Monday, December 3, 2012
World Championships Aruba - The Aftermath
It takes me sometime to regain my composure.
I congratulate Iran again on the podium, put on a smile for the cameras and enjoy this moment. I am the silver medalist and it's still a great achievement.
Curiosity gets the better of me afterwards so I ask Mahdi (-68kg Iranian who speaks a little English) about their preparations. He tells me they have trained 2hrs in the morning, 2hrs at night, everyday for the past two months. I'm shocked to say the least. He asks me how much I got paid when I won the gold 2 years ago and I laugh telling him "nothing".
For the Iranians a bronze is worth 20 gold pieces, a silver 40 gold pieces and a gold 80. I ask him how much a gold piece is and he tells me about $400. For a gold medal that's $32000!
Unbelievable but that's what Taekwondo is for the Iranians. Their national sport like AFL is to us.
Telling Jin this we both agree we're going to defect to Iran next year and have a good laugh about it.
After having a few days to consider the Para tournament Im left with mixed feelings.
Firstly I have to say this tournament is getting harder to win. Limited to only attacking the body makes scoring extremely challenging especially using the Daedo. It really would be great to see the rules changed to include head kicks but I can't see the WTF allowing that. Secondly the one minute rounds are too short. The game goes so fast that it's hard to adjust your tactics during the match. What this inevitably means is if your leading after the first round it is very easy to hold that one point buffer from your opponent.
Speaking with a number of my Para athlete friends we all agree that we would prefer that the rules be the same as the regular competition. My personal opinion is I don't want to be treated any differently to my peers.
In saying this though I can see the WTF's viewpoint in that there aim is to make para taekwondo accessible and safe to people of all varying abilities.
And perhaps it needs to be safe and friendly for it to have any chance to be included as a Paralympic sport. Something that every athlete at the championships would love to see.
A point I did note was that overall the level of competition is increasing with some of the players abilities being outstanding. I think you can see this more so with the countries who are really investing time and effort into the para taekwondo program, namely Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran.
For this reason hopefully the sport will continue to grow and appeal to people from all backgrounds.
As for me now I can sit back and relax in the sun and enjoy a beer. I had a chance to watch a little bit of the teams event which is pretty exciting. Lots of acrobatic head kicks as most players don't bother trying to score on the body. It's all about the head shots and that's what everyone wants to see.
I was considering retiring after this but after another great experience doing what I love, competing and traveling I'm not so sure. It's hard to give away the thrill of it all. I guess time will tell.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
World Championships Aruba - Fight Day
Aruba Sports Stadium, Santa Cruz.
Thankfully it had air conditioning!
I glance at the clock and it shows 3am. The next 3 hour's are slow, I keep telling myself to relax and sleep but it doesn't really work till finally the alarm goes off at 6.30am. Breakfast, waiting on the bus and traveling to the venue fly by as most of my thoughts drift between relaxing and not thinking about the comp to picturing myself in that first minute fighting.
We arrive at the venue to see the draw, fight 7 against Russia. I don't think much about it other than I know I have 30 minutes from the time the first match starts till I'm on. It's down to business. We're warming up in an air conditioned tent outside the stadium. It's warm but bearable. Jin is coaching me, "take it easy warming up. Kick only at 80%". Moving around I feel really good, sharp and on the ball. We do about 45 minutes then I pad up and start the mental game. Waiting. So much waiting and thinking. My thoughts fly from anxiousness and fear of losing through to confidence because I defeated this guy two years ago. With all this going through my head I tell myself to breathe and calm my mind.
Daedo chest guard is on, the size 4 is too big for me and always a little restricting but despite this I ask Jin to tie it loose. The theory behind this is if the guard has room to move its harder for your opponent to find the adequate power to register a score.
10am. Preliminary Final Russia: Boris, age 37, Taekwondo instructor.
Injury appears to be left shoulder related though he has full use of both hands.
