Anger Management

By Nancy Fanning, blue belt

We've all been there…someone pushes our buttons, our day doesn't go as we’d hoped, the kids are whining, dinner gets burned…something sets us off and we want to lash out.  The easy way out is just to lose control.  Yell, throw a fit, throw an object, and maybe even hit something.  Those are the easy choices, but not the correct ones.

A smarter option would be to go to CTI Taekwondo.  First, it’s a great workout.  The warm up of jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups, and stretching releases endorphins that help improve your mood.
Then there are basics and kicks.  In your mind, you can imagine the problem standing right in front of you and focus your punches and kicks to destroy the problem.  During poomse, you can also imagine you are battling the day's issues and defeat them!  If sparring happens to be a part of class that night, you can really let loose the anger and frustration from the day while practicing your sparring skills.

If the physical aspect doesn't help change your mood, there’s the mental aspect.  It’s very important during class to keep focused and pay attention.  If you lose your focus, you miss important information that your instructor is telling you.  He might be correcting a stance or he might be giving you new moves on your current poomse.  Either way, you better be on your game and paying attention to all the direction he’s giving.  It’s your time to forget your outside worries and concentrate on improving yourself during the duration of class.

Whether you go to CTI Taekwondo for the physical side, the mental side, or just the all around workout, it’s a great place to take yourself to turn frustrations of the day into positive energy.  On the offhand chance that’s not enough to turn your day around, there’s always your Taekwondo family there to help put a smile on your face.  Taekwondo has helped me turn many bad days around and been an amazing outlet.  For me, the days that I feel the most beat down will usually end up being my best workouts.  It’s good to know that I have a positive and supportive place to go to take pent up anger and turn it into a strength to better myself.