My name is Kwan Yew, I am a secondary 4 student from Edgefield Secondary School. I took up taekwondo as part of my curriculum and had many memorable experiences in it. Since secondary 1, I’ve always been interested in taekwondo and was curious what the sport is like. Luckily, Edgefield offered taekwondo as part of the school’s special programme and everyone had to take it in our first two years in the school. 

During taekwondo training, our instructors taught us the basics of taekwondo when we first started out. For example, how to tie the belt, kicking technique and patterns which I find quite interesting. I also learnt more about belt pattern during training, although it was a bit confusing at first, but I slowly got a hang of it as the instructors break down the steps for better understanding. Through the instructors’ patient and passionate coaching, I took a liking to taekwondo and even started training myself at home.

Gradually, I started to promote to higher belts and eventually reached blue tip at the end of Secondary two, that’s when we have the option to opt out of taekwondo. At first, I was worried that if I continue taekwondo, I might struggle with time management and affect my grades in secondary 3 as the work load gets heavier. However, after I learnt from my teachers that the training sessions are on shorter school days, it reassured me and eventually continued taekwondo.

During secondary 3, I was chosen for taekwondo competition due to my high performance and had to train 3 times a week in total. Despite the packed schedule, the schedule for training was quite flexible, and I managed to balance my school work and training very well. In the end, I proceeded to win 2nd place with my team and was awarded the Colours Award while doing well in my studies.

In a blink of an eye, I turned secondary 4 already with a black belt, and had to step down from taekwondo. Although it was a little disappointing, I had a lot of takeaways from it. It built up my confidence, I made new friends as well as nurturing my discipline. I would not have such a wonderful experience if it was not for my instructors’ guidance and help.