We walk out onto the mat, bow and start. I think "no test"? oh well no time to worry about it now. The mats are old and very soft. Awesome! I have great grip. We start, adrenaline is pumping as usual. Motioning and kicking, I glance at the screen and scores are level, 2 all. The one minute round goes so fast it's over almost before it even starts. Second round begins and I remember firing a fast running kick to the body and hearing the pop. The Chinese Taipei team (who are staying at our hotel and supporting me) cheer from the stand. "Score" I think and I follow up with another clean shot to the body. Another cheer and I relax glancing at the score. It must be 4-2 but I'm shocked that it's still 2 all! Not panicking in a split second I come to two conclusions. Either my left sock is not scoring or I don't have enough power on my left running kick. I tell myself, switch to my right leg and what usually works with electronic scoring is counter attacks. I wait for him to attack and fire hard at the body, it scores! The third round scores are 3-2 and the only thing that runs through my mind is wait. Hold the point, do not attack just jam, clinche, block and hold the point. It's too close to take a risk and try to attack and score again. It pays off and I win, relief flooding through my body.
Afterwards Jin asks what happened and I explain my thoughts on the fight. I'm not scoring either through lack of power or a faulty foot sock. My game plan from here is wait for counters and maybe score in the clinche.
11.30am. Semi Final Azerbaijan: Alexandr.
It's his third championships also, he won silver in Baku '09.
He is a left amputee at the shoulder.
Jin asks the ref for a test because I need to know why my kicks were not scoring. The test is ok. Compared to Saint Petersburg the organisers must have increased the power required to register a score. The game plan is simple, wait for the counter, on the spot or slide out. My aim is to be in front at the end of the first round because then I can dictate how the match proceeds. In fact I'm confident that if I'm leading by the first round I will win. The remaining 2 1 minute rounds are just too short.
The match begins and I feel completely comfortable. I'm faster than my opponent, my timing is good. I'm blocking his attacks and trying to kick harder making sure I get the required power (displayed on the screen, the kick must register higher than 30). The first round flies by and scores are level. Second round begins and the harder my opponent tries to score the easier it becomes for me. I've won this and with that realisation my confidence grows, I try a few things. The final scores are 9-5.
I'm in the final and after that match I'm confident. The first match jitters are gone, I'm completely switched on and ready to go. Warming down we're told the finals will be after lunch starting at 3pm. 4pm passes slowly as the demo team starts warming up for the opening ceremony at 6. The hours are ticking by slowly as we sit with the British and Finish Teams and it's not until after 5pm that we are told there will be four finals after the opening ceremony with which I'm one of them. Of course everyone wants to see the rematch between Australia and Iran last! It's not the news I wanted to hear but there's nothing I can do except wait.
What becomes apparent is that there is little organisation behind our comp as the opening ceremony is delayed. Caroline Massimino wrote me the night before the comp offering her support and told me "enjoy it". It's really hard to remember to enjoy the experience when your only real focus is performing at your best on the biggest stage. But I take the time out and watch an impressive opening ceremony. The highlight I thought was numerous 6 year old kids, dressed up in costumes dancing to different cultural themes from around the world. Really impressive!
When the Korean demo team starts their performance, Jin grabs me as its time to switch on again, time to warm the legs up again. I have drank over 6litres of water, eaten all my energy food though despite this I have a head ache and my legs feel heavy. I don't care though, I want to fight and smash the Iranian! I want the gold and do believe I have what it takes to win again.
8.30pm. Final Iran: Mahmoud, age 32 (though as Jin said and I agree "looks 40 mate").
Unemployed, lives at home with his parents.
He also is a left amputee at the shoulder.
My thoughts as I walk out onto the mat are, wait for the counter and be in front at the end of the first round. We begin as the first round ends I can tell he is clearly my strongest opponent of the day. His blocking is sharp and I find it extremely difficult to get a clear shot on the chest guard. He leads 1-0. Second round goes much the same as the first, I can't seem to score. He leads 2-0. My game plan of leading has not eventuated, he's in front and there is one round to go. Jin tells me doubling up will score on him as the third round begins. I have not panicked but I know now's the time to find something special. We start and I try to score, in doing so I'm open and he lands point after point. I try to double but my legs feel like concrete, they are so heavy. 30 seconds to go and he leads 5-0, a clear thought flashes through my mind that I've lost. I push that away so fast and scream to myself "don't give up!". Just do something!
