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Thursday, April 21, 2011

TAEKWONDO LIFE LESSON

TAEKWONDO LIFE LESSON


I distinctly remember when my eldest son was signed up for Taekwondo at the meek age of 6 yrs.  I was totally against the whole idea.  I can remember saying, "he'll get hurt, he will become violent, he is too young to be using weapons for fighting" etc etc. No different from any other young mum, fearing for their child's safety.  
It was only when I contacted the Pacific International Taekwondo Association in Queensland and spoke to Master Instructor myself, that I guess my fears were laid to rest.  In fact, the quietly spoken man on the other end of the phone, put me through a series of questions, to see if I had the right motives for wanting my child to learn the craft.  The main clincher or test... "What did I hope he would achieve out of the classes ?"  After a slight pause to think for a quick minute, my response was, "confidence".  I must have hit the nail on the head as my boy was enrolled immediately. Master Instructor had told me later on, that if I had responded with any other answer that insinuated violence or fighting, I would have been told to look for another discipline. This is how I knew, Taekwondo would be a great influence in my son's life.  It still didn't help battling the nerves on his first grading or watching my boy, as small as he was, in his first free spar, but....watching him grow and change, become confident and really stepping up to the whole manhood stage, it was positive.  
My boy is now a 4th Cup blue belt.  He is strong, he has good reflexes and even though he hasn't really had to use his Taekwondo in any aggressive situations yet, I am confident he would know what to do.  There was a break from training when he was  about 7 and a half yrs old. This was when our family experienced some difficult changes and really when I lost my son for a while. He had decided to quit his training as he didn't want to face anyone.  I had managed to encourage him for a few months, carefully pushing to continue, but it was all too much. In fact life was all too much for all of us back then.  So when he decided to return to Taekwondo at then end of 2009... I was elated.  This discipline does so much for young people, boys and girls. I do believe too, that it has been wonderful for my son's self control, his emotions, his Aspergers and low muscle tone. It has improved his confidence, flexibility, strength, reflexes, determination, courage and overall body awareness.  Luckily for us, his instructors had not changed. Actually nothing had changed for him. Our branch, routine training hours, expectations and responsibilities were all the same.  The two Instructors who run the Albany Creek Branch are so fantastic. I have known them for quite a while. They are always  friendly and respectful as well as highly supportive of their students.
During school holidays, classes still continue.  Some parents take the holidays as a break in training for their kids, but I actually prefer the holidays. The classes are smaller and the students learn a lot of self-defence.  Tonight at training, I watched as my son was shown how to handle an aggressive person coming toward them ready to hit. The pushes and shoves to the chest, all things I supposed he will encounter now that he is getting older. He was guided how to react in a way a young man should. My son highly respects his instructors - (he did fear them when he was younger but not in a horrible way.)  This relationship or bond is growing as he feels more confident now to discuss situations that he experiences. He views his instructors as mentors and they are guiding him into phase of his adolescence that I can't.  I hate to admit it but I just don't cut it when it comes the physical stuff or aggression between two guys. I wouldn't understand it anyway. Besides don't really think the old, "let's talk about our feelings and share" attitude works here!   
What really impressed me about tonight was the techniques taught to respond..... all defensively but in a powerful way. Basically defusing the power of his opponents attacks. He wasn't taught to retaliate or pick up a weapon.... he was taught life lessons tonight not just self-defence moves. Another thing I am so grateful for is the, "communication"  discussed. Phrases used - verbal attacks, abuse and what to say and do in this situation. Again, something I just cannot guide my son through.  I can still remember giving him my maternal opinion on a situation when he was younger. A girl from school had asked him to "go out with her."   He didn't know what to do. He asked his mother, who immediately went into defensive mode, telling him the following..... 
"you go back and tell this GIRL that I said you cannot have a GIRLFRIEND until you are 21 years old!"  
Well my boy, did just that. The polite, naive, little guy that he is, and as a result.... 
GOT A MASSIVE PUNCH IN THE ARM!
That's when I think I decided that my advice about some things, ain't the best and he needed male mentors in his life to help guide through some of the confusion.


Luckily for us, our two instructors are extremely passionate about the children protecting themselves. The Self Defensive classes teach kids to be street wise, savvy, reliable and responsible.  One night as they were discussing possible scenarios, my son was grabbed from behind and dragged along the floor by one of his instructors. His mouth was covered and he was helpless. All of the attending parents, got a massive wake-up call. My son, reacted in a very typical way. He was frozen with fear. It was so fast, he didn't know what to do and he didn't try to respond. There wasn't enough time. His instructor said,
"now you know the feeling...next time you fight to get away!"  
It was such a  powerful demonstration and one I am particularly thankful for. From a parent perspective, any child would freeze with fear, if grabbed and was unaware no matter how good they were at defending themselves..... actually I think any adult would freeze with fear too!   Watching this from the sidelines.... was terrifying.

Here is some information about the discipline of Taekwondo and their website.
I cannot speak highly enough of it.

Learning traditional Taekwondo is an effective and enjoyable way for people of all ages to learn how to punch and kick for self defence skills, to increase fitness and energy, improve strength and flexibility, reduce stress and develop a confident and disciplined mind-set.  
Body - fitness, strength, flexibility, co-ordination, balance, energy, self-defence
Mind-set - focus, discipline, self-control, perseverance
Spirit – confidence, satisfaction, positive attitude, resilience, strength of character
Pacific International Taekwondo branches are throughout Brisbane and Ipswich, Caloundra and Nambour. 

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