​My journey at Tam Taekwon-Do Mudokwan commenced after the first COVID lockdown in 2020 as a 4th Kup, when I was referred by another instructor and friend. 
 
One of the reasons I felt change was needed from a personal level was my training was oriented towards grading and certificates. 
 
Despite, being eligible to immediately grade for 3rd Kup at my previous dojang, I felt it was necessary for my own development for a change in direction, as I realized alot of concepts including contact sparring I never experienced despite being a Blue Belt.  Immediately, I was overwhelmed at the comprehensive nature of the training in terms of all elements including fitness, sparring and patterns. 
 
Although, my initial 2 years were disrupted from COVID induced lockdowns and learning a substantially new syllabus and applications, I pushed through this learning curve largely attributed to consistent training. I distinctively recall one day, GM Tam Fook Chee stating in class although gradings take more time here when you progress it is truly earned and not to be discouraged on time. 
 
Recently, I have been away from Sydney in Asia and North America, respectively. Although, there is no substitute to consistent in-person training initially I was based in a city with no dojangs. Despite, some ITF practitioners temporarily living in San Diego,  they were too busy to oversee or commit to group training.  Prior to arriving in the United States, I reached out to Master Gordon Jue (VIII) based in the San Francisco Bay area whom I have known for a few years through mutual friends. As I was particularly keen to train as I felt particularly rusty, I decided to fly to the Bay area one weekend as I lived adjacent to the airport so I could continue learning Chong-Moo. 
 
 I was invited to attend a seminar in Honolulu on 20-22 October 2023. In order to motivate people to keep training 1st Kups were presented with Dan grade doboks that they were unable to wear until they graded to 1st Dan. Whilst, 3rd Dan practitioners due to grade for 4th Dan were given customized 4th-6th Degree doboks that they were only able to wear after successful grading. 
 
The seminar was divided into technical breakdowns, self defense conducted by a Police Officer instructor and Tuls. Also, it was streamed throughout North America for online. attendees. On a personal level it was my first International seminar and many of the concepts echoed including, the heel-spring motion for parallel stance punch used as a fundamental exercise as opposed to generating power.  Also, the concept that despite sporting components, ITF Taekwon-Do is always primarily a martial art first and foremost. 
 
Following the seminar, I was encouraged to compete in the Warriors Cup in San Jose as I was returning to San Francisco for the entire month as several people from the US-ITF and Jue's Taekwon-Do were also participating. Although, I was initially reluctant due to a lack of training and conditioning as well as not being able to attend classes regularly, it was a great chance for me to gain experience in performing patterns in competition situations and under pressure. 
Additionally, I was personally inspired by Grace Wee's personal situation as despite regularly travelling for her occupation, through dedication and work ethic she was able to compete and win medals in this year's World Championship. 
 
The Warriors Cup was hosted by Master Steven LeGrow (VIII) and Warrior Code Taekwon-Do Academy in Dartmough Middle School, this event featured various World Championship practitioners from multiple organizations and countries including Ethopia, Taiwan, Finland, Canada and across all of the USA.  Also, the competition consisted of sparring, pattern, speed kicking and the single elimination Chon-Ji challenge consisting of over 120 competitors. On a personal level it was the first time I competed overseas and in Tuls. 
 
I participated in speed kicking, patterns and the Chon-Ji elimination challenge.  I was able to win a bronze medal out of 20 adult competitors in my division, largely due to applying kicking drills learned from training in both Lidcombe and Burwood, respectively. 
 
Additionally, I participated in a round robin pattern event, winning 2 rounds and losing 2 rounds resulting in a 3rd place medal finish. During this event, although I won one round with a unanimous vote I realized I had not finished in my place. Whilst, despite narrowly losing in my final round 3-2, after the round various instructors approached myself and the other competitors stating it was an excellent display of Hwarang and one of the best rounds. 
 
Key feedback during the event I received from conversations was to keep consistent rhythm and not to be pressured to speed it up from others. Also, in loud competitions it can be difficult for people to see your breath control so it is important to make it obvious.
 
I intend to participate in more competitions both locally and globally should my work schedule permit me to participate. However, upon returning to Sydney it is imperative that I re-establish consistent training and effective regain my conditioning, as well as learn the entire pattern required to progress.
 
