Fight for Change and the mystery of martial arts

* By Kristy Hitchens aka The Mortal Mouse

Many people who have taken up a form of martial arts like Taekwondo will tell you they experienced a somewhat magical transition where the practice became not so much a part of their life, but a way of life.

And through this process, their club becomes not a place where they turn up once or twice a week to train, but something inside of them.

This was how it felt when Taekwondo Central and its members gathered behind me in support of Saturday’s Fight for Change event, hosted by Hitfm breakfast radio presenters Jesse and Juelz.

As you might have already heard, Fight for Change was the result of a collaboration between myself, Jesse and Juelz after they interviewed me on air recently about my Pink Belt Scholarship project which raises money to empower women in need through Taekwondo.

Fight for Change was a conversation about domestic violence with a free self defence workshop to coincide with White Ribbon Day and held simultaneously in five locations across WA – Bunbury, Albany, Esperance, Kalgoorlie and Northam.

The Bunbury event, included a free 1.5 hour self defence workshop at the South West Sports Centre by Taekwondo Central’s Master Justin who donated his time and expertise on the day.

The entire concept would have fallen over very quickly if Master Justin hadn’t so willingly and generously agreed to participate so I must offer him my sincere thanks for that.

More than 40 women registered online for the event and we were blown away when all of them and more showed up full of energy and ready to learn. Having been teaching self defence even longer than he’s been teaching Taekwondo, Master Justin with assistance from Head Instructor Ajana provided participants with confidence, empowerment, usable skills plus a few laughs, inspiring stories and a lot of fun.

The room was absolutely packed and the atmosphere – despite the very serious messages behind the day – was overwhelmingly positive. The opportunity to be involved was an experience I won’t forget in a hurry.

A highlight was seeing Master Justin coach Jesse and Juelz through their first board breaks as a conclusion to the workshop. There was so much clapping and cheering and the priceless look on Jesse’s face afterwards showed he was completely astonished by his brilliant achievement.

That was just one highlight, there were so many more.

* News that a very fragile domestic violence survivor who struggled with some aspects of the workshop courageously made it through the event with gentle encouragement right throughout from one of TC’s Pink Belt assistants. And on top of that, the participant left feeling empowered.

* A complete stranger slipped me a $200 donation towards fundraising for the Pink Belt Scholarship project asking that her generous contribution remain anonymous.

* Word from Juelz later in the day that feedback coming in from the other four locations around WA where Fight for Change events were held was also very positive.

* The buzz afterwards in knowing that together as a club we had been involved in something meaningful that would trigger a stunning ripple effect for others.

* A big bunch of participants expressing interest in continuing their training through Counterstrike, Taekwondo Central or MartialFit.

* The group of my Taekwondo sisters who all turned up wearing Pink Belts to support the event and support my project still gives me tears when I think about it days later. Even the amazing but always humble Head Instructor Ajana who tossed aside her 4th Dan Black Belt in favour of pink for the day!

To Watch Jesse & Juelz break their boards – Click Here

 

A whole bunch more I know would have been there too if they could but were kept away by work and other commitments. They thoughtfully sent me their best wishes throughout the day.

All of this meant the world to me and reminds me of that old-fashioned saying: “Birds of a feather flock together”.

I prefer the more modern take on it of: “Your vibe attracts your tribe”.

At Taekwondo Central I have found a new tribe – a whole bunch of like-minded souls – who in a surprisingly short space of time, have become incredibly important to me. I put it down to another of the mysteries of martial arts!

Is a certain type of person drawn to the martial arts? Or do they become a certain type of person once there? Why do we all connect so effortlessly?

Throughout the process of this Pink Belt Scholarship project I have received so many genuine and lovely compliments about my efforts and drive to pull it off. We are now able to offer 14 scholarships at clubs across Australia.

Even though I find it excruciatingly difficult to accept compliments generally, I feel the constant need to deflect ones about pink belt. Not because I’m being stupidly modest and humble but because all of this honestly would not have happened without the unbelievable support and encouragement I have received from my club every step of the way.

