Martial Arts are traditions and combat practices. They can be practiced for self-defense, military, law enforcement, and mental and spiritual development.

“My dad influenced me to start Taekwondo because he did it when he was my age,” senior Sara Nahidian said. “I think taekwondo is beneficial to kids who lean towards being aggressive, because this sport gives them a positive outlet to release that aggression.”

“Although I’m no longer active, but my parents are the main reason I decided to start Taekwondo,” junior Ryan Prostejovsky said.

Most Taekwondo academies take kids starting around the age of four. In most cases, people start Taekwondo at a young age and many of them participate into their early teens.
“I started at age seven and stopped at fourteen,” Nahidian said.

There are many competitions that involve Taekwondo, ranking from the state level to the national level. It is a very competitive sport that has a lot of intense matches that require skill to overcome the opponent.

“My favorite part about Taekwondo was definitely the competition aspect,” said Prostejovsky. “It was always an enjoyable part of the sport to participate in.”

Senior Cooper Reinhard has been training in Taekwondo since he was five.

“I train at the World Martial Arts in Warrenton,” Reinhard said. “I started because I thought it would be a good skill to have in the future, plus I think it looks cool.”

Some qualifiers make it to the top, earning medals and awards for both competing and winning in the tournament.

“I won gold medals at plenty of state competitions,” said Nahidian. “I also won a few silver medals at national competitions.”

Reinhard has also tried his hand at competitions.

“When I do compete, it’s a school tournament, and I’ve won multiple.”

A key component to Taekwondo and the other numerous forms of martial arts, is discipline.

“Personally, it taught me lots a discipline, because that is the true foundation of the sport.” Nahidian said. “You need to be able to control yourself and keep your cool in and out of the ring.”
“I have competed in Virginia and Maryland State Qualifiers, Colorado National Team trials, the US Open and the Junior Olympics in Florida and the Canada Open,” Nahidian said.

Some people specialize in Taekwondo for the competitive nature of the sport, while others use it for self defense. It has become a very popular sport around the country and it will continue to grow as time progresses.