Recently, I travelled with Kootenay Tae Kwon Do to Jamaica for the 2014 World Cup in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I have been training Tae Kwon Do a long time, since I was 6 years old, I am now 13 and going to the World Cup was a goal I had had since I started. The clubs athletes trained very hard for this tournament, everyone was very committed to training doing their best. Training wasn’t easy; I found it to have been the most challenging part. For me training wasn’t all about physical conditioning or speed, training my mind to stay mentally focused was just as important.
At the tournament in Montego Bay there were 31 countries and over 700 athletes. During the 5-day tournament there were different events such as patterns, sparring, power breaking and team sparring. This was our team’s time to shine and give it our all. Master Saran always tells us fight smart and give 110%, and no matter if we win or lose he is always proud of us. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve a silver medal without the support and wisdom from my coaches, Master Saran and Mrs. Paton. I am also very appreciative of my fellow team mates, we trained hard together and help push each other to our full potential.
We competed against world class athletes and although we all did not place in our division we were putting our months of hard training to the test and we were proud of our efforts in the ring. We are like a big family that looks out for one another. Our team will continue to train and we will be going to competitions in Vancouver, Regina and our own tournament in the near future.]
Kootenay Tae Kwon Do has been instructed in thevalley for 30 years by Master Sant Saran. There are classes twice per week in Crowsnest Pass, Sparwood, Fernie and Cranbrook. If you are interested in learning Tae Kwon Do please call 250-425-2044 or 403-563-9471 for more information.