My first tournament

​Students of Tam Taekwondo Mudokwan received the opportunity to attend one of Bai Rui’s bi-annual tournaments in Brisbane, on the 12th and 13th of October. The team consisted of 7 members, Sasung Tam, Sabum Mayumi Tam, Elaine, Kevin, Ronson, Zayn and myself, with the latter 6 competing. 
 
This was my first tournament so initially, I was hesitant to join and a little anxious about travelling all the way to another state, fearing I wouldn’t perform well. With the encouragement of my seniors, we were able to finalize my registration. It was a great chance to expose myself to other Taekwondo dojangs and students, taking in certain admirable strengths, as well as reflecting on myself while observing my weaknesses. 
 
I thoroughly enjoyed the weeks leading up to and during the competition. It was really fun to train during class, and on the weekends, with an excitement in the back of my mind “I need to train well for the tournament.” The feedback received from Grandmaster Tam for my sparring and patterns felt like really wise words that I had to keep in mind. I enjoyed watching and training with my seniors and instructors as they inspired me greatly to stay motivated for the few weeks before. 
 
During the few days at Brisbane, especially the comp days, I experienced a sense of unfamiliar support from our team that I never felt before. Even when I lost a few matches for sparring and was quite disappointed internally, I was encouraged by team members for trying my best. All the adults from TTM took great care of me wonderfully, while Elaine and Kevin treated me with delicious meals.
 
From this tournament, I realized two big weaknesses of mine. One was fitness which affected my stamina during sparring, therefore limited my ability to perform certain techniques. The second area of improvement was being able to spar smartly, resulting in me getting punched in the face a lot. After the competition, I received lots of insightful feedback on how to improve my techniques in sparring from TTM instructors, seniors, and also from the judges on how to improve my patterns. 
 
Our small team of 6 competitors achieved impressive medal results with 5 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze. I was fortunate to win a gold for pattern and bronze for sparring. All who participated, including supporters from Zayn’s family, Ronson’s dad, and Sabum Alan, contributed to our success in building team spirit, and provided energy for all the competitors to persevere. Memories of eating at Sunnybank Market Square, everyone snacking in the arena during their free time, supporting and taking videos of each other, really made me realize that TTM is like a family and even if we win a medal or not during the competition, we already won by being together. 
 
Taekwon,
Vanessa Yang

Please visit our Gallery to view photos and videos of us at the championship: www.taekwondo.org.au/gallery.html
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