In 1988 my father drove us down the road to the Tugun Progress Hall were we walked into a Taekwondo class. My Father and brother were the first to join but after seeing how much fun my brother was having, I decided to give it a try.

My first experience in Taekwondo was my first fight at the Mosonic hall in 1989 as a white belt, fighting in the yellow belt division. It was not easy to jump into that ring at first but once I got a taste of it, I knew I wanted to compete in more. I won my first fight and then lost in the final and received a silver medal. As much as I was happy with the first win, the fact that I got second made me want to enter again to try and get that gold. Through out the first 12 months of training I quickly learnt that being a beginner in the martial art, meant that there was always someone you could look up to, someone you could compete against and someone who was always better.

I looked up to the older kids at our club and also the instructors. I guess anyone who was a couple of belts in front of me and a few years older were the ones who I wanted to learn from the most. With my sister joining in not to long after me, now I was not just competing against the other kids in class but also against my brother and sister. Especially when it came to gradings and competitions in class.

Sacha Rush was the person who was always better. He was a little older, bigger and on top of that, he was the instructor’s son. It was intimidating to fight him at the end of class and this was something that most kids got nervous about each lesson. After moving up the ranks and training up to 3 nights a week, suddenly Taekwondo was starting to be a part of our everyday life. Both my brother and I started competing in more and more competitions and before we knew it, started to win some local fights. I remember driving home one day after a competition saying to my father that one day I will be national champion. He rolled his eyes as he always does and said “yeah right.. You still have a long was to go before that happens” and continued driving.

Straight away I jump on the opportunity and said “well lets make a bet.. If I can become Australian Champion I want you to buy me a pair of Air Jordan shoes” And he replied “Ok, if you are the number one in Australia” so I said “Deal and I also want a Air Jordan tracksuit.” In 1991 both my brother and I made the state team for sparring. At this time the training was increasing and we started to drive up to Brisbane on the weekends to do some extra sessions but more importantly train with the other state members who were really inspirational fighters. Carlo Massimono was an amazing fighter from a club called Tiger Lee’s and was the junior team captain of the state sparring team. He was a talented young fighter and an inspiration as a team captain. That year was one of the most memorable times of my life. It was my first national competition and was the time I received my first National gold medal. And a pair of Jordan shoes and a tracksuit to go along side it. Shortly after this time I achieved the huge milestone in my journey and received my black belt on the same day as my father. This was a huge accomplishment but for some reason it still felt like there was more to look forward too.

Now that I was a black belt I had to start teaching as a teenage instructor. It was a bit easier when you had 4 in the family but at the same time it was hard being a young black belt trying to earn respect and trying to inspire other students who were coming up the ranks. This was an important part of the journey as it taught me how to work with people of all ages, different abilities and how to have patience. The Nationals became a regular event for our family as all three kids were now attending these competitions each year. The road trips to Sydney and Melbourne and the friends you make along the way kept us involved in the sport all the way through my teens. The only couple of cross roads in the martial art was turning fifteen and having to fight adults and the ongoing social pressure of being a teen in a sport that your friends at school and not involved in..

This was a tough time and most teenagers give up at this stage as the pressure becomes too much. My first senior fight was against a 27 year old guy from SA called Jason Richie. The warm-up kicks he was doing was incredible and have me extremely nervous before walking out into the ring. As much as I was nervous, once I through the first kick it felt like just another competition and after winning that fight, I decide to stick it out and continue to compete in the seniors as most of the kids I used to fight were giving up the sport.

Basketball has always been a part of my life since playing with my cousin as a child and looking up to the worlds best at the time Michael Jordan. This was also a passion of mine and a good cross training sport to take up when the Taekwondo training was not as much of an interest as it was when I was younger. In 1998 we opened the Tans Taekwondo’s first full time centre on the Gold Coast which started a new chapter in my life. Having a fulltime centre meant for responsibility not just for my father but also for us kids. My brother was still heavily involved with the martial art and was competing in competitions more than ever. In our younger days of competition I brought home a few more gold medals but over those last few years were my sister and I played basketball, my brother really developed and started winning every competition which Dad would always talk about at the club so I felt like I had to start competing again to get some of the lime light. Even though I was playing basketball 4 times a week, I still managed to do one Taekwondo session which was the perfect balance to keep my involved in the martial art and more importantly gave me the break I needed to get back to training and start competing again. With Australia being the host national for the 2000 Olympic games and Taekwondo being an Olympics sport, both my brother and I were back to training mode and had some goals and new challenges ahead. We were not quiet experienced enough for the 2000 Olympics but gained tremendous experience and motivated to compete at a higher level and that when we went to our first overseas competition, the 2000 US Open. Given this was our first overseas competition for both my brother and I, we decided to enter the same division. Attracting more than 50 people in our division we didn’t think that we would come up against each other but unfortunately after winning two fights we crossed paths and fought. After 3 exhausting rounds of brotherly love, the end score was 5 – 5 which in those days there was no sudden death so the judges picked him. As disappointing as it was I had a chance to redeem myself on our flight back to the New Zealand Open where we were both competing in the same division again. Like the US we both crossed paths again but this time it was in the final and like the US the score at the end of the third round was 5 – 5 but this time I won the fight and won the New Zealand Open. This was the last time we fought each other and Dad said I needed to move up to the next division, which was fine with me. Continuing to compete nationally and internationally for several years I have not just had the opportunity to see some of the world most beautiful place but also given me the opportunity not just to compete against these players but more importantly be inspired and bring back my experiences to teach my fellow students and local members.

In 2005 I made a decision to live 12 months of my life in another country. As much as the first few months was another break well needed, I started to feel that there was still a piece of me that wanted to me involved in the martial art while I was over there. That’s when I started teaching elementary school kids recreational Taekwondo for sport over an 8 week period. This was a new challenge as I was teaching new children who had been brought up in a different culture and social scene to my up bringing. After a 12 month stay in the US I was ready for home and but more importantly ready to kick the mitts and start competing again. With the students numbers at club continuing to get bigger I knew that it was going to be hard to still compete and coach and support a large team. The benefits of still competing whilst coaching is that I am continually being active whist the sport evolves and passing that on to my students. Once I have reach my life long Taekwondo goal of representing Australia in the world championships, I will walk away from the game and dedicate all of my time and energy into my club. I am excited about what the future bring for these young kids and will continue to create the same opportunities that were created for me in the sport and martial art that has always been apart of my life.

In conclusion, taekwondo has been a huge part of my life. The benefits highly out way the long hours and commitment that you put into the martial art. Discipline, respect, confidence and personal drive have played major parts over my taekwondo years. The discipline has helped me achieve many personal goals in and out of the dojang which I believe some other friends and peers would not have been able to achieve because they didn’t have the discipline from the martial art. Giving respect and earning respect has also played a huge part of my personal development.

Respecting your parents, family and friends are all important parts of our everyday life and taekwondo has made this evident. Confidence and personal drive has been the most beneficial to me. I have grown up to always be the best at everything I do and have gained so much confidence, not just in the martial art but also around my friends and family and with anything I want to achieve. Taekwondo has brought this all together and will be a part of me for the rest of my life..

 

By Ben Hartmann

Tans Currumbin