15 years of teaching Taekwondo
This year, Master Shujahat reached his 15 years of teaching Taekwondo. We took some time to talk about what he has learnt along the way, what his vision for the future is and what we can take from his experience.
Did you think you would still be teaching Taekwondo?
Optimistically, yes. As long as my health and well-being allows me to. I am very fortunate that I continue to enjoy teaching Taekwondo and have many projects that are developing beyond my initial expectations.
M: Well if you look at wedding anniversaries, the gift given for the 15th year is a watch representing the time spent on great memories or crystal that represents clarity and durability. Which of these do you think applies to you?
I would say crystal because I am bad at wearing watches. I do feel like I have more clarity on teaching Taekwondo and how to make it engaging, fun and easier to learn for all age groups.
M: I think for me, it would be the watch because of the great memories over the years. Did you not have clarity before (at his 10th anniversary).
Better clarity. Further clarity on teaching Taekwondo to all age groups.
M: Each instructor has a preferred age group to work with. What is yours?^
That’s tough. If I wanted to talk about the exploratory aspect of training, the adults are the best. [Also] Seeing that initial joy that certain things bring, like the children between ages of 5 and 10, are the most rewarding because they are more agile in their thinking and you can shape good habits in them better. Teenagers are an interesting bunch as well because they are in the transitional stage into becoming young adults. With them, they like to push boundaries more but with good guidance, they can take these lessons and apply at a later stage in life which could have a greater impact on their lives.
The last time you celebrated was for your 10th anniversary in 2018. What have you even up to since?
Just after 2018, I made a huge career shift from being a college teacher to teaching Taekwondo full time. From that point, I opened a few classes for children and adults throughout the week which was gaining numbers steadily. However, the pandemic happened and it really changed the view of exercise culture in people and I think this has been helpful for people to be able to think about what is important and prioritising their health. Because of this, there is a greater interest in people taking up some sort of physical activity as part of their health and well-being. In particular, parents have seen the drawbacks of their children being at home and the negative impact it had on their children’s health such as obesity, social and motor skills. This has rapidly increased the number of children taking up Taekwondo compared to pre-COVID times.
M: So when we spoke at your last anniversary blog which was in 2018, you were a year in, teaching for a youth organisation (along with Master Stephen). Now, 5 years and a pandemic later, the youth project has grown from a Saturday class for teens to 7 classes across two days a week for different age groups spanning from 5 years old to 19 years old. What happened? You told me you were going to drop it within a couple of months before you started.
Well, at the time, I wanted other people to try teaching Taekwondo rather than just me. But it seemed that the class itself needed someone who has a bit more experience on-site at all times.
M: And now you have 4 instructors.
Yes, that’s funny. But there were a lot of logistical things taken care of by the Head of Programmes of the youth organisation and his vision for Taekwondo was what made it possible. Along with a dedicated team of instructors who see the benefit of this martial art for the young people, that it has got it to where it is today. I think there is a lot to do to take it further.
M: Did you think the project would grow this much especially after the pandemic? I mean, the children’s class started in January 2020 which was a few months before the pandemic, 2 lockdowns later, the demand for girls’ only class grew which led to the opening of the girls’ only class and the recruitment of 2 female instructors.
I didn’t expect it but I am glad that parents are taking more interest in their children’s physical activity than before the pandemic. Because young children are more dependent on parents taking them to activities. So it is important that parents support them. On another side, funding criteria have more focus on physical activity, particularly linking to improving mental health, so this has supported the growth of some of the projects.
M: I remember during the lockdowns the concept of self care was prominent.
Ironically, the only time we were allowed outside our homes during lockdowns was to do essential shopping and exercise outdoors which means exercise was important anyway but it’s about making time for it. So now, (post-COVID) people are making time for it.
What did you do during the lockdowns?
