Hwarangdo Championships 2011 – From the competitors

Three competitors share their experiences and observations from the 2011 Hwarangdo Championships.

Shannon Smith
Sachin Abeywardana
Steve Wong

Shannon Smith (top)

Our arrival into Sydney was once again warm and exciting. We were very excited to be around good friends again for the 2011 Annual Hwarangdo Championships. Got to Sydney Airport and was greeted with an fellow instructor which was reassuring, not sure about the driving though but got to my hotel in one piece. In the evening the rest of the Queensland squad and I, met up with Master Kim and travelled to Parramatta for Korean BBQ dinner which i had been looking forward to since my last visit. Great food and great company and was enjoyed by all.
 
Arrival at the tournament was surprising and overwhelming. We knew how many competitors were going to be there, but seeing them all of them there was a great sight. The room was packed! There were many excited and nervous faces as i scanned the room. Wanted to buy a tournament t-shirt but they all sold out.
 
The fights, demonstrations and atmosphere over the day was terrific. It showed the organisation and efforts put in by the team arranging the event.

Thank you to everyone who participated. I am personally very proud of all of the Queenslanders who made the trip, by also very proud to be a part of Hwa Rang Do in Australia. Everyone made us all feel welcome and we hope to build our friendships.

Sachin Abeywardana (top)

I think most of the people practising Taekwondo or any other martial art for that matter, would agree with me when I say the tournament starts well before the referee says “fight!” For me it was when the tournament draw came out and I found out that I was fighting someone I had never met before. So what would any decent guy do? Facebook to the rescue! Spent a good half an hour searching for a guy called ‘Shawn Thompson’. It would have really helped had Steven spelt the guys name properly (Shaun).

So here I was sweating my guts out thinking this guy is going to hammer me. I was so nervous that I went over to my trusty partner in crimes house to calm my nerves. I thought I’d put on my gear and get her to do some stepping with me so that I would get use to wearing guards. The last time I had even worn it was 4 years ago in my last tournament as a yellow belt, which I had lost, and probably added to my nerves. So enter my first opponent, Simba! Winning by a knockout.

Getting back to the serious part I had been training for quite some time specifically for this event. Started going more often to training, focusing on my basics and getting them as perfect as I can, started going to the gym, working on my cardio so that I don’t end up exhausted half way into the match. Out of all the HRD trainers that I had Master Andrew was the most helpful, making sure I make the tiniest adjustments to get that tiny little bit more of power and speed, and of course was my coach for the day.

The waiting game was by far the most anxious moments, and probably drained most of my energy. I was more at ease once the fight began. It was all about keeping my distance and letting my reach do the work. I guess it worked out well for both my games. Sticking to the basics and being calm regardless of how fierce your opponent was, was personally the best thing I did.

Putting my fight aside it was fantastic to see all the other fights, the black belt fights being the most interesting and the closest of them all. The demonstrations were absolutely stunning and maybe next time I would be the one with the cup on my head for Steven to do a running jumping back kick (no promises here :P).

All in all it was a good day with my trophy breaking in half to top it all off. Maybe thats a good sign? Going from being the most nervous man on earth and literally shaking before the fight to winning two fights, not bad I’d say.

Steve Wong (top)

Entering into the annual Hwa Rang Do tournament was a first for me; however it was something that I shall never forget. I personally valued the experience as it is a completely different atmosphere compared with training in the dojang. You discover at first-hand what it is really like to spar with an opponent in a tournament style of environment and being able to demonstrate the techniques you learn during class. It was also a good opportunity to bond with fellow students & instructors from other locations whom I have never met before.
  
The day was demanding both mentally and physically. I became more and more anxious as my first sparring match drew closer and without realising it I started to wear myself out mentally as a result. My heart was pumping and my mind was full of questions like Who was I to spar? How good & how fast is he? Do I have the speed & stamina to go all the way? Fortunately I discovered who my first opponent was (Steven Black) and we got to know one another before we went to beat each other up (laughs).

When our turn finally came the nerves and the pressure of the onlooking crowd made it that much harder to concentrate. It was the longest 1.5 minute rounds I had ever experienced in my life but nonetheless I tried my best to remain focused and eventually won my first match. By the end my legs were burning and aching, a feeling that I have not had since I first started training in taekwondo.

With the first match over, my nerves had slowly settled down and I was a little more confident going forward to my next match later in the afternoon. I narrowly won my second match against Clayton Navarro by sudden death and I must say he was quite a tough competitor given his age.
 
By the third and final match (against Adrian Ziadinovic) I was near exhaustion, having rested only for a few minutes from my previous match. I decided I would give all that I had left and to my surprise I held my ground right up to sudden death round. I was on my last ounce of energy and gasping for air but managed to pull off a successful blow to my opponent, which secured the match for me as well as first place for black belt in my weight division.
 
Although a win was nice, I looked back and realise that it was not the most important thing that happened during the day. For me it was an opportunity to be part of the greater HRD community and experience what it is like to demonstrate what I had learnt inside of the dojang and to have hopefully learnt something from one another. I have since made more friends and it has also taught me that I still need to train a lot harder if I want to improve.

I thank Master Kim, Steven Kim and fellow students for encouraging me to take part in the 2011 HRD championships as it certainly made my day much more enjoyable. I believe that every student regardless of belt rank should give it a try some stage in the future, whether it is free sparring, breaking or poomse.  It is an opportunity to test both your physical and mental strength and you may even surprise others and yourself by how much you know.