not morphed into a hobby as I’d hoped – at least not yet. For starters, my son would much rather be on his iPad either playing video games or watching silly cartoon clips – so from that perspective, l’ve yet to overcome my competition, which is the iPad. In addition, when he and I would practice together, I find that most of the time I spend with him is centered on teaching him the correct way to do his poomsae, kicking techniques, one-step sparring, etc. Given that, there is very little time for us to make a hobby out of taekwondo (for now).
However, an unintended bonus manifested itself as a result of our practices. Specifically, I have learned to be more patient with him – not just with taekwondo, but with life in general. Initially, when he and I began practicing together, I would quickly become frustrated with him because I felt as though he wasn’t focusing, paying attention, or otherwise. Eventually it dawned on me that his presumed distractors are quite natural for a child his age, and because of that, l’ve learned to be more patient.
As it relates to my personal physical health goals, over 20 years of military service and three deployments has certainly taken its toll on me physically. Since my retirement in 2018, l’ve tried several different forms of physical therapy-like activities and treatments to help me get through the ailments that I’ve collected over the course of two decades. I’ve tried: physical therapy to help me with my range of motion; stretch therapy to also help me with my range of motion and flexibility; and acupuncture to help alleviate pain/pressure points throughout my body. Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned services have helped me discover and address the root causes of my issues. Taekwondo, on the other hand, has not solely and exclusively helped me achieve my physical health goals, but it most certainly has assisted me in gaining a greater understanding of my body – as it relates to my anatomy, my limitations, and the ways in which I can help increase my physical health. In addition, it also keeps me active in very unique ways, and that uniqueness has been absolutely beneficial to helping me improve my physical health.
In closing, everything that I was hoping to gain from having joined taekwondo has almost entirely turned out as I had envisioned nearly three years ago. While there are still a few milestones that I hope to achieve someday – namely, transforming taekwondo into a hobby activity between my son and I. I’m confident that we’ll see that expectation become a reality at some point. Regarding my personal health, I haven’t felt this physically great in over 5years. While I’m far from feeling like I’m in my 20s again, I’m certainly in a better place today than I was few years ago, and that is largely thanks to the discovery and self-improvement that I’ve gained from being in Tae Kwon Do. If I had one regret, it would be that I regret not having joined taekwondo earlier in life. However, that’s life. What I am most excited about now is the next phase of my taekwondo journey – so let’s go!