I won’t single anyone out because I’m pretty sure they would know who they are. They are my tribe and each one of them inspires me every day through their achievements, through the personal battles they overcome, through their level of care and kindness toward others.

Just by being themselves, they encourage me to level up. In everything I do.

The very nature of a project like Pink Belt Scholarship demands a person out front and as uncomfortable as I am in that role, I have been able to do it ONLY because of the people in my club who have stood behind me propping me up the whole way.

Thank you could never be enough for helping me experience all of this.

 

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples”
– Mother Teresa

 

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Its moving forward at a great pace and momentum isn’t slowing down.
The Hitfm initiative inspired by Kristy Hitchens is nearly upon us and The Taekwondo Central team is ready to lift you all

Master Justin has had his go on Hitfm which was aired this morning.
Miss It?

Heres the link – Click Here

Jesse & Juelz have also done a video clip mentioning both Master Justin & Kristy Hitchens

Click Here

 Homepage – Click Here
Timetable – Click Here
Paragon Program – Click Here
Calendar Of Upcoming Events – Click Here
We’re On FACEBOOK –  Click Here
Summer Holiday Program 2019 ( SHP2019 ) – Click Here

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I was both horrified and yet very proud when I was told of a situation that arose for one of our black belt who used his skills to fend off 2 attackers

Kyrill Lloyd found himself in a situation that escalated very quickly. Kyrill is currently working in Townsville QLD where he is working FIFO from Bunbury.

After finding himself being targeted by some trouble makers giving him a hard time with their car,
Kyrill pulled over to hopefully deal with the situation as the driving was becoming dangerous.

Jumping from the car emerged a man holding a baseball bat and immediately went after Kyrill. With reflex action Kyrill kicked him in the face as he approached and followed that up with a well placed punch that dropped the attacker.

As fast as Kyrill could turn around the second thug thought he would avenge his mate charging to strike and was met with a back kick to the ribs stopping him in his tracks to receive a final face kick to end the situation.

–

“Timing Is Everything”
Miyamoto Musashi – 16th Century Samurai

 

The 2 scurried back to their feet and dove back into the car to get away, Kyrill’s injury was just a scratched knuckle.

I am horrified that this level of potential violence can accompany road rage. However I am so proud of Kyrill that his skills come through for him at a time they were needed. he certainly had developed strong techniques by the time he set out for work

Kyrill Lloyd today

Kyrills self protection is a huge club success or the passing on of effective skills, you see Kyrill as a small child was our nightmare. Kyrill and I joke about his days of staring at the roof and being busted by me on many occasions.

He is one of the only a few persons that I have asked to leave class for a day as his focus was so low at the time.

He returned the next lesson different. more focused and started to train better. As he grew as a teen and started to develop some size, the focus was paying off. He had developed a lot more power, precision and got the timing aspect correctly. (which according to the story was crucial in hitting his attackers as the were trying to hit him)

Im just so happy he is ok but I think his story also shows the fact that your child doesn’t need to be the super athlete or best co-ordinated to attain what they need.

Kyrill definitely wasn’t to start. Its not about being better than anyone. Its about gaining the necessary skill to deal with an assault.

The skills were owned and usable because he kept turning up to training from a young age.

Even me kicking him out still didn’t stop him turning up. He clocked up enough experience via training to develop usable reflexive defensive skill. Skill that worked.

 

90% Of Success Comes Just From Turning Up

 

The moves Kyrill used are all within the first 3 belt levels of our Taekwondo Syllabus but have been refined over years of practise. Simple techniques practised to refinement over years

There is no short cut to this skill. the hours need to be put in, the repetitions clocked up, the mind harnessed through training and the ability to foresee an attack to allow you extra time to respond.

This is all developed through just turning up to class. This is why we have an experience training level required to go for a belt. (Your Experience Book)

The students that really excel at our martial art don’t have a bottom experience level to make.

They train on a regular basis and even have some incorporated for any home exercise just because they understand about refinement.