It is to no avail, I'm so exhausted, light headed, heavy legs that he goes on to win 8-2. At the end we bow, I can only imagine the look on my face is the same look I saw on his 2 years ago. I am so gutted, so bitterly disappointed I feel sick. All I can think is what the hell just happened....
Sunday, November 25, 2012
World Championships Aruba - Pre fight
I arrived in Aruba Monday afternoon, a whole day later than was scheduled. After missing my connecting flight I was inevitably forced to stay for an additional 15Hrs in L.A. I have a new appreciation for patience now despite being in transit for over 48hour's! And who am I to complain when a team like Mongolia took three days to arrive. Ah Aruba, it's starting off as a love / hate relationship. Love the place, hate getting there.
So exhausted, sleeping was easy Monday night. I practically passed out even though my body clock was all messed up.
Tuesday, I was eager train. I had a lot of time to think while in transit about every minute of every day leading up to and including the competition. In fact that's all you do is think about the competition. I've been asked what do I think about Aruba? Well until this morning I have hardly taken notice. Haven't given myself that luxury yet. Master Park (5th Dan Korean Champion from the prestigious "Kyunghee University" and who is a great guy and good friend of mine now) and I agreed to train at 10am for around 45 minutes. The reasoning behind this:
1. Flush the lungs / heart out after being in transit for so long.
2. Acclimatise to the heat and humidity.
3. Prepare the body so it is comfortable warming up / competing at 10am local time (which is 1am at home).
To give you an idea of the climate think northern Queensland, 30 degrees at 75% humidity. It's fair to say that during that light 45 minute session I felt like throwing up, was dizzy and thought I was going to suffocate. Clearly I should have done more training in the sauna! Jin told me to take it easy, we finished the session and I did my recovery in the 22C air conditioned motel room on my bed! Much better.
The rest of the day was typically spent trying to gather all the info for the comp, ie registration, weigh in, doctor inspection etc of which most people we asked either had no idea or were wrong. It made for a long day and I was glad to have another early night. It was however funny to hear the WTF rep ask Jin what division he's fighting in. I think it made him even more eager to compete.
Wednesdays training session we followed the same 45m routine and I felt a huge improvement on the previous day. We then hit the pool for a recovery session, the water being absolutely perfect!
Weigh in was after lunch and I can tell you I had absolutely no concerns about eating, at 70.5kg I could of had 10 lunches and still been under! Throughout the course of the day my thoughts would continuously drift to the competition. Feeling nervous and having doubts I asked Jin about his experiences. He said it's normal for every athlete to be a little nervous, it's just important to know when to focus and try to quickly overcome this when the match begins. Thankfully that night I was still exhausted and fell asleep without any hastle.
Tuesday, I was eager train. I had a lot of time to think while in transit about every minute of every day leading up to and including the competition. In fact that's all you do is think about the competition. I've been asked what do I think about Aruba? Well until this morning I have hardly taken notice. Haven't given myself that luxury yet. Master Park (5th Dan Korean Champion from the prestigious "Kyunghee University" and who is a great guy and good friend of mine now) and I agreed to train at 10am for around 45 minutes. The reasoning behind this:
1. Flush the lungs / heart out after being in transit for so long.
2. Acclimatise to the heat and humidity.
3. Prepare the body so it is comfortable warming up / competing at 10am local time (which is 1am at home).
To give you an idea of the climate think northern Queensland, 30 degrees at 75% humidity. It's fair to say that during that light 45 minute session I felt like throwing up, was dizzy and thought I was going to suffocate. Clearly I should have done more training in the sauna! Jin told me to take it easy, we finished the session and I did my recovery in the 22C air conditioned motel room on my bed! Much better.
