"Remember why you originally wanted to join"

Next in the black belt blog series, is Candice. Rekindling a past interest to add to her university experience and finally making it all the way to get her 1st Dan black belt with Team DJB Taekwondo as well as getting a first in her Bachelor's degree. Here, she takes the time to share her experience.

Hi Candice. Thank you for answering my questions!

1. How did you get into Taekwondo?

I had always been interested and involved in sports since my parents had put me in so many extracurriculars. Martial arts was included, and I had started doing Taekwondo when I was around 5 but only briefly since it was so expensive to continue. Because it was such a brief moment, I think my desire to pursue it on my own later on grew.

2. Did the experience meet your expectations?

It definitely did and more. The physical exertion and mental release gained from doing martial arts is always what drew me in, and I was lucky enough to be in a club that helped facilitate my growth not only as a practitioner but also as a person. The training and support that I received gave me a sense of self-assurance and belonging that surpassed the notion of me just “being in a club”, if that makes sense.

3. What were the highlights of your Taekwondo career?

The multitudes of sweaty frustrations and hard work and goofy celebrations and silliness together with my fellow teammates were definitely the highlights of my taekwondo career.

4. What’s your advice on keeping yourself motivated to continue training?

My advice on staying motivated is to always just try to keep the pressure off. There is a difference between encouraging and pressuring, with the latter being more forceful and less indicative of your own desires and wants. If one constantly puts that, in my opinion, negative weight to fulfil outside expectations, which is where I believe most pressures come from, they’ll end up reacting against it. Just surround yourself in a good, training environment and community and remember why you originally wanted to join.

5. Congratulations on your 1st Dan! What are your plans for the future?

Thank you! With regards to Taekwondo, I plan to continue training on my own until I’m able to find a team to train a bit more regularly with wherever I end up. The life plan at the moment is to head to South Korea for a year, and then… we’ll see what happens afterwards!

6. Lastly, what advice would you give to anyone looking to do Taekwondo, whether they're new or not?

In general, don’t be afraid to put yourself in unfamiliar situations, but also, don’t be afraid to take yourself out of things if they don’t work for you. When starting Taekwondo, bear in mind that not all clubs or training environments are the same. I was lucky enough to have found a great Taekwondo club to fuel my desire to train. If your first club wasn’t what you had hoped, try another club and give Taekwondo, itself, a second chance!

- END -

Disclosure: The black belt examination was altered to comply with COVID restrictions in place and ensuring the examination standards set by Kukkiwon were met.