Taekwon
 
Paul Zhang (1st Kup)

​25 July 2023

Paul Zhang: Hi everyone, today I am joined by Miss Elaine Li (2nd Degree). Elaine is a very dedicated practitioner of Taekwon-Do and has achieved various accolades, most recently winning Gold medals in both sparring and patterns at the Global Open Taekwon-Do Championship in Melbourne.  Also, along with Kevin Quach and Grace Wee, she is representing Australia in the World Championships in Kazakhstan.
Also, on a personal level she has helped me to a significant degree in my Taekwon-Do journey when I joined Tam Taekwon-Do Mudokwan during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thank you for taking your time to answer some questions, Elaine.
Elaine Li: Thank you.

Paul Zhang: How is your preparation so far for the upcoming World Championships?
Elaine Li: It is going well. I am staying focused and training everyday with a schedule. Admittedly, it is tiring given that I work full time, but I am enjoying it regardless.

Paul Zhang:  Can you give us some insight of when you started Taekwondo initially and how were you introduced?
Elaine Li: I started Taekwondo when I was about 15 years old. Honestly, I was introduced to Taekwon-Do by chance; I was seeking a Wushu/Taichi instructor when I was looking to start martial arts, but found it difficult to find a good teacher. This is when I decided to just do Taekwon-Do because I saw Taekwon-Do schools everywhere in Sydney. I did, however, start with Olympic style Taekwondo.

Paul Zhang: What attracted you towards ITF style Taekwon-Do, as you originally started in WT Taekwondo?
Elaine Li: My main motivation at that time was to look for a new instructor; the school that I was with before didn’t quite fit my needs. I came across ITF Taekwon-Do by chance; one of my school peers said he did Taekwon-Do, but when I observed him it looked incredibly different to the Taekwondo I did. This started my curiosity, and that’s how it lead me to TTM.

Paul Zhang: As many people typically associate Taekwondo with the WT style specifically, can you provide our audience with what are the key differentiating factors between WT style and ITF Taekwon-Do?
Elaine Li: I feel that WT Taekwondo is focused on the performance and sport aspect of Taekwondo; I think people who excel in WT Taekwondo become Taekwondo athletes. What I gained from ITF Taekwon-Do, although this may also be my privilege training under GM Tam, is martial arts in its complete form – the athletic component, but also self defense and philosophy.

Paul Zhang: Having started in WT style when I was relatively young and not practicing any taekwondo, I realized significant differences across patterns, movements, and sparring.  As a result, I started as a white belt again. How do you find the transition between both styles?
Elaine Li: Quite smooth; I expected to start at white belt and was happy to do so. I also felt that this was the right thing to do. For me, getting privileged grading or starting ahead ruins the learning experience. I feel that people who are high level black belts even in their elderly years have preserved that white belt mentality of curiosity.

Paul Zhang:  What is one significant learning that you have learned from Grandmaster Tam Fook Chee in your Taekwon-Do journey?
Elaine Li: the ‘Do’ of Taekwon-Do. Although I think that this will be something that I will continue to discover about. I also learnt to appreciate patterns to a much deeper level.

Paul Zhang: Describe your experience at Tam Taekwon-Do Mudokwan (TTM) and your connection with our Dojang?
Elaine Li: TTM is my family. I am lucky to have found this community.

Paul Zhang: People do martial arts for different reasons, I wanted to ask you why do you practice martial arts?
Elaine Li: Initially, for confidence and self-protection; I experienced a lot of violence growing up. At the same time, I was, and still am, a die-hard fan of Chinese martial arts movies.

Paul Zhang: As a Taekwon-Do practitioner what drives your continued dedication and practice?
Elaine Li: I think my learning has only just started and I’ve put the most energy into sparring and patterns. I would like to refine my knowledge in self defense, improve my special technique, and really start doing more physical conditioning for breaking. In short, there’s a lot of things for me to work on.

Paul Zhang: Finally, beyond competitions, what else would you like to achieve in Taekwondo in the future?
Elaine Li: I genuinely wish to share this art with other people. Martial arts is complex, but I find that our current society tends to have short term, rather shallow, focuses. On a more selfish note, I just want to keep refining my own skills as there a lot for me to improve.

Paul Zhang: Thank you very much for your personal insight and answering these questions. Also, thanks for all your assistance over the last few years.
​Taekwon!

