I did not know about Taekwondo until it was to be part of the school curriculum. I chose this school due to its proximity to my house and my PSLE results were eligible to be accepted in this school. Things started to get interesting in the Taekwondo classes. The instructors explained to us why and what Taekwondo is about and the values they would like to inculcate in us; simply to be resilience, respectful, and disciplined.
We started with a few basic kicks and stance, with our partners in class. Not only did I get to know my classmates, we grew to become more open with students from other classes in the midst of the Taekwondo lessons.
My background in Wushu martial arts makes learning Taekwondo easy but boring as we were learning the same thing every week. Lucky for me, I found fun in it and got closer to my classmates and we had fun together. I also believe I am a little bit better among the girls in my class. Slowly, we started to use equipment. Instead of kicking in the air, we have a kicking target, i.e., the equipment. It is very satisfying to hear the response (sound) from the equipment at each kick. Then we moved on to punching.
The bad days were days the entire class was punished to do push ups at the command of our ma’am because some students were uncooperatively fooling around during the class or that they forgot their dobok. The punishment was annoying in that we had to “drop” synchronously and not at our own accord. Now we do burpees which are slightly better than push-ups. I do not deny that I resent my ma’am and those that caused us this pain. However, I also understand that it teaches us teamwork, to be cooperative and not cause harm to other team members.
We progressed to learning pattern which was entirely new to me and ignite a flame in me to want to learn it more eagerly, because I am a martial arts enthusiast. After many weeks of practice, finally the grading day arrived. This was the firs time for me. Many thoughts ran through my mind. For example, how the process was like, how would I fare in the grading etc. Despite my anxiety, I was looking forward to it.
The grading was row-based and not individual-based. I happened to be placed at the front row which exerted more pressure. I kept my calm and just did it. Although the grading process was over, my mind was still lingering at that moment. It must have had a pronounced impact on me.
I was extremely relieved to hear that everyone of us passed but did not expect what was coming next. I received a double promotion without knowing what it meant until my friend told me that I could skip a grade. I was super elated to hear that! Heightening this elation was the fact my name was pronounced as Gooey instead of Joey by the teacher. Everyone broke into laughter and I felt a little embarrassed. Thanks to my friends correcting the teacher.
The first grading process was a memorable experience for me from the beginning to the end. Since then, the Taekwondo days were learning the same routine kicks and movement and learning pattern, which I was most passionate about. This continued for the next two and a half years. Now, I am finally taking my black belt.
On the whole, TKD was definitely the most fun and enriching lesson I have ever learned and done. Sadly, my journey is coming to an end, though I don’t regret it one bit.