The rest of the day was typically spent trying to gather all the info for the comp, ie registration, weigh in, doctor inspection etc of which most people we asked either had no idea or were wrong. It made for a long day and I was glad to have another early night. It was however funny to hear the WTF rep ask Jin what division he's fighting in. I think it made him even more eager to compete.
Weigh in was after lunch and I can tell you I had absolutely no concerns about eating, at 70.5kg I could of had 10 lunches and still been under! Throughout the course of the day my thoughts would continuously drift to the competition. Feeling nervous and having doubts I asked Jin about his experiences. He said it's normal for every athlete to be a little nervous, it's just important to know when to focus and try to quickly overcome this when the match begins. Thankfully that night I was still exhausted and fell asleep without any hastle.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Preparing for the 3rd World Para Championships, Aruba!
I couldn't be more happy right now knowing that I'm about to board a plane. I can say the hard work has been done and it's been tough, grueling past eight weeks.
The hardest adjustment to my routine has been adapting to the new job. I knew when I took the position that the timing wasn't great, as my good friend and coach Adam said to me once "you want to be comfortable and stress free in all other aspects of your life, that way you are able to push out of your comfort zone and place yourself under a higher amount of stress when it comes to your training". What this essentially means is your body and mind can only handle as certain amount of stress. Reducing this in your everyday life allows you to focus your energy on training therefore getting the most out of yourself. Placing unreasonable demands upon yourself, training every day despite how "sore" or "tired" you are.
Preparing this time around, I'm lucky in the sense that I have gained two years experience on how to approach these championships. My intentions were to do four Taekwondo session a week, any less would not be enough and any more would be risky given my recent history of soft tissues injuries. That would leave two days free for gym / strength and condition / rehab if needed and one day to rest, where I could get a massage, go for a walk / stretch and most importantly sleep!
Looking back I can say that my preparation has gone pretty close to plan with only a few set backs along the way. There was a minor hamstring tear (the left this time thankfully) but I turned this setback into a positive. I needed a rest from Taekwondo because I had been training hard for that month and I found my output was steadily decreasing due to fatigue. This also gave me a chance to hit the gym, work on some rehab and strength exercises as well as something as simple as footwork. As one of the coaches, Paul mentioned, Taekwondo is 70% footwork, setting up your attack, motioning and creating pressure therefore forcing errors in your opponent and then capitalizing.
I met my coach, Master Park seven weeks ago where I explained the rules changes associated with Para Taekwondo. No head kicks and one minute rounds. With this in mind for most of the year I had shifted my focus to scoring onto the body, a hard task as I'm used to aiming for the three pointer head shots! Something I had never considered though was my blocking style. At open mat night both Master Park and Nick pointed out that I wasn't covering my body. Years of competing and training in the regular comp's I had adapted my style to block and avoid getting scored on the head, which inadvertently leaves the chest guard open.
Everyone has been asking the past few weeks if I'm excited but it's only now that work is over and Im not training what seems like every spare minute, that it's all starting to dawn on me. Im about to represent my country again, competing in a World Championships where I guess Im the favorite! So bring it on World, I'm ready!
And lastly, a thank you. So many people have helped me get to this moment, supporting me in many different ways. Coaches, trainers, therapists, suppliers, family, friends and even a few fans. I would really like to say thank you to you all and I really hope I can bring home the ultimate prize.
The hardest adjustment to my routine has been adapting to the new job. I knew when I took the position that the timing wasn't great, as my good friend and coach Adam said to me once "you want to be comfortable and stress free in all other aspects of your life, that way you are able to push out of your comfort zone and place yourself under a higher amount of stress when it comes to your training". What this essentially means is your body and mind can only handle as certain amount of stress. Reducing this in your everyday life allows you to focus your energy on training therefore getting the most out of yourself. Placing unreasonable demands upon yourself, training every day despite how "sore" or "tired" you are.
