Taekwondo is a way of life.

Taekwondo has been my life, since I was 5 years old. The beginning 5 – 8 years old Back in 1989 I would spend a lot of time on the sidelines of my father and older 2 brothers Taekwondo classes. Stretching, kicking and punching, I would be trying to impersonate their techniques while they trained at the Tugun Progress Hall. Finally my parents decided that I could join the class and try Taekwondo. Within months I was going for my first yellow belt grading. The first grading was held at the Tan’s Camp within a very large gymnasium and I was the last to be graded. By this time (several hours later) I was comfortably asleep at the back of the hall. Woken by “Wake Up Joanne!” I attempted my first grading and passed with flying colours. This was the start of my Taekwondo journey.

 I continued to attend classes up to 3 times a week and received several awards like ‘Student of the month’ ‘Head Instructors award’, medals at tournaments etc. Back in the 1990’s I would often have to fight boys in competition as female competitors were few and far between. Attending class 3 times a week was just part of the weekly routine as the whole family would be joining in each night at class. My brothers achieved blackbelt with my father also; it made me more and more keen to stick with Taekwondo to reach that goal. I often would use my Taekwondo skills for ‘Show and Tell’ at school. I can specifically remember wearing my yellow belt to prep and showing everyone ‘basic pattern’ for my turn up the front. I would be part of the demo group that would demonstrate at my school’s fete each year and be breaking boards to show my strength as a young primary school student. In the first few years of school

Taekwondo was a part of my life, as it was the only extra curriculum activity I played outside of school sports. Being so family orientated, this sport become a huge part of my daily activity with my siblings. Primary School days 8 – 12 years 1993 was a huge year on the Taekwondo scene for myself. This was the year that I would achieve my blackbelt and win my first nationals championship. With 3 family members already blackbelt, I was the last Hartmann to grade. I was going to my 2 branch classes and travelling to Southport twice a week also for a few months leading up to my grading. I also had my father and brothers perfecting my techniques at home. I was 9 years old and I can remember practicing my board breaking at home one night when I couldn’t even break the board with a side kick. I was so scared about breaking in my grading only to be asked by Dr David Tan “I would like to see a turning back kick please”… I was devastated, but the adrenaline and look from my father made me determined to break that board and I did. I was extremely excited about receiving my black belt and being able to sit beside the other blackbelts on grading day from now on.

Competition was always important in our family Taekwondo environment, as we were encouraged to participate in the sports side of TKD, plus being young I loved the reward of winning a medal or trophy. I competed in State tournaments and was selected in my first QLD team in 1993. I traveled via bus with about 60 team members to Sydney. My coach was Steve McConchie (Tans instructor) and I won my first nationals. Early teenager 12 – 15 years Once I became interested in other sports I started to only train once per week at my father’s gym. I was heavily involved representatively in Basketball and this sport took a forefront to my Taekwondo commitments. I always continued to train but did fewer competitions. I had a lot of teenage friends who started, so

I became very social with my attendance. I would always help at Awards nights and social activities, but was less involved when traveling with the team to interstate competitions and fight nights. As my father started a fulltime gym in this time, I was always helping with classes when I was at training. It became mandatory in the Hartmann family to teach, attend and participate in the social and traditional activities we had on. High school days 15 – 20 years Still heavily involved in Basketball, I managed to slowly make my way back into the Taekwondo competition scene at about the age of 16. I hadn’t competed in ages, but due to starting a relationship with another TKD student, this made Taekwondo become more interesting again. I kept up my Taekwondo skills and competition drills again throughout high school and even competed in a few National tournaments.

 I received Bronze in my first come back competition, which I was really pleased with. At this stage my brothers were training extremely hard and fighting internationally every year, plus my father had been traveling to all the World Championship for refereeing. At 18 I went for my 2nd Dan blackbelt, this was my first grading in 9 years, so what a difference it felt going through all those emotions before a big exam when I was only nine the last time I graded. Getting that second strip on your blackbelt is always the hardest, you feel like your job is done once you reach black, so to have a second strip is always a nice feeling. Young adult 20 – 25 years I traveled to my first international completion in Korean when I was 22. I went with my father to Korea and saw the ‘Kukkiwon’, which was a great site; I saw the very old and traditional training hall that many blackbelt had training and competed at from all around the world. I also competed in the poomsae competition; it was a great thrill to finally learn about where my sport originated from and to see where my father and brothers had been so many times before. I did move away in this time and was away from the sport for 2 years. I would keep up to date with what’s on and continually support my brothers in competitions, but really took the time to have a break from the responsibilities and focused on my career as I was just starting to dive into the Marketing Industry in Melbourne.

