harrison chen
1st poom | september 2024

My Taekwondo journey started with a four-year-old boy standing in a giant hall nervously waiting for my class to begin. I was relieved when I received a warm welcome from the masters and was introduced to the club. My first lesson turned out really fun. Taekwondo was then a new interest for me, and I knew I had to join.

I was introduced to Taekwondo when my mum realised my interest in fighting, I had a dream of becoming a superhero. As I grew older, I realised superpowers and heroes with special abilities were not real. Although I was disappointed, I knew there must be other benefits Taekwondo could give me. As the years passed, I believe Taekwondo could benefit me throughout my life.

• Taekwondo practises the development of perseverance. Many times, I want to give up in training or competitions, however the lesson of perseverance Taekwondo has built for me encourages me to push myself and strive to be the best.
• Confidence is developed from Taekwondo as I often need to be able to trust myself to win. In competitions I need to have confidence in myself to be in first place.
• Taekwondo also builds close friendships. As I train, I also develop friendships. Whether it’s just from being partners or knowing each other for a long time.

I am a part of the Sparring and Poomsae competition team where I attended the 2022 and 2023 national championships.

Poomsae was about perfecting my blocks, strikes and kicks and developing my skills. With all of the intense training in Sparring, I pushed myself to the limit gaining strength on the way. After many years at Taekwondo, I am here now grading for my black belt. I will continue my journey reaching higher levels of rank, still improving more as I go.

Thank you to all the masters. Thank you to master Joyce for encouraging me to keep trying in classes. Thank you to master Bryanna for making my training more joyful and humorous. Thank you to master Benecia for pushing me hard when I am not doing my best. Thank you master Brian for correcting my moves in Poomsae and helping me throughout the way. You have all helped and guided me to this stage and I appreciate all your support. Taekwondo has been a big part of my life, and I believe the story will continue.