Preparing this time around, I'm lucky in the sense that I have gained two years experience on how to approach these championships. My intentions were to do four Taekwondo session a week, any less would not be enough and any more would be risky given my recent history of soft tissues injuries. That would leave two days free for gym / strength and condition / rehab if needed and one day to rest, where I could get a massage, go for a walk / stretch and most importantly sleep!
Looking back I can say that my preparation has gone pretty close to plan with only a few set backs along the way. There was a minor hamstring tear (the left this time thankfully) but I turned this setback into a positive. I needed a rest from Taekwondo because I had been training hard for that month and I found my output was steadily decreasing due to fatigue. This also gave me a chance to hit the gym, work on some rehab and strength exercises as well as something as simple as footwork. As one of the coaches, Paul mentioned, Taekwondo is 70% footwork, setting up your attack, motioning and creating pressure therefore forcing errors in your opponent and then capitalizing.
I met my coach, Master Park seven weeks ago where I explained the rules changes associated with Para Taekwondo. No head kicks and one minute rounds. With this in mind for most of the year I had shifted my focus to scoring onto the body, a hard task as I'm used to aiming for the three pointer head shots! Something I had never considered though was my blocking style. At open mat night both Master Park and Nick pointed out that I wasn't covering my body. Years of competing and training in the regular comp's I had adapted my style to block and avoid getting scored on the head, which inadvertently leaves the chest guard open.
Everyone has been asking the past few weeks if I'm excited but it's only now that work is over and Im not training what seems like every spare minute, that it's all starting to dawn on me. Im about to represent my country again, competing in a World Championships where I guess Im the favorite! So bring it on World, I'm ready!
And lastly, a thank you. So many people have helped me get to this moment, supporting me in many different ways. Coaches, trainers, therapists, suppliers, family, friends and even a few fans. I would really like to say thank you to you all and I really hope I can bring home the ultimate prize.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Change on the Horizon
Well this year has flown by for me thus far. Looking back it has been the most difficult year for me in terms of training. Almost a constant battle of highs and lows, more so of the latter where I haven't had the luxury of any consistent training. This has been primarily due to soft tissue injuries which appear to be more prevalent than anytime before.
There are a number of issues which have probably influenced my training or more so my enjoyment and motivation of doing Taekwondo. Work commitments have increased as has my desire to lead a more balanced life. For a number of years it has been easy to justify training 5-6 days a week, I had clear goals in sight and with regular competitions it helps to maintain the focus.
Putting all that aside the hardest thing that Im struggling with this year is the injuries. About six weeks ago, I found myself completely injury and pain free for the first time this year. It was really liberating to feel positive again about Taekwondo and I began eagerly looking forward to our up coming nationals on the Gold Coast.
There was a fresh goal, something to focus on and work towards. With that stepping up the training was easy and enjoyable. I have to say its the best I'd felt all year.
Sadly I've had another set back where on Friday night training with the state team at OTC, Ive strained or more than likely torn my troublesome adductor. Again!
The flood of disappointment has hit me like a wave. The thoughts of Im to old and my body is trying to tell me something are constant. Its almost like a cruel truth that as much as I love my sport my body wont allow me to train the way I used to. My training has been more focused on preventative injury exercises, than focusing on becoming a better athlete.
Realistically I need to reassess what I hope to achieve at this years Nationals. At the very least I am hoping to compete just to gain some valuable court time though everything beyond that is dependent on whether my body heals in time to get any sort of training in.
Regardless of my current circumstance I still have one very strong goal that I wish to achieve. The World Para Championships are only four months away and Im going to do what ever it takes to get there and give it my best shot. Its been in the back of my mind for many months now I would love the opportunity to represent my country again in this event.
As for after 2012? I think it will be my last year of competing and perhaps time to pursue other goals in life. What? At this stage I have absolutely no idea.
This may also be my last post as my motivation to write is somewhat impacted by how my training is going. You may imagine it can be difficult as I feel as though the constant for me lately is to tell you what injury I currently have and that for me has become somewhat tiresome.
