By Lars den Hartog, 1st dan
Since I started CTI
Taekwondo nearly five years ago, my little brother, Knox, has done it with me. Having a family member in Taekwondo has made the experience one I can share with someone else, and not just a solo journey. The ability to converse, learn, teach, and grow with my brother is beneficial not only to our success in
Taekwondo, but our relationship as well. Connecting over something that we both have in common brings us closer and keeps us motivated to do our best.
While our age difference has prevented us from competing together and training in the same classes, we are still able to find time at home to work on our technique with one another. Whenever Knox has questions on moves, techniques, strategies, or anything of the sort, I’m always able to help him and assist in him reaching the highest level of training. Before promotion tests and tournaments I always help Knox make sure his poomse and breaks are looking good. This not only helps him, but brings my training to a higher level. Watching and critiquing his technique reveals things that I need to work on myself. Through this, we are both able to grow and advance in our training far more than we would have if our journey at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute was a solo one.
Along with assisting one another in our technique, there is an underlying level of competition between us that brings our training to a higher level. Each of us wants to be better than the other. This, in turn, brings our motivation to succeed at classes, competitions, and other events to greater heights. A healthy level of competition would not be possible if I didn’t have my brother in Taekwondo with me.
There are, however, far more benefits to having family in Taekwondo than just reaching a higher level of training. Having family in Taekwondo has greatly increased my motivation and dedication to Moo Sul Kwan Martial Arts (The style of Taekwondo that is practiced at the CTI). Whenever I experienced times when I didn’t want to attend class or a tournament, seeing my brother do those things would always motivate me to go and have fun as well. We constantly push one another to attend events and achieve the highest level of success. Without having my brother in Taekwondo with me, I wouldn’t have nearly as much determination to succeed and prosper at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute.
Due to my parents having two children in Taekwondo, they have become familiar with the level of dedication and hard work that it takes to reach black belt rank, and the continuation of martial arts education past that. They constantly prompt us to achieve the highest level of success, and stress the importance of it. With the continuous amount of encouragement from my family, I am determined to attain the highest level of training and education through the Colorado Taekwondo Institute.
Sharing the experience of training in Moo Sul Kwan Martial Arts with my brother has proven to be a constant stream of healthy competition and motivation that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Training with family has not only made my journey at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute a more fun and exciting one, but a far more comfortable and advantageous one as well.