–

The message said

Kyrill was very thankful that years of training had paid off and he still has it.
So thanks to you for giving him the skills to survive this time without a scratch less a little skin off his knuckles”
– Kevin Lloyd (Kyrills Father)

From all of us at the club – your most welcome

–

A Basic Martial Artists Learns How To Do A Skill
An Advanced Martial Artist Learns How To Use A Skill

–

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Having a Taekwondo Central student pass Black Belt is always something that makes myself and Head Instructor Ajana very proud.

Its part the reason we dedicate so much of our time to the growth of others but every now and then a student comes along that can be seen from observation. nothing needs to be said.

November 3rd, 2018 was another great day for the club. 4 new Black Belts and 2 who passed their 2nd Dan Black Belts.
But something happened that is a first for Taekwondo Central. “A Black Belt Best Grading Award”

Check out the full Black belt grading story on the club – Click Here

This Honour bestowed upon the best Technical & Traditional Taekwondo exponent is a little different to our style. The freestyle taekwondo we teach has less tradition and more defence.
We as a club spend less time on poomsae (Patterns) and more on developing powerful strikes and defences relevant to todays style encounters. No one is wrong or right. It just a matter on what you focus on.
Martial arts has many aspects to it. Its one of the things that make it so fascinating.

Kelly Rowe has done the amazing task of winning one of the “Best Grading Award” from a grading that consisted of some 70 people. The award has just been running a few years but its a great achievement for both Kelly & Taekwondo Central being our first time. So what made Kelly make that level above. It really is a case of the little extra that turns ordinary into extraordinary. Its a case of what you put in is what you get out.

Kelly has been a result of 2 things. A product of her own dedication & discipline. Her thirst for knowledge and growth in her martial arts is truly impressive.
Secondly Kelly has been a product of Taekwondo Centrals training, however just to be clear, extra personal time training due to her drive is the main contributor to Kelly’s success.

A regular member of the Paragon Program and a person that has put the time into learning from what all 3 of the clubs main instructors can teach, Kelly has also added her own training program at home to help her absorb her new martial arts lessons. Kelly has been a part of the Sparring Class & Demo Teams plus a Club Assistant and even recently lead her own classes.
As a true martial artist, her goal is to keep on the journey to Martial Arts Mastery. With her eyes focused on 2nd Dan Black belt next year an liftin her instructing roles within Taekwondo Central.
Kelly is also the Founder of Martialfit. A Martial Arts based exercise system that is for fitness not belts and its taken off in popularity.

With demand and reach of classes now expanding from Bunbury to Busselton, Kelly can bring what many other personal trainers cant. Yes she has the personal training qualifications but she also is a Black Belt.

She really does put her all into her training. I am of the belief that she will do the same for you. be it get in shape or get fitter to start working on belts. Martialfit bring on its own benefits. plus in the knowledge that your trainer actually takes pride in her training. Its an attitude you can grab onto and carry the rest of the day.

 

Contact Kelly on 0422 332 403
Email – kelly@outlot.com.au
Webpage – Click Here
Martialfit Facebook – Click Here

–Homepage – Click Here
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By Luke Crane, 1st Dan Black Belt

It’s November 4th, I’m sitting passenger side of my car heading to Dunsborough for a family catch up. The last 24 hours has been an absolute blur.

The events of November 3rd’s Black Belt Dan Grading still haven’t fully sunk in. Everything feels so surreal.

I have achieved something most people never will. I have obtained my Black Belt along with 5 others from my Taekwondo Central family.

Together we all further cemented our footings into our own Taekwondo journeys. Four of us obtaining our First Dan Black Belt and two of us reaching Second Dan.

I could not be more proud of the amazing effort each of us has put into preparing for yesterday’s grading. Blood, sweat, tears, injuries, sickness. We have all experienced a wide range of emotions pushing ourselves above and beyond our limits, and it payed off for every one of us.

Watching Lucas and Jy nailing their patterns, Kian with his lightning fast moves through his sparring, Trinity flawlessly and effortlessly breaking each of her boards with such fluid motion. Kelly’s beautiful stances with such precise technique also managing to take out a best in grading award.

See The Whole Teams Grading Day Photos – Click Here

I am beyond proud of each of these people’s efforts, I am so proud to have been part of their grading.

