This is my first follow up on how my return to Tae Kwon-Do has gone after a 19 year break.
I really didn't feel like my inflexible dad-bod deserved my old 2nd degree belt, so I agreed a path with my instructor where I would re-start as a 1st Kup, would regrade as a 1st Degree in May 24 and then as a second in Nov 24. This gave me 9 months to learn 9 patterns and all the step sparring of the ITF syllabus. The patterns have the same name in the style of Tae Kwon-Do I studied previously, but had minor differences in some and were completely different in others. I also had to delete old "hip twist" muscle memory and learn "sine wave" instead.
I successfully graded for 1st Dan in the May, but wasn't invited to grade for my 2nd in the November as planned. I don't know if that was due to my ability, internal politics, or just that I was forgotten. Whatever reason, I respect that and will wait to be invited. Grading so soon is not done normally, so it is unusual, but obviously I am an odd case having been a 2nd Degree for 20+ years.
I've become very interested in the various styles of Tae Kwon-Do so I was tempted to also begin training with a local TAGB club. Not only would I be able to see where the differences are and try to benefit from broader training, but I would also be able to start with them as a 2nd Degree, grading for 3rd when I'm ready. I've put that idea on hold for a bit while I support our instructor with some changes he's implementing.
Fitness
Since being back, my weight has gone up from 64kg to 82kg, but as we all know, muscle weights more than fat! My body fat percentage has dropped from 29% down to 19.5%. Actually getting pretty close to 6-pack territory now. I've been training 3-5 times per week and sticking to a pretty strict meal plan.
My overall cardio fitness is so much better than last year. I'm still not where I want to be, but will keep working hard on it. There's been noticeable improvements in my general health, mental health and wellbeing too.
My flexibility is still far from what it used to be however and a real focus moving forward. I was making steady progress, until I developed a strange hip pain. It's normally only when I do a turning kick and doesn't affect me every day - I have good days and bad days. I've been to the physio recently and I'm working on it.
Competitions
I am far from the international level competitor I was in my youth! However, I've made an effort to compete in lower-level competitions across the country. I've won some medals, but nothing to shout about yet. I feel like once I fix my flexibility I'll be able to properly enjoy competitions again. It's really hard sparring when you can't turning kick their head and you don't know if your turning kick is going to cause you pain.
Instructing
One thing that I didn't see coming is that I've started to cover sessions and I've just started the club's instructor's course. I did an instructors course a very long time ago, but some clubs have their own one that you must do before being allowed to start a school. I always enjoyed instructing first time round, but it was a bit weird back then. I was very young (16-18) and despite being champion, we had a lot of high level students that didn't always want to take orders from a youngster!
I feel that my experience in Fitness instructing, my marketing background, my love of Tae Kwon-Do and my STEM education training all put me in a great place to run a school in the future and it's certainly something I always saw myself doing - just maybe not yet! I'll keep exploring it and see where it leads. It's just nice to be there to support our Instructor when he needs it.
My Kids
My kids (19 year old boy and 11 year old girl) both started training when I returned and it's been great for them. Both have shown a huge boost in confidence, made new friends and have got fitter. They're just about to grade this weekend for their Blue Belts. Both have competed and won various medals.
2nd Family
One thing that martial arts are great for, is building a community. This club in particular is very social and family orientated. I've made some great friends, some of whom feel more like family. I've lost count of how many outings, events, competitions, etc we've gone to as a team. We all look out for each other both inside and out of the Dojang.
What's Next
Hopefully I'll grade in May. I should also finish the Instructor's course around the same time. Obviously I'm there whenever our Instructor needs me to cover, but as for my own school, I think I'll probably wait a while. I'd quite like to develop a new interactive lesson planner for DojoDex first - coming soon....