Q and A with Emilian
 
Paul:  Today I am joined by 2nd Degree Emilian Boettger from Berlin, Germany. Emillian trained in our dojang during his gap year. Just a brief introduction Emilian has represented Germany in the World Championship held in Amsterdam as well as represented TTM in the Global Taekwondo Championship in Melbourne.
 
Paul: First and foremost Emillian, how were you introduced to ITF Taekwon-Do in Germany and how long have you been practicing?
 
Emillian: Hi Paul, thank you for this little interview. I was actually introduced to Taekwon-Do through my brother. Because the father of my brothers friend is my instructor in Berlin and I met him through this connection. So I wasn’t really actively searching for any kind of martial arts, it was more a connection that brought me to TKD. But after the first few training session I decided real quick that this is what I wanna do. I started when I was 7 years old, so I am practicing for 12 years now. 
  
Paul: What drives you to continue your practice in ITF Taekwon-Do and what does Taekwon-Do mean to you?
 
Emilian: Taekwon-Do is not just a sport for me. It’s more like a way of being and living. What I mean with that is that I am not separating between the training and my normal life. You can connect that and use most of the things in every day life. A good example are the tenets of Taekwon-Do, you can always use it and live like that. So Taekwon-Do gives me an orientation and that’s not all, it gives me motivation, passion, self-control, an open and free mind, joy, strength, confidence, patience and lots more. I always enjoy practicing TKD and I would be happy with all of the beautiful things we learn and practice. 
 
Paul: How were you introduced to Tam's Taekwon-Do Mudokwan?
 
Emilian: I knew that I was going to Australia for a whole year and I needed and wanted to continue training. So I was looking for a dojang in Sydney and I had lots of help through Anastasia Alexandridou, president of TKD Germany, and I am super grateful for that. She contacted Master Michael Muleta in Melbourne and he referred me to GM Tam Fook Chee. That’s how I found TTM. 
  
Paul: Can you elaborate on your experience on your experience training in TTM?
 
Emillian: The whole year practicing TKD with TTM has been a real pleasure and I am not lying when I say that I enjoyed every single training session. It’s very simple why. The whole training atmosphere and what you can learn is amazing. Every single person really wants to learn something, is focused the whole time and listens when there are new instructions and that makes the whole group dynamic very comfortable. Next to that I was able to improve in nearly every session, so the level of TKD at TTM is very high and that is brilliant. I especially enjoyed the specific technique training with lots of details and the great analyzing of sparring training, where I was able to improve a lot, especially in movement and when I have to do what kind of move. Furthermore, I really appreciated the big variety of training methods and, and that is probably the most important thing, everyone at TTM is super friendly and open. 
 
Paul: Excellent that's great, I hope it goes a long way in your journey. Can you describe in your own words GM Tam Fook Chee's and Sabum Mayumi's approach to Taekwon-Do?
 
Emilian: GM Tam Fook Chee and Sabum Mayumi have both such a huge passion for TKD, that is amazing. You can really feel it in every situation in training when they are instructing something and that is super important and beautiful for all students. What I think is, and that is close connected what I said about my passion for TKD, that TKD is not just a sport or a job for them, it is connected to life and really a way of thinking and being. Exactly that is perfect for instructing TKD and all students can feel that. Next to that, both but especially GM Tam Fook Chee has so much experience, so much knowledge and such a long and successful journey in TKD and that is nothing you can just achieve next to something else. TKD needs to be your life and that’s in my opinion the case here. 
 
Paul: Can you provide something that you have learned during your tenure in our dojang that you can take with you when you return to Germany?
 
Emilian: First of all I was able to improve during this year and that is something I am definitely going to take home. I improved my rhythm in patterns, my strategy and timing in sparring and learned lots of new methods how you can train and instruct certain things. I learned to do certain techniques differently and I am really looking forward to take these things back home to my dojang and show my knowledge. But next to that and that is probably even more valuable for me, I learned to be even more open in the world of TKD. Because I have been practicing TKD my whole life in one dojang with my instructor and here I learned to go to new dojangs and train with other people because it is worth it. You improve a lot and especially make new friends. 
 
Paul: Thank you very much for your time, Taekwon. 
 
 
 Paul Z