LO2

In my second season of Taekwondo (TWD), I have developed new skills, acquired new abilities, and participated in an experience that demands personal challenge. Even though TWD was a familiar experience, I faced situations where I felt personal challenges. As an athlete preparing for a grading test, there were more physically demanded skills I had to learn as I trained for the next level. On Fridays, I practised specific types of kicking and developed sparring skills. On other weekdays, I learnt new poomsae patterns for a new belt and practised polishing the old ones, which allowed me to increase my expertise in an established area. Behind all this specific training was the basic athletic exercises I did at the stand and end of each class. At the core level of all my training was the discipline and respect for my masters. Learning a martial art from my own culture was rewarding and humbling—it was one of the factors that helped my persevere with the same sport. As I will continue to develop and acquire more skills, I see myself continuing with TWD for a long time, beyond my CAS requirement. Currently, I am learning and perfecting the black belt pattern and tornado kick, while improving my sparring skills.

After the TWD dojang temporarily closed due to COVID-19, I was no longer able to attend classes; however, I persevered in continuing some form of physical exercise. It was a challenge to do the same TWD practice in the limited space of my home. Furthermore, I had gone exercise-free for three weeks along with a loss of motivation to work out. While most of it wasn’t TWD specific, I focused on re-boosting my deteriorating physical health through long walks (and seldom runs) and short periods of home training. Although I am still working towards adjusting to this unfamiliar situation, I am looking forward to spending the remainder of it on self-improvement from an exercise perspective.