I hope you've enjoyed experiencing some of what I have had to share. The highs and lows throughout the journey and through life.
Thank you to you all for your support.
Feel free to say hi at any time or keep in touch on face book.
Cheers,
Steve
There are a number of issues which have probably influenced my training or more so my enjoyment and motivation of doing Taekwondo. Work commitments have increased as has my desire to lead a more balanced life. For a number of years it has been easy to justify training 5-6 days a week, I had clear goals in sight and with regular competitions it helps to maintain the focus.
Putting all that aside the hardest thing that Im struggling with this year is the injuries. About six weeks ago, I found myself completely injury and pain free for the first time this year. It was really liberating to feel positive again about Taekwondo and I began eagerly looking forward to our up coming nationals on the Gold Coast.
There was a fresh goal, something to focus on and work towards. With that stepping up the training was easy and enjoyable. I have to say its the best I'd felt all year.
Sadly I've had another set back where on Friday night training with the state team at OTC, Ive strained or more than likely torn my troublesome adductor. Again!
The flood of disappointment has hit me like a wave. The thoughts of Im to old and my body is trying to tell me something are constant. Its almost like a cruel truth that as much as I love my sport my body wont allow me to train the way I used to. My training has been more focused on preventative injury exercises, than focusing on becoming a better athlete.
Realistically I need to reassess what I hope to achieve at this years Nationals. At the very least I am hoping to compete just to gain some valuable court time though everything beyond that is dependent on whether my body heals in time to get any sort of training in.
Regardless of my current circumstance I still have one very strong goal that I wish to achieve. The World Para Championships are only four months away and Im going to do what ever it takes to get there and give it my best shot. Its been in the back of my mind for many months now I would love the opportunity to represent my country again in this event.
As for after 2012? I think it will be my last year of competing and perhaps time to pursue other goals in life. What? At this stage I have absolutely no idea.
This may also be my last post as my motivation to write is somewhat impacted by how my training is going. You may imagine it can be difficult as I feel as though the constant for me lately is to tell you what injury I currently have and that for me has become somewhat tiresome.
I hope you've enjoyed experiencing some of what I have had to share. The highs and lows throughout the journey and through life.
Thank you to you all for your support.
Feel free to say hi at any time or keep in touch on face book.
Cheers,
Steve
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Back in Australia
The past few months have flown buy with a blink of an eye.
In December I traveled to the USA for a little down time / holiday. It was a good trip to just get away and take a break from the constant training and more importantly work.
Since the beginning of January my life has been on fast forward. With three jobs requiring completion and having to travel to China again, I knew the start of the year was going to be hectic but honestly it has almost been ridiculous.
Working six days a week, sometimes more the pressure has been on to try to keep up.
Now finally returning from China (just yesterday) I hope that things will settle down a little and that I can get into some sort of structured routine.
I been thinking about varying my training load which means a little less Taekwondo but in its place picking up a cardio or strength and conditioning session at the gym. Looking back at the past eighteen months it has been a pretty constant struggle with tight and strained hamstrings for the most part of it. I feel as though my body just isn't handling the amount of stress as it used to.
My first competition this year will be the STA Vics near the end of March. Ive competed in a number of STA competitions but this will be my first Vics, something I am really looking forward to. I have been keeping an eye on the clubs and players that have been entering their comps and it looks like the level will be quite high which will be really fantastic for my development.
Everything I do now is leading towards my main focus, the 3rd World Para Taekwondo Championships in Aruba, Santa Cruz on November 22. Plenty of time to prepare. I just need a few things to fall in place such as work and to manage my body so as to prevent injuries.
In December I traveled to the USA for a little down time / holiday. It was a good trip to just get away and take a break from the constant training and more importantly work.
Since the beginning of January my life has been on fast forward. With three jobs requiring completion and having to travel to China again, I knew the start of the year was going to be hectic but honestly it has almost been ridiculous.
Working six days a week, sometimes more the pressure has been on to try to keep up.
Now finally returning from China (just yesterday) I hope that things will settle down a little and that I can get into some sort of structured routine.
