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If you try, and you travail, you will triumph! -TKDTutor

Everybody makes mistakes

You are in your first Taekwondo class and class is about to begin. You are apprehensive and wondering if you made the right decision. You want to do well and not embarrass yourself. The following hints may help you overcome your apprehension and uncertainty.

You are a beginning student of Taekwondo. Your ultimate goal is to become a master of Taekwondo. What is the difference?

• Beginning Students: are not aware of their mistakes while others easily notice them.

• Intermediate Students: are aware of their mistakes and others notice the corrections they make.  

• Advanced Students: are aware of their mistakes that others do not notice and, when they correct them, only the instructor notices.

• Instructors: are aware of their mistakes that others do not notice and make corrections that are known only to themselves.

• Masters: are aware that they still make mistakes and strive to perfect themselves even though they know perfection is impossible.

Know Your Motivation for Studying Taekwondo

After years of Taekwondo study, Taekwondo practitioners begin to view Taekwondo as a "way" of life, but this is not what motivates a beginner. People usually begin to study Taekwondo as a way to get in shape, as a method of self-defense, out of curiosity, or as something that may enhance their lives. No matter what your motivation is for studying Taekwondo, stick with it until "the way" takes over. If your only motivation is to get in shape, at some point you will get bored and look for another method. If your only motivation is self-defense, your studies will probably be a waste of time since most people will never have to defend themselves. If you stay with Taekwondo for any reason, at some point, you will achieve "the way" and your motivation will be merely your love of the practice of Taekwondo.

Empty Cup

Bring an open mind and an empty cup to training. When presented with new thoughts, philosophies, and techniques, keep an open mind, absorb the information, process it, and determine if it is useful to you. If it is useful to you, use it. If it not useful to you, remember it, but do not use it except when instructed to use it in class. Bringing an empty cup means you come with no preconceived ideas. For example, if you come to class with thoughts of another martial art style in your mind, you will be constantly comparing techniques learned in that style to those you are learning in Taekwondo. You may end up with a blend of the two styles, instead of one clear style. Blending styles is undesirable for a beginner. Store the previous style in your memory and, after years of training in Taekwondo, you may find that the techniques are interchangeable.

Be Courteous

Courtesy may be especially difficult for a beginner student. Many times, on the streets, in schools, and in the workplace, assertiveness is considered a personality strength, and courtesy is considered a weakness—no one what to be considered weak. Oriental traditions, such as bowing, seem subservient to most Americans. However, if one considers the bow as a greeting and sign of respect, similar to a handshake, it will seem more natural. If you are respectful and courteous toward Taekwondo, the dojang, the instructor, and fellow students of all ranks, it will lead to your demonstrating more respect and courtesy at home, on the streets, in school, and in the workplace. This in turn will make you more respectful and courteous in class—forming a circle of courtesy. As you become more confident in your Taekwondo abilities, you will find it easier to be courteous. When you do not have a personal need to "prove yourself," you will be more courteous, and less assertive.

Evaluate Yourself

Critically evaluate yourself. Look for what needs improvement and seek ways to improve it. However, remember that you are your own worst critic—you are usually doing much better than you think. Do not expect overnight success. If it were easy, everyone could do. Progress in Taekwondo is not always level and consistent. Some days you do well, some days you do not do so well. Progress comes in small increments until one day it all "comes together" and you feel like a true martial artist.

Learning

Individual students learn in different ways. You must find which way works for you. Once you know which type of learning works best for you, you may adjust your training to accommodate your individual learning needs. For example, you may need to see a technique performed repeatedly before it makes any sense or you may need to see the technique in the context it is used. You may need to have the instructor facing away from you so you can align your body accordingly and mimic the instructor's motion. You may learn a hyung/form/pattern easier from a book or video at home at you own pace rather than in class. These are just some of the numerous ways a person learns. If you do not take the time to discover how you learn, you will have a difficult time learning as the techniques get more complicated.

Sometimes we learn without even knowing it. Many times parents bring their children to Taekwondo class and stay and watch the class each time. After a few weeks or months, the parents decide to start training themselves. On their first night they perform so well that people ask them if they have trained in the martial arts before. The parents find that they have absorbed a lot of information just from watching classes.

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