Up Close and Personal with Ms Elaine Li (2nd Degree Black Belt)

​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!