I been thinking about varying my training load which means a little less Taekwondo but in its place picking up a cardio or strength and conditioning session at the gym. Looking back at the past eighteen months it has been a pretty constant struggle with tight and strained hamstrings for the most part of it. I feel as though my body just isn't handling the amount of stress as it used to.
My first competition this year will be the STA Vics near the end of March. Ive competed in a number of STA competitions but this will be my first Vics, something I am really looking forward to. I have been keeping an eye on the clubs and players that have been entering their comps and it looks like the level will be quite high which will be really fantastic for my development.
Everything I do now is leading towards my main focus, the 3rd World Para Taekwondo Championships in Aruba, Santa Cruz on November 22. Plenty of time to prepare. I just need a few things to fall in place such as work and to manage my body so as to prevent injuries.
Friday, November 18, 2011
A Karate experience
On Tuesday night I held a little Taekwondo training camp for a Karate school (Amphibian Dojos) in Balnarring. When a family friend of mine, Pete Smedley came to me and asked if I would share some of my experiences and take a training class with his Karate school, at first I was a bit apprehensive.
The first thing that came to my mind was "Im not an instructor" and generally being a shy person, I don't feel comfortable doing this.
The following days I spent thinking about what I could share with the class and what Taekwondo techniques I would show them, the idea began to grow on me and when Pete asked me to confirm, I agreed. As this was unfamiliar territory for me I spent the weekend before planning for a hour long class. Taking some notes I broke down a schedule similar to what we would do at Team Carlo seeing this is what I know best.
The first class started at 4pm and was made up of around 30 primary school students. Pete made an exceptionally good introduction on my behalf and with that I began the class. It was the first time I've taken a class so young so it was quite a challenge to try to keep the kids attention. After a quick warm up I had planned to just start with the basics of sport Taekwondo, what Carlo refers to as our percentage shots (four very simple techniques which have a high chance of scoring). They comprise of two attacks and two counter attacks:
1. Round house kick (back foot round house).
2. Running kick (front foot round house).
3. Slide out back foot round house (counter).
4. On the spot front foot round house (counter).
I was struck with a number of challenges while trying to teach the kids. Trying to keep everyones attention while demonstrating the technique, asking if everyone understood the kick (naturally they all said yes but when it was their turn I quickly found I had a dozen or so kids trying different things all at the one time! To put it simply it represented chaos in all forms!) Also I tried to get around to see each pair of students to offer some one on one guidance and trying to accommodate individually the different levels of aptitude in the class.
Thankfully I had Pete and his instructors helping out and with them I think my aims for this level were accomplished.
1. that the kids have some fun and
2. they try something new
Finishing the class with questions, I spent some time explaining my story, why I trained with one arm, the importance of setting goals in your life, believing that nothing is impossible no matter your circumstances and to really follow your passion in life as it will give you great rewards in return.
I had the pleasure of taking two more classes, the teens and later the adults that night. The night seemed to run much more smoothly for two reasons, firstly the classes were more responsive to me, having a better understanding of what I was trying to teach and secondly because I felt more comfortable with what I was doing.
My idea was for each class to start with the basics (percentage shots) then cover the more advanced techniques that we use such as double round house, triples, axe kicks and back kicks. As the night wore on though I found it quite difficult to cram in ten years of Taekwondo experience into one short hour with the Karate class.
The technique I had really hoped to show (but run out of time) was our back kick. Its a great kick and when executed well has enormous power and the ability to knock an unsuspecting opponent out! That lesson will have to be saved for another night.
It was a great honor to have this opportunity to train with a different style of martial art and to give something back to people eager to learn. To finish the evening the class demonstrated their own fighting style and some of the differences I noticed (in the 15 minute sparring experience I was witness to) was they strike more with their hands, can strike to the head with punches etc and have a shorter more front on fighting stance. This seemed to lead to less kicking techniques making me consider why Taekwondo is so profoundly a kicking martial art.
