Where have all the old folks gone?

I'm writing this on the eve of the USA Taekwondo National Championships, one of the highlights of the competition calendar.  This year's event, which will host something on the order of 6,000 athletes of all ages, is being held in Austin, Texas, next week.  If you find yourself in town, plan to buy a ticket and check out some amazing talent.
   The talent in the older age divisions, I'm sad to say, will be in rather short supply.  Even though USAT offers age-specific poomsae [forms] competition for athletes of all ranks -- right on up to the 4th Master Division, for ages 66+ -- the number of seniors participating in this year's event is disappointing.
   The good news is that, yes, there are some older colored belts, yellow through red, participating.  This means that more seniors are taking up Taekwondo later in life and will eventually be competing in the World Class black belt divisions.  The bad news, though, is that seniors who already hold black belts seem to be disappearing from the competition trail.
    Taekwondo is not just for the young.  In fact, in many ways Taekwondo is better suited to the old.  Although Taekwondo certainly holds its own as a major competitive sport with an international following, it is more than anything a way of life.  It is a way of uniting mind, body, and spirit in a positive, meaningful, and life-enriching search for one's genuine self.  And its challenges and rewards remain active in your life long after your athletic capabilities have peaked.
   So this month's post is a plea.  If you hold a black belt but are no longer training, get back in the game.  And if you have never studied Taekwondo, visit a local school and take the first step toward a fulfilling lifelong enterprise.
   Now if you happen to be one of the few senior black belts participating in this year's USA Taekwondo National Championships, here's an interesting and instructive true story.  At a recent tournament I was, as is often the case, one of the few 66+ competitors, and because of that each of us was guaranteed a medal.  We just didn't know what color.  While waiting to perform, I overheard the parent of a teenage competitor say, "See how easy it is to get a medal?  Just compete in the 66-and-over group."
   Easy?  Well let's think about that.  It's certainly true that a 16-year-old competitor faces a greater number of challengers than someone who's 66.  But will that 16-year-old still be training half a century from now?  Will he or she still be competing?  Probably not.  Getting older happens automatically, but remaining fit enough to train and compete when you're closing in on 70 represents decades of challenges that have been overcome successfully.  Things like raising a family, holding a job, and overcoming health issues all work against the senior athlete, so there's nothing at all easy about being one of those few "old guys" who competes for a medal.
   If you're still competing at 60, 65, 70, or beyond, you have earned whatever medal you may receive, regardless of how many others stepped onto the mat with you.  Thousands of others could have competed . . . but didn't.  That makes you a champion, with or without a gold medal.
   Good luck, and good training.  Taekwondo for life!
 

Videotape Your Taekwondo Techniques

If you're reading this "Seniors" blog, you probably remember when filming yourself involved a movie camera, an 8mm cartridge, a projector, and a folding screen.  But you probably don't remember capturing your Taekwondo moves on film, because the process took much too long.
   Welcome to 2015.  Today you most likely own an iPhone or an iPad.  If not, a good friend of yours does.  And since videotaping your Taekwondo techniques is a two-person job anyway, call upon that good friend to play director while you play action star.
   We're now in June, and the halfway point of the year is an excellent time to assess your progress in  forms, or poomsae, as well as individual techniques.  It doesn't matter whether you're a beginner or a seasoned black belt.  Taking a hard look at your stances, kicks, strikes, and blocks always produces some useful feedback that will help you improve your Taekwondo skills.  And thanks to modern hand-held technology, shooting some video footage is quick and painless.
   Videotaping training sessions is something that most members of the USA Taekwondo National Poomsae Team do on a regular basis.  Even though a number of these team members are world champions in their respective age divisions, they realize that they can always improve something: the way the thumbs are held in a ridge-hand block; the speed and fluidity of a double punch; the foot position in a back stance; or the height of a side kick.  Eliminating even minor technical flaws can easily spell the difference between finishing first and fourth in championship competition.  More importantly, it can distinguish between the old you and the new you.  Taekwondo is about a lifetime of improvement, so you never outgrow the need for objective feedback.
   Why do videos help?  I offer two important reasons.  First, how you feel you're executing a particular technique is probably quite different from how you're actually doing it.  Example: we all sometimes feel that our kicks are sky high when, in fact, they're barely face high.  Even when kicking in front of a large mirror, you're likely to overestimate the height and speed of your kicks.  Watching a video can correct that misinformation.  You may not like what you see, but it's nice to identify problems in the privacy of your own home rather than in the center ring of a major tournament.
   Second, the nifty videos that an iPhone and iPad produce will allow you to zero in on particular frames and, if you wish, to print them out.  Why not capture your key problems in a series of still photos, then refer to them in the weeks ahead of a test or tournament?  Because we all have an infinite variety of techniques and combinations to master, we sometimes lose track of the movements that need extra work.  Tape a few pictures to your wall, and refer to them whenever you train.  Naturally, it may make sense to bring some of these photos to the dojang and let your master instructor comment on what he or she sees.  A little tough love never hurt anyone.
   If you're not videotaping your Taekwondo techniques, you're missing out on a simple but highly effective means of elevating your performance.  Before the year is half over, please shoot some video and see what happens. 
   Train well.