During the lockdown, I had a lot of time to really focus on the core things that I felt were important in teaching Taekwondo and what students should gain from training in Taekwondo. Globally, many Taekwondo clubs were teaching online on YouTube and this helped me find similarities and differences in what was being taught to their students. My previous experience of being a school teacher whereby we would observe and critique other teachers’ delivery of lessons, I took a similar approach whilst watching online lessons from participant to a reviewer. This means I did not look at what they were teaching, I was observing how they were teaching: how did they disseminate information to students, even the breakdown of techniques based on different age groups. Nowadays, learning competitive Poomsae is a lot more accessible which makes it easier to understand the differences between athletic performance in competition versus learning a technique for basic motions in a class setting. I am more informed on how to design drills and exercises to teach students of different levels such as beginners to advanced whereby they still are challenged. I still have a lot to learn about the finer details of a lot of techniques in terms of anatomy and bio mechanics.
Outside of the pandemic, What was the most unexpected thing that you had experienced?
The variety of people I have met has been much more diverse than before.
Post-pandemic, a lot of the senior students from UEL Taekwondo (now known as East London Taekwondo) had been keen to continue with their training which motivated me to design a class dedicated to higher level students. This way, it’s not just being an instructor who teaches the student techniques to repeat again and again. But rather explore the techniques, break them apart, put them back together in a different way and test if they are applicable in different scenarios. Traditionally, Taekwondo is a non-weapons based martial art but I personally enjoy training with weapons such as nun chucks, wooden stick and sword. To be able to deliver some weapons based classes for adults, I needed to upskill myself and from time to time attend weapon based classes such as kendo and swordsmanship workshops. I also watch weapons based classes online to gain an understanding of core concepts to ensure that basic skills are taught and easy to understand as well as respecting their respective heritage. Recently, I am developing my tumbling skills to improve my personal strength and acrobatic ability which is giving me better insight into the field of performing arts. For my personal interest, I am also learning how to use a bo staff.
In South Korea, the annual Hanmadang event always demonstrates a grand culture of fusion of martial arts and performing arts such as Taekwondo dance, aerial kicks, creative poomsae and team performances. I really admire the level of technical skill and choreography that is displayed at these events and it keeps getting better every year.
I am quite fortunate to teach people from the film industry such as actors and stunt performers. I have learnt a lot about the difficulties they face as well as the highlights they achieve in their careers. A lot of the stunt performers have encouraged me to join them in doing stunts but I don’t think it is something to pursue yet.
M: So we’ve touched on the youth projects, what about your other classes?
The private club classes, which are on a fee-paying structure, have good regular attendance in adults class, children aged 5 to 12 and recently expanded to teens class. These classes take place in a fully equipped martial art studio which means no set up and set down. It makes such a massive difference on timing and having more equipment allows more variety of training to be carried out.
You spoke about a tier system where there are beginner, intermediate and advanced classes to cater to each rank bracket as well as covering more self defense and demonstration. Were you able to achieve that?
This was what I felt was important for the benefit of the students, especially in university classes. Now we have managed to create a separate class entirely that does not get distracted by the university calendar. Students of all levels can still develop themselves. With our youth project partners the teens and children’s classes, we have grown from 1 class on Saturday to 2 children’s class with different belt level and age groups as well as a female only class to meet a demand. Within these classes, there are at least 2 instructors per session which helps cater to a wider range of levels and age groups in the same class. On a Wednesday, we have classes for juniors, teens and seniors with 2 instructors that focuses on different interests of the students. Generally, the younger children need a lot of motor skill development and discipline to get them to gain the benefits of Taekwondo. Teens and seniors tend to have better developed co-ordination which means we could work more on sparring and application which they greatly enjoy. This is the way we are implementing the tier system, slightly different than I originally expected. There is still room for growth and redevelopment based on the needs and interests of the students.
M: What are your highlights from the last 5 years?
Some of the dan gradings that have happened since the pandemic. They really highlighted the improvements the students have made since they trained in a different environment.
M: What do you mean?
We didn’t have mirrors before. We had to allocate time for set up and set down, we didn’t use to do training with resistance bands as much. But as more high level students train more regularly, it was more appropriate to do more strength training for all students which greatly impacted their development and improved their performance during their Dan gradings.