I believe the specific WTF rules of 1. No punching to the head and 2. No grabbing the feet really impact the way we spar and compete. For example would there be such a thing as a double round house if we were allowed to punch to the face? I think not because the technique leaves you head /face open for an easy score hence you would be less inclined to charge in with it.
Often people ask what is the best martial art? Is one better than another? I personally believe every martial art has its strong points and it would be silly to discredit one over another. Therefore it comes more down to the individual, the level of the persons ability within the martial art itself. If you practice and are good at what you do then you can be reassured that if you require your skills to get out of a sticky situation, in most cases you will be ok.
The first thing that came to my mind was "Im not an instructor" and generally being a shy person, I don't feel comfortable doing this.
The following days I spent thinking about what I could share with the class and what Taekwondo techniques I would show them, the idea began to grow on me and when Pete asked me to confirm, I agreed. As this was unfamiliar territory for me I spent the weekend before planning for a hour long class. Taking some notes I broke down a schedule similar to what we would do at Team Carlo seeing this is what I know best.
The first class started at 4pm and was made up of around 30 primary school students. Pete made an exceptionally good introduction on my behalf and with that I began the class. It was the first time I've taken a class so young so it was quite a challenge to try to keep the kids attention. After a quick warm up I had planned to just start with the basics of sport Taekwondo, what Carlo refers to as our percentage shots (four very simple techniques which have a high chance of scoring). They comprise of two attacks and two counter attacks:
1. Round house kick (back foot round house).
2. Running kick (front foot round house).
3. Slide out back foot round house (counter).
4. On the spot front foot round house (counter).
I was struck with a number of challenges while trying to teach the kids. Trying to keep everyones attention while demonstrating the technique, asking if everyone understood the kick (naturally they all said yes but when it was their turn I quickly found I had a dozen or so kids trying different things all at the one time! To put it simply it represented chaos in all forms!) Also I tried to get around to see each pair of students to offer some one on one guidance and trying to accommodate individually the different levels of aptitude in the class.
Thankfully I had Pete and his instructors helping out and with them I think my aims for this level were accomplished.
1. that the kids have some fun and
2. they try something new
Finishing the class with questions, I spent some time explaining my story, why I trained with one arm, the importance of setting goals in your life, believing that nothing is impossible no matter your circumstances and to really follow your passion in life as it will give you great rewards in return.
I had the pleasure of taking two more classes, the teens and later the adults that night. The night seemed to run much more smoothly for two reasons, firstly the classes were more responsive to me, having a better understanding of what I was trying to teach and secondly because I felt more comfortable with what I was doing.
My idea was for each class to start with the basics (percentage shots) then cover the more advanced techniques that we use such as double round house, triples, axe kicks and back kicks. As the night wore on though I found it quite difficult to cram in ten years of Taekwondo experience into one short hour with the Karate class.
The technique I had really hoped to show (but run out of time) was our back kick. Its a great kick and when executed well has enormous power and the ability to knock an unsuspecting opponent out! That lesson will have to be saved for another night.
It was a great honor to have this opportunity to train with a different style of martial art and to give something back to people eager to learn. To finish the evening the class demonstrated their own fighting style and some of the differences I noticed (in the 15 minute sparring experience I was witness to) was they strike more with their hands, can strike to the head with punches etc and have a shorter more front on fighting stance. This seemed to lead to less kicking techniques making me consider why Taekwondo is so profoundly a kicking martial art.
I believe the specific WTF rules of 1. No punching to the head and 2. No grabbing the feet really impact the way we spar and compete. For example would there be such a thing as a double round house if we were allowed to punch to the face? I think not because the technique leaves you head /face open for an easy score hence you would be less inclined to charge in with it.
Often people ask what is the best martial art? Is one better than another? I personally believe every martial art has its strong points and it would be silly to discredit one over another. Therefore it comes more down to the individual, the level of the persons ability within the martial art itself. If you practice and are good at what you do then you can be reassured that if you require your skills to get out of a sticky situation, in most cases you will be ok.
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