Ursula Salve Regina Alexia

231214076

Reminiscence of the Old Days

I was born in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. I stayed there for around 6 years and then I moved
to Jogja when I was in second grade because of my dad’s employment. I was transferred from
SDS Plus Hangtuah 4 to SD Kanisius Sengkan. Luckily, I was able to get along with my new
classmates and made many friends there. One day, our class teacher told us that every student in
the class must join at least one extracurricular. In my new elementary school, there were many
extracurriculars, including Choir, English club, Taekwondo, Traditional dance, Violin, Soccer,
Gamelan, and more besides. I was very unsure about which extracurricular I should participate in
back then, but a friend of mine told me that she would join Taekwondo, so I became interested in
joining it as well.
After coming home, I shared with my mom what my teacher had said in class. I wanted to join
the Taekwondo club in my elementary school because I found Taekwondo to be incredible, but
my mom didn’t let me join because she was worried I would get hurt. I still remember what my
mom said to me at that time, “Dear, you sure you want to join Taekwondo? That would be
risky… You could get injured. Your genitals would get kicked and it would be such a pain!”
Hearing what my mom said to me at that time certainly made me think twice and give up my
intention to join the Taekwondo club. I was frankly frightened as hell. As a result, I opted to join
the English Club and Violin instead.
Three years had passed, and I was already in 5