© ATC 2010
What Taekwon-do means to me.
I started Taekwon-Do at the age of 14. Up until then I could not stand loosing and everything had to be done my way, hard to believe… but I was also a slight bit chubby - basic point - I was a pain in the butt to be around.
But then one day something happened to change my life: I was at my friend's place and we were just going to mess around like normal, but then Aubrey, my friend said he saw this add for Taekwon-do and we should go try it. I was not dressed for training at all, so I wound up going to my first Taekwon-do training in a pair of jeans, doing rising kicks in jeans is not ideal to say the least and I felt so out of place with all these people dressed in their Doboks. But I enjoyed it so much I just had to come back.
Over the years it has made so much of a change in my life. It has taught me to be humble, disciplined and that winning is not everything as long as you do your best and give it your all. Taekwon-Do has also taught me to set goals and not give up till I reach them. From the first day I have wanted to go far, and with the help of the people I train with and the trainers that have taught me, they have helped make my dream come true. Proving even the person that comes to training with jeans can become a champion if he puts his heart and mind to it.
At the last SA champs, I did not think I could do it, walking into the ring with black belts was the most frightening thing in my mind. But what won the fights for me was my Sabum, he had said to me just the day before, that he believed that I could do it. Just having someone believe in me ...that did it.
It just motivated me more than anything; I was not going let him down.
On the day after four rounds I was dead tired, I decided that I was not going to go on, but then the whole team was down there pushing me forward and encouraging me to go on, they would not let me quit. Now I realise that the team is like a family, they are all there for each other and if one team member is down the rest of team motivate him or her to go on. Taekwon-do is a huge part of my life I cant imagine my life without it. The feeling you get before a competition the atmosphere in a competition hall, the adrenalin rush before a sparring match… but the best feeling of all is when the centre referee raises your hand after a match.
I am looking forward to going to worlds and seeing what
happens there, my dream is to bring home a medal for the ATC club not just
© ATC 2010