Reflections upon my ‘FIRST TAEKWONDO’ journey…

When I was a child growing up in the 60’s, one of my favourite shows was The Samurai with ‘Shintaro’. Like many kids I daydreamed about being a ninja! However it wasn’t until I was 19 that my real journey with Taekwondo actually began when I saw an ad in the local Messenger, so off I went to Port Adelaide to check it out. Even though I was the only girl in the class, I was very keen and turned up for training three times a week, continuing until i was 26 and had obtained my brown belt. By that time I was no longer the only girl, many other young women
joined up. I loved everything about Taekwondo, not only the physical training and the inspiration of our Instructors, but the philosophy of ‘Sound Body, Sound Mind’. Like many young women in that era I married and had children. However, I didn’t get to continue my training as my husband wasn’t supportive. I worked part time teaching kindergym and coaching gymnastics for 15 years. During this time, I divorced and started going to university. I studied social work and child psychotherapy.

In my work with traumatised children, I became interested in the role of physical activity on the children’s developing brains, as well as the physical benefits to their growing bodies. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the role of martial arts, particularly Taekwondo, in supporting children to learn self regulation of their emotional states. The repetition of skills on both left and right sides of the body assists in the integration of left and right brain functioning, which leads to improved cognitive functioning (problem-solving), and lower levels of aggression. It has also been seen to be helpful in assisting people who have experienced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in re-calibrating the “Flight-fight response” where people may have become hyper-vigilant.

In 2006 I moved back to Adelaide, and found myself drawn back to Taekwondo. I was bored with the gym, and wanted to return to something where I felt I was learning something new, not to mention that niggling unfinished business of the Black Belt! Interestingly, most of my Taekwondo training had been ‘hard wired’ into my brain, and despite being 52 years of age, themoves came back very quickly. My body was travelling a bit slower than my brain, but not to worry, I was still learning new skills and techniques, and I found training a fantastic way to de-stress after my job as a social worker during the day, where I was often faced with families in distress. I also have the additional benefit of developing my coaching skills by assisting to instruct the junior members.

One of the benefits of FIRST TAEKWONDO in particular, is that we are encouraged to achieve our own personal best rather than going into competitions with others. Even though some of us
are moving towards the other end of the life journey in terms of brain development and physical capacity First Taekwondo is so helpful in keeping minds as well as our bodies healthy. It doesn’t matter that i won’t ever be ‘Shintaro’ (aka Master Vernon Low) or knock someone off a horse with a jumping flying sidekick like an ancient Korean warrior. My Instructors keep me challenged by keeping our training interesting and varied which keeps our minds as well as our bodies flexible and active. We also have the opportunity to extend our knowledge and training through the ‘Black Belt Master Class’. Yes, I did acquire that elusive Black Belt at age 56. With the support of my First Taekwondo Instructors, I can continue to work on my health and fitness
goals, and hopefully stave off dementia in the process. First Taekwondo is for everybody!

Julia Donohoe (aka ‘Ninja Nana’ ) July 2016.

Port Adelaide and Woodville Gym.