Tae Kwon-Do Wisdom for 2020

As it was for everyone, 2020 was different than expected for our community martial arts program. Instead of teaching in-person classes as they had for the past 25 years, Redwood Meadows Tae Kwon-Do School moved online. They opened again to in-person, but socially distanced classes in September; however, were back online at the end of November.

Despite the disruptions to regular training, their students persevered and continued showing up to classes regardless of how they were training. A shining example of this perseverance, is one of the families of students, the Gillcrists.

Nine years ago, Matthew and Hannah joined as young kids and their dad Ralph soon joined afterward with encouragement from his wife Maria.

For Ralph, “there was the incentive of learning a martial art together with my children and in the process, improve my fitness and flexibility at a critical age when the body starts to experience physical decline,” which encouraged him to join.

Skip forward through years of commitment and hard work, the three Gillcrists moved up the ranks until they approached their final belt level before black belt. Here 2020 served up another disappointment as their black belt tests were postponed due to COVID-19.

Overcoming disappointment has been a recurring theme for 2020, but here Tae Kwon-Do offers some wisdom.

As Ralph says in the written portion of his black belt test, “of all the Tae Kwon-Do tenets, perseverance, the overcoming of difficulties and obstacles or delay to achieve ultimate success and indomitable spirit, the act of never relenting or giving up, ring particularly true throughout the course of my journey.”

Whether students join Tae Kwon-Do for a session or for years, the ability to overcome adversity is one of the traits that it aims to instill, and this year needed it more than ever. The Gillcrists hope to test in early 2021.