Saturday, September 23, 2006

Starting Taekwondo "Later" in Life

This thought is often at the back of my mind. Am I going to be flexible enough? Will I be able to compete and keep up with younger stronger people?

I enjoy and am inspired by reading accounts of people who did start taekwondo later, especially when they had no previous history of martial arts. Here are some such websites:

Steve Conway's Taekwondo Site

Lisa Wise's Taekwondo Blog

My thoughts on this are that its all (mostly) in the mind. We don't realize how much of our physical well-being is controlled by our emotional and mental health. I had first-hand experience of the power of the mind when I was battling with chronic pain. I think the same applies to taking up a strenuous activity. What is limiting me is thoughts of what I will be unable to do. And this is conditioning that has been instilled into me by society and my parents. I need to free my mind of these and believe I will be able to perform well and become more flexible (this is a big goal for me) no matter what my age.

The difficult thing is that its not enough to just realize that the key is in the mind. Somehow it has to seep into your subconscious, or into your very fibres for it to work.

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