Taekwondo is a commonly known martial art developed in South Korea. The homophonic translation from Korean, many English-speakers are unaware of the meaning behind those three syllables — “태” (tae) means “strike with foot”, “권” (kwon) means “strike with hand”, and “도” (do) means “the art/way”. Additionally, many people do not know the Olympic taekwondo is only a branch of the sport.
Initially, the founder of taekwondo, Choi Hong Hi, established International Taekwondo Federation (ITF), yet the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) was founded and promoted across the country by the South Korean government because Choi was a perceived ally with North Korea, with WTF later became the Olympic version of taekwondo. Unexpectedly, ITF is warmly welcomed by Europeans, with DU-Taekwondo’s society of Trinity College Dublin (TCD) adapting ITF, being one of many clubs in Europe. The club is referred to as DU-Taekwondo because of its association with other taekwondo clubs across universities in Dublin.
Both Karate and Taekwondo provide a good balance between combat and sport, as they share similar techniques and movements. With that being said, DU-Taekwondo has a more relaxing vibe than Karate society in TCD. One of DU-Taekwondo’s committee members, Quin, who also owns a black belt in Karate, confessed that he prefers the training atmosphere of DU-Taekwondo, as intensive training is not necessarily abundant. The club offers two one-hour sessions, with the first hour being beginner-level and the second hour being more advanced and intensive. Training covers many aspects to enrich members’ experience within the sport, from traditional taekwondo (i.e., pattern, sparring, breaking) to usual routines like fitness and self-defence. Although training is serious, advanced members are always willing to assist beginners. Moreover, coach James Whelan has profound coaching experiences, and was recently promoted to 7th dan Master. He knows exactly when to push students and when to help them relax. Despite being a professional in his field, he displays an easy-going character and enjoys talking to students. In fact, he is the pillar of DU-Taekwondo, as he has coached within TCD over decades, spending more time in the college than any committee members, thus he also teaches them how to run the club.
It has been my pleasure to be the secretary of the Taekwondo Club. I had been in the club for four years so far and I joined the committee at the end of the second year, when previous members left and the committee was in need of people. I was completely inexperienced, but fortunately, I had a team. I never worked with any teams before, and I didn’t think it was necessary to have a team because I was used to solving problems by myself. However, my experience in Taekwondo Club convinces me that it is nicer to have a team, especially a good team. Last year’s Fresher Fair was a nightmare because many committee members went for exchange, including me. I hardly contributed to the club due to the distance and time, but my teammate Anna who stayed in TCD undertook my work, and we shifted roles when she went for exchange the next semester. While I was away, people who stayed in TCD managed to run the club as usual, and I did not know about their struggles until I came back. It was the first time I realised the importance of having a team; after all, the effort of one person is limited. Another thing that changed my view of having a team was last year’s intervarsity. It took place in Galway, me and other six committee members spent two nights together in a three-bedroom hostel. We chatted until midnight, and attended intervarsity the next day. During sparring, my teammates were cheering up and coaching me; and when I was upset about losing the competition, they came to me, saying that I did a good job. In the evening, we went to the celebration party hosted in a bar by the University of Galway. The band was playing modern tunes, I could not remember who initially stood up and danced, but it inspired others to follow suit. I didn’t like dancing, honestly, but I didn’t reject it when my teammates invited me to dance. I feel more motivated to do things with them, even if it’s not something I personally enjoy. The bar was crowded and loud, people’s arms jostled, their voices and ours blended with music, yet our joy lingered in the air. To me, our committee is like a group of friends brought together by taekwondo. We have fun, and that’s the most important thing. DU-Taekwondo is a small club with a small team, but the group is zealous and supportive of each other, and I felt lucky to have a part of my life intertwined with it.
Speaking of mission of the year, DU-Taekwondo offers a clear answer: maintain the training group. Thanks to the effort of every committee member, the Freshers Fair was a great success — over twenty people attended the give-it-a-go session, and many of them joined the club. Having more members cements a stabler finance. Last year, the club almost emptied its bank account to pay for coach fee and intervarsity. It is because members were charged per session at a very low price (i.e., €2/hour, €3/two hours), and many did not show up frequently. Hence, Marta the Treasurer decides to charge per semester this year but sets the first class for free. The new payment scheme kills two birds with one stone, it saves the effort to issue a training fee statement for every member, while encouraging people to stay. Further, DU-Taekwondo wishes to organise more social events. Maria the Events Officer already held a karaoke night with Korean Society and a pub night with Judo, Karate, and Boxing Societies. Photos were posted on social media, refreshing followers’ memories about the club. Maria also plans to arrange a coffee time weekly for the club, allowing new members to chat with one another. This year seems to be a year of prosperity and hope for DU-Taekwondo, and it should be, because the club suffered abundantly from struggles yet moved forward unyieldingly. “Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to go to his class”, quoted from Choi Hong Hi, and those who go to his class will learn.