Another highlight is some of the club members entered Online Poomsae competition. We took it seriously and spent time to practice the beset we could. It also helped us understand how competition works and how much more refined Poomsae needed to be for competition training.
We co-hosted a Hanmadang event with another club, which gave the students an opportunity to see Taekwondo outside of their usual class setting.
Myself and two other instructors participated in an in-person poomsae competition. This gave us a lot of insight to the amount of preparation required to perform at a high level.
It has been a real pleasure to see a senior black belt take on the role of Club President at their university, be a sport scholar and organised a Taekwondo fight night with other university Taekwondo clubs.
Yes, I was really amazed because this person was unable to take on a committee role at their previous university but was active as a student athlete. And I noticed everything they applied to this event was their version of what they had experienced with us. It was a real testament to the impact of Taekwondo at university level. On top of that, we made a new connection with that Master of the university Taekwondo club.
Some members from the girls’ class participated in an outreach event in South London to promote physical activity for girls.
We also were invited to perform a small demonstration at the partner youth organisation’s 20th anniversary event.
I was fortunate enough to teach self defense for women within an aerial gymnastic programme.
As I teach Taekwondo to students who are actors and stunt performers, I see them on TV commercials and movies which brings a smile on my face, seeing them in their element.
Looking back at it all, a lot has happened!
What are your plans for the future?
Developing the children’s and teens classes into more acrobatic training as part of their warm-ups and core skills. Upskilling the quality of knowledge of Poomsae and proficiency for seniors and instructors. For my own personal goal, I want to continue to improve some of my tumbling and acrobatic skills. Potentially build a community whereby the Taekwondo and performing arts aspects of Taekwondo seem more integrated. That is a very long term plan. It would be a more exciting prospect for the next generation.
What’s in store for the next 5 years?
With the current growth of Taekwondo activities, I feel the next generation of coaches have to be supported and developed through a mentoring and coaching programme. With our resources and connections, there is scope for the development of a hybrid programme for young people between gymnastics and Taekwondo. On the global scale, Taekwondo sparring seems to be quite saturated and Poomsae is rapidly developing into two forms. The first form of Poomsae is designated poomsae which supports the core skills of Taekwondo. The second form of Poomsae is creative and freestyle, this area is rapidly growing in popularity, thanks to freestyle Poomsae competition category which is still being developed by the World Governing body.
A lot more people are seeing action movies at a younger age with a lot of content available through streaming services. I feel this has altered the perception of how children perceive what a martial art teaches. Sometimes I get asked by children, after their first session, when they are going to learn a backflip. Which makes me laugh because they can’t stand still yet but I admire their innocent curiosity and do wonder where they are getting this idea from.
Thanks to one of the senior instructors who is Korean, she managed to get the latest Kukkiwon textbook for me and a particular sentence in the book really surprised but excited me : “…the spirit and techniques of Taekwondo are not fixed and unchanging, but open to the possibility of being recreated according to the capabilities of individuals or groups or social need in keeping with the times.” Kukkiwon textbook, page 35. I interpreted this sentence as that it is ok to change and go with the times and not be restricted by upholding teachings and practises that I was originally exposed to when I first started Taekwondo. I feel that practising a martial art is a way of exploring the human body’s potential and we can do this in taking what we love and exporting it to different avenues that may not be conventional but still true to your own interpretation of Taekwondo as well as respectful; to its origins and ethos.
What will you leave behind, what are you taking forward and what have you yet to do?
Currently I have decided to take a step away from a University Taekwondo club to focus on developing Taekwondo at grassroots and adults classes as well as supporting the next generation of Taekwondo instructors and potentially a hybrid programme between Taekwondo and Gymnastics. I hope to continue to develop myself in all short comings as a person in which ever way I can. Id like to thank all the people who I have met through this amazing martial art that have helped and continue to help shape and develop me as a person.
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Happy Taekwondo Day! Today marks the day when Taekwondo became an Olympic sport in 1994.
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