Yesterday I spent the day coaching and judging at the Coloured Belt Classic tournament hosted by Mr. Joel Denis of The Edge TKD. It was one of the most organized tournaments I’ve ever been to. There were TKD schools from all over Ontario competing. I didn’t know all the competitors, but I knew all the instructors and some old familiar faces. 🙂
If we want to keep improving the quality of TKD practitioners it’s so important to support, encourage and groom the coloured belts coming up the ranks.
Unfortunately as a judge you have to always choose one competitor over the other but you want to give them proper feedback after they’ve competed so they know what to work on without discouraging them. For a lot of competitors this was their first competition. It just as important for competitors to learn how to be proud yet humble winners and for those who didn’t win to accept it graciously. The best part is whether you win or lose in that particular match there is ALWAYS something to work on when you get back to the dojang!!!!! I always look forward to scoping out new talent and predicting the next World Champions 😉
I want the coloured belts to realize how much their life can improve just because of TKD. It’s not just about the tournaments – it’s about the training, the personal growth, the lifelong friendships and living by the student oath.
Seeing my old friends was really cool since we used to travel all over Ontario and Quebec together as coloured belts and as newer black blacks. Some of my best memories were hanging out at the tournaments and in hotels with these guys. Even if the others were at least 5 years older and trained at different schools than me it didn’t matter. It was funny to see my parents yesterday talking to all the same parents from years ago. It really is a family thing especially when everyone travels together.
I was so proud of the students from Blackburn TKD at the tournament. They all did so well. Unfortunately I missed seeing a few of our students compete in the early morning but I was teaching the classes back at Blackburn TKD since Mr. LeGrow had to be at the tournament.
