Good evening Master Bryanna, Master Benecia, Master Brian, Master Joyce and everybody else here tonight. Welcome to my black belt grading, a significant grading that I hope to always remember. I started taekwondo because my brother, Matthew, had originally intended to commence the martial art. I remember he was doing some sort of fighting activity? Kicking people, that’s what the sport was. And that was the beginning of my unbelievable taekwondo journey. We came to Mitcham the first week it opened for Matthew to train. Master Joyce asked us to have a go since we were only sitting there. Before taekwondo, I was just a shy, timid, quiet person who was afraid to try new things. From my first lesson, I learnt that life didn’t come easy and that I would have to be willing to do anything to improve. I discovered that taekwondo was a lot more than just simply punches and kicks. It taught me many important life values that will stay with me forevermore. Determination, respect, leadership, self confidence, physical fitness and commitment are only some of the many valuable lessons I have learnt.
Taekwondo is a sport that is very fun, and I would encourage anyone to start it. It is fun learning new techniques and cool tricks. Honestly, I don’t have a favourite part of taekwondo as I enjoy doing all of it!
And now I stand here in pride. I stand here in front of everybody here tonight and none of this would be possible without the much, endless support from all those supporting me now. I would like to start off by giving humongous thanks to Master Bryanna, for always being there when I am in doubt, thank-you. Master Benecia, for helping me improve in my sparring technique, it has changed me a lot and I continue to improve to this very day. To Master Brian, for consistently assisting me in the poomsae arts, your influence has changed my performance, thank-you very much. To Master Joyce, for helping my sister and I since the very first day of training and for organising all these wonderful events over the years from then.
I would also like to give massive regards to Mr. Les Wynn, for giving me many useful hints and tips along the way to make my taekwondo journey even better. To Jason and Jessica Wynn, for encouraging me on the way as well. To my parents, for caring for me so much and helping me, for driving me to the countless number of lessons I decide to participate in. And to Matthew and Charli, for always being there and making taekwondo extremely enjoyable, thank you very much to all these people. Being a black belt is not the end of the journey, but the only the very beginning of a brand new adventure. I look forward to being a black belt soon.
