I was eight years old when I would watch my brothers go to their dojang twice a week. I thought it was so cool that they got to wear their uniforms and punch and kick people for fun. When I learned that the instructors let them jump over pillows stacked on each other and spar with random strangers, I thought Taekwondo was the most fascinating thing in the world, and I begged my mother to let me sign up. This is how my journey towards my blackbelt in Taekwondo started, with my desire to be able to learn how to defend myself and to be more disciplined. This journey that I started as an 8-year-old, would change the next eight years of my life.
As a typical 8-year-old, the first few months were fun, but I soon started to dread ironing my uniform and going to class. I began to skip classes freely depending on my mood and sometimes weeks would go by and I wouldn't get a single stripe. The day I earned my green belt, however, was the day I stopped slacking off. My sister and younger brother were now a belt below me, and that gave me all the motivation I needed to forget ahead towards my dream of being a black belt.
Months flew by, as did the colors of my belt. After months and years of hard work to perfect my skills, I became a blue belt. However, I graduated not knowing that many years would go by before I stepped back on my beloved mat. In February of that year, my mom announced that she and my dad had found a house and that we were moving across state lines from Virginia to Maryland. I was devastated. I had no idea how I would say goodbye to my instructors. I had always thought martial arts would be permanently stitched into the fabric of my life. But moving away from my dojang unraveled my dream.
Four years went by; I worked on other dreams, like doing well in high school and getting my driver's license. A week after getting my license, I thought to myself, why not try to join Taekwondo again? I had the ability to drive myself to class, I just needed to get my parents on board and call my old instructors to see if I could continue learning martial arts with them. Thankfully, my parents supported my decision and my instructors gladly welcomed me back. This marked the beginning of a brand new chapter in my life and this time, I was determined not to just face it, but to embrace it with a passion I had never known before.
Stitching Taekwondo back into the fabric of my life helped teach me some valuable lifelong lessons. Whenever I did my chores or assignments from school, my mom would always advise me to finish what I already started. Rejoining my old martial arts class taught me the value of perseverance. As I continued on my journey toward earning my black belt, I realized that Taekwondo is not just about belts and kicks; it's about personal growth and resilience. Taekwondo is about taking the lessons learned on the mat and applying them to the tapestry of my life. The distance I travel to the Taekwondo studio never stands in the way of my goal, for I've learned that the path to our dreams is paved with discipline, determination, and an unwavering commitment to finish what we started. My journey in Taekwondo has become a metaphor for life itself, reminding me that each challenge, whether on or off the mat, is an opportunity to grow, persevere, and become a better version of myself. read more