So how did I get here? What led me to this point?

A big part of my journey, as many who know me, is my daughter Remy’s influence. Without enrolling her into Taekwondo Central, I may never have been standing where I was yesterday.

I have never been a confident person. In the past I may have even seemed quite the nervous type. I find it difficult to start a conversation with someone I don’t know. I have no problems holding a conversation but I’ve always felt as if I’m interrupting something, or that no-one’s really interested in hearing what I have to say.

I used to get stuck in my own head a lot, I used to listen to my cautious thoughts too much, and I never jumped at opportunities that maybe I should have. Over many years, I slowly worked out that this was not the way to live.

I slowly corrected my thought patterns, I managed to move those cautious thoughts aside and allowed myself to breathe, to realise how draining all these excess thoughts were.

Taekwondo has been a big part of defeating my insecurities, building courage, building relationships, building strength, honour and determination. Taekwondo has done amazing things for me and I will always look back and be so proud of everything I have achieved within Taekwondo and my life as a whole since.

I started training back in September 2016 and I couldn’t be more proud of myself for hitting my second milestone in Taekwondo on November 3rd, 2018: Achieving my First Dan Black Belt.

The first milestone I set for myself was to be able to straighten my leg above my head in warm-up stretches. I achieved that roughly one year into my journey.

My next milestone: 2nd Dan Black Belt. There have also been several unexpected milestones that have popped up unknowingly during my time training. I joined the leadership team and very quickly made my way to Assistant Instructor at Taekwondo Central.

This was something I never saw myself doing yet something that I absolutely love. Becoming a full-time instructor would be amazing, it’s definitely on my list of to do’s.

However let’s back up a bit.

Earlier I mentioned that I only started training in September 2016 and managed to obtain my Black Belt on November 3rd, 2018. How in just over 2 years have I got to this level when it generally takes 4 years?

Based on this you might be thinking getting a Black Belt is a walk in the park.

Well I’ve got news for you, it’s not! There is nothing easy about obtaining such a feat. It requires commitment, strength, focus, resilience, stamina it requires the drive to never give up.

You will at some stage be in pain, it may be new muscles forming that have never been used, you may suffer from such pains as shin splints which can be extremely painful for some, it may just be a simple accidental collision during sparring, over stretching, pushing yourself too far too quickly.

At some stage you will hurt, and that’s all part of the journey.

I had the “pleasure” of a major shin collision a week and a half before grading. I didn’t know it at the time but when I got home I had a lump the size of my fist on my leg.

I was barely able to walk and had to keep my leg elevated and iced up. Only the day of my grading was I finally able to see my ankle because the majority of swelling and bruising had gone down.

Was I concerned about my grading due to this injury?

I hadn’t done any sparring since the collision and I had at least 8 rounds of sparring coming up as part of my grading. So the answer to my question was yes! I was concerned, I knew that I wasn’t able to perform to a level I know I can.

But it wasn’t going to stop me, it didn’t stop me. I pushed past it.

My leg was hit a few times, and believe me, it hurt! But I wasn’t going to let this stop me from coming and achieving my goal for the day and it didn’t.

So minus all of the above, all of the extra training (you would see me within our club 6 days a week either training or helping others train) what else was required to help me go for black?

It’s simple really. I now realise it’s the key to achieving anything you set your mind to.

Believe in yourself, and trust in the people who are helping you through that journey.

Master Justin, Instructors Ajana and John, none of them would tell you to go for this amazing achievement if they didn’t believe you were ready. Listen to those who are helping you out, they want nothing more than to help you succeed and succeed we did.

My journey however doesn’t end here.

I will continue to teach and train and better myself and my knowledge about this amazing sport, Taekwondo.

Black is just the beginning. It’s the end of my probation to prove that I’m worthy of holding this world recognised certification. The real journey begins now

 

Homepage – Click Here
Timetable – Click Here
Paragon Program – Click Here
Calendar Of Upcoming Events – Click Here
We’re On FACEBOOK –  Click Here
Summer Holiday Program 2019 ( SHP2019 ) – Click Here

 

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