December 14, 2013
My Story of Tae Kwon Do
My name is Amanda Becker. I am a student at the Edgewood branch. Master McDowell is my instructor. It has taken me a long time to get to black belt. I have been a student of Tae Kwon Do since the spring of 2009.
My family, friends, church, Girl Scouts, and school have taught me basic values, but these values have been brought out more by the tenets of Tae Kwon Do. The five tenets, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit are things everyone should live by not just students of Tae Kwon Do. We should always be courteous and polite to others. I wish all people were honest (have integrity) and choose to do the right thing. If they make bad choices they should feel bad and want to make things right and do something to make up for the bad things. To persevere means to have patience and keep working toward a goal. Perseverance goes along with indomitable spirit. Indomitable spirit means to never give up even when the job seems impossible. Self-control is not only important in Tae Kwon Do it is also important in other parts of our life. Self-control helps us to not over do things like eating, spending money, and wasting too much time with video games.
I think I should work more on the five elements of the theory of power. Reaction force, concentration, balance, breath control, and speed and mass are all important not only in Tae Kwon Do but also in my everyday life. For example in sports like basketball I need to have good concentration, balance, and breath control. Concentration is important when I am shooting the ball and guarding someone. I need good balance when I guard someone so I can react to how they move. Breath control is helpful when shooting free throws and running up and down the court. In softball when I bat, concentration, balance, and reaction force are important. When running to bases breath control is important so you don’t pass out and speed and mass are important when running and sliding.
Of all the things we do, I like sparring the best. It forces me to react without thinking a lot. My art teacher was telling me a few weeks ago about her son who is a student of Tae Kwon Do in Decorah. On his way to school one morning, he was jumped from behind by another student. The other boy was bigger than him and picked him up from behind in a bear hug, lifting him up off the ground. He used what he knew about Tae Kwon Do to get himself free. I hope there is never I time when I will have to use Tae Kwon Do to protect myself or someone else. However I am one hundred percent sure that I have the skills and the courage necessary to protect myself or someone else if a situation happens. It would be like sparring in class but much more serious. I have learned a lot from Tae Kwon Do, after this test I want to go on to get a second dan.