A mature Instructor 25+ years Over the passed several years, I have become more involved in the teaching side of TKD. As we have a family business with my father’s full time gym, I have committed a lot of time and energy into teaching the students. I still travel internationally and interstate to manager the elite team, but the time into my own training must take a back step occasionally to accommodate for the students first. A huge accomplishment was being asked to manager the Australian team at the US Open in 2012, I was alongside my brother Daniel as a coach and oldest brother Ben as he competed. I foresee in the future that I will still be committed to Taekwondo and teaching students, but with the lifetime of achievements and involvement to date, I can’t seem my life any other way. The benefits are endless, but just to single out the most important ones that I have received are: Confidence – Stepping out for your first grading with several eyes watching your every move is the most intimidating I have every done. I still, to this day, fear grading. The pressure to perform at an elite level due to your family history in the sport is extremely overwhelming. But if it was for my endless accomplishment through the lower belts, then into the higher black grades, I would both have been able to keep ‘turning it on’ for the examination day.

 My confidence grows with each grading I passed and each medal or trophy I won. This has flown into my life experiences also. Public speaking in front of a crowd, presenting my Marketing programs to work colleagues has been a breeze when I come compare the /event to doing a grading. My confidence through Taekwondo has helped me become an extremely confidence Manager in my chosen work field. Self-­-Awareness – My awareness of my body, mind and soul has definitely been affiliated with my journey in Taekwondo. The emotions and pressure my body has felt through competing, training or instructing have been extremely high and to the deepest lows. Competition brought stress in my weight maintenance and the anxiety to step on the mats and fight. Whilst training I have taught my mind to focus and react when needed and to also take me to another level and push through hard sessions and time that I thought I was going to break down. The soul is so important in Taekwondo as so much of our time is spent doing practical movements that are general always accompanied by an inner emotion. I am extremely aware of my body, mind and soul from lesson along my Taekwondo adventures. Social skills – Training in my earlier years with classes that consisted of adults, children, families and elite athletes, my social skills were needed from a very young age.

As our family was heavily involved in the social side of Taekwondo, we were constantly around different belt levels and instructors as well as family members of different students. It didn’t take long for me to realize, that I was to become vocal to be heard, or to speak up if you needed an answer. I believe the social atmosphere that my family created in Taekwondo is what has made out journey and friendships with parents and students so strong. We are definitely a significant Taekwondo family by our welcoming spirit. Ambition – The drive to want to accomplish more and become the best you can be is highly associated with having a vision for success. Reaching new belts levels and winning a Gold in sparring was just as important as passing my high school exams and nailing that interview for a job. Having older brothers that would accomplish success just that little earlier than I, made me want to reach higher for my dreams. I wanted to be just as good as them and also just as memorable. Their ambition to win was leaking into my blood constantly.

Respect – I believe the word ‘respect’ can be learnt in various places along your life. But Taekwondo would have be the most common word associate with Respect in my books. Why do parents send their children to marital arts classes ” To learn Respect.” Respect was identified extremely early in my Taekwondo career, the first initial movement you learn is to bow. This is then continued when speaking to high belts, meeting elite people in the field. Respect is not only a physical emotion, but also a mental one that can be seen through your opinions and judgments of those in your sport. Respecting is just as important as good sportsmanship. Taekwondo has been a part of my life is an understatement. Taekwondo is my life. I think about it, dream about and live everyday of my life. I work my career around it, I work my body for it and I work my family life with it. The journey has had its highs and lows and some of the most special moments and hardest fears have all been associated with the Korean martial art. The benefits continue to grow and this is reflected I believe in the person I am and the respect I have from my family, friends and the students I teach.

By Joanne Hartmann

5th Dan

Tans Currumbin