Taekwondo in Quarantine

By Mark Scott, 3rd dan

Being part of Colorado Taekwondo Institute, we learn about the tenets of Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo.  During this time of working at home, and working out at home, the tenets are more important than ever.  We need the use perseverance to continue to follow the rules of social distancing and wearing a mask.  Wearing the mask especially requires perseverance when it gets hot and more difficult to breath.  It requires indominable spirit to keep it on believing that wearing the mask will help someone, even when we are sure we are not sick.  Wearing the mask is helpful if nothing more than being a good example.  It also requires self-control to continue following the rules and to not be angry when people around don’t seem to care.

Even the limited workout in the CTI schools that we do with social distancing requires application of these tenets.  Wearing the mask during workouts definitely makes breathing more difficult and the workouts harder, so perseverance to continue working and trying hard in class.  It requires self-control to keep following the social distancing rules.  Doing poomse inside the square is a challenge.  But just like doing mirror image or doing poomse without the hands, staying inside the square makes you focus more on the stances and the upcoming moves to plan for shifting and shuffling of feet.

In all parts of the current life dealing with the current pandemic, we can all use self-control and indominable spirit.  Not being able to do the things we want to do and go the places we want to go can be frustrating, but we must adhere to the rules.  We must do the right thing in the hopes that we can prevent more people from dying.  We have to believe our self-control to wear our masks can make a difference.  Someday we will be able to enjoy the things we are missing now, and they will be all the more fun because of it.