Taekwondo

Considerably old photos in this post

I just saw a post about a girl with Joubert syndrome who kicked butt (pun very much intended!) at a Taekwondo competition, and it inspired me to finally write this post.

My taking Taekwondo is one of those things people are always impressed to hear about. I started way back in the mid 1990s, when a therapist at Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre recommended Tae E Lee's special needs Taekwondo class to my parents as a fun alternative to therapy. We went and observed a class and I was instantly eager to try it.

The program was (and still is) the first of its kind, created by Grandmaster Tae E Lee as a way to promote physical and personal growth in children and youth with various disabilities. This was summed up with his philosophy of Moo Kwang, physical well-being + mental well-being = benefits. Or, as he said in class, be good at home, school, and taekwondo!

The physical aspects I can attest to right way. Aside from my own progress, I knew fellow students who could hardly stand on their own when they started, and were independently acting as my instructors by the time I had to stop attending classes years later!

For the home and school parts of the triangle, one thing we had to do as students each class was to bring in a list of chores we did throughout the week. The students who failed to do so, and their instructors, had to do extra push-ups during the class. Older students were also encouraged to bring in report cards and test scores from school. I can say from personal experience that enough push-ups will definitely make you study harder and help out a little more at home!

Mostly though, I just thought Taekwondo was fun!

Like I said, I started in the mid 90s at about eight years old with a white belt. After many years, belts, and broken boards (yes, I did that too!), I got my black belt in 2002!

Along the way, I competed in several poomse (pattern) competitions over many years of the Tae E Lee Cup Taekwondo Championship. I won many participation medals, a few bronzes, and one silver!

After getting my black belt, the curriculum incorporated more work from the "regular" classes. This meant harder lessons, instruction from other black belt students, and more boards to break during tests. I did this for a while but, sadly, had to stop classes when they conflicted with college.

In recent years, I've debated whether or not to go back. Still not sure...

Anyway, very glad I finally got the motivation to write this all down.

Cheers!