How did you get yourself into taekwondo?
“About 5 years [ago], I started because I needed something to do outside of school because I was getting kind of bored and I picked up martial arts, so taekwondo was what I chose. I go to a school called North Indy. Their classes take place in a lot of different YMCA’s but I go to the Baxter YMCA.”
What degree belt are you?
“I am a red-black belt and my black belt test is on March 18th. The highest the belts go is a seventh degree black belt. To help me get to the next belt, I just learned a new form and I am just working on perfecting all of my forms. For my black belt test, I have to go through all of the forms that I know for all of the other belts. I just work on memorizing them and being able to do them in the right amount of time.”
What do tournaments normally look like for you and your school?
“For tournaments on the weekends, there are forms that people do in front of judges, weapons, which is just like forms but with weapons, sparring, which is where you basically fight another person and then breaking, [which is] just when you break boards. Usually for me, I always do sparring and forms. Usually sparring is at the end so I get a break in the tournament.”
What are your favorite and least favorite parts about taekwondo?
“My favorite part is probably sparring and all of the kicking forms. My least favorite is definitely self-defense because I could never remember it. But, even if I am really tired and my body is hurting, I still always want to go practice.”
How committed are you to the sport and what does it take to commit?
“I am hoping to go to the Olympics for taekwondo so I am hoping to still do it for a while. To be able to do taekwondo, I would definitely say that you have to have a strong mind to do it, because not only is it about your physical activity and doing kicks and forms, [but] it’s also a lot about self control. Taekwondo helps me balance my mental and physical state because it’s like an outlet and it’s a good coping [mechanism] for me. I am really committed to taekwondo and want to get a high degree black belt.
Do you have any highlights of your career?
“I do, actually. On Monday, February 24th, I broke a kicking record. It was about how many kicks you can do in 30 seconds just against a bag. The record was 93 kicks and I broke it with a 99.”
