Submitted by Mandy Tee

A few months ago, I was told that the 2^nd National Poomsae Competition will be held on the 27^th of May. Therefore, Mr. Leong thought it would be a good idea to have classes held on every Sunday in the Chi Liung public centre to help Power Sport students who are interested in participating in the competition with their basic movements. I was quite interested in participating as I’ve never really participated anything that involved the whole of Malaysia so naturally, I went for the training every Sunday, determined to improve myself so that I could be good enough to participate in it.

I went every Sunday to brush up on my basics and to learn new patterns for the competition. The instructors of the classes, Mr. and Mrs. Leong and Mr. Tan Kien Tat were very helpful as they patiently went through each and every student, correcting their stances and movements. Sometimes, the classes would be conducted by only Mr. Tan and I was surprised that he could handle and teach so many students, especially since there were a few students who were still in lower primary school. One thing that actually made me find him very admirable and amusing at the same time is when there was one day, on one of the classes, he was late by a few minutes because he had to fetch a few students who had no transport and lived quite far from the centre. So, before he started the class, he apologized and promised everyone that he would punish himself by doing 60 push-ups in front of us at the end of the class. It was obvious that everyone was very amused by his proposal and was very looking forward to it. Why wouldn’t they be? It’s not every day you have your teacher punish himself for his mistake. Sure enough, at the end of the class, everyone crowded around him, excitedly counting for him while he did his push-ups. One particular student actually smirked and said to me, “Maybe we should’ve asked for more. 60 push-ups seem like a piece of cake to him.” This little incident is what I feel made the whole training all the more fun and memorable for me.

Unfortunately for me, a few weeks before the competition, I tore my right foot’s ligament and was unable to walk for 2 weeks, let alone train. It was because of this that I couldn’t attend the classes on Sundays and participate in the competition. I was devastated because I loved the Poomsae trainings on Sundays as I had met so many people there and learnt so much from the instructors. Since I couldn’t participate in the competition, all I could do was just wish everyone who did the best of luck. When the day of the competition finally came, I waited for the parents of the participants to post the results on our own Power Sport Taekwondo Facebook Group. I felt so proud of everyone, especially those who brought back medals! However, I did feel a little disappointed because after the competition was over, there were no more trainings on Sundays. I had hoped that after my foot recovered, I could attend the classes again but I guess I’ll have to wait till next year. I am definitely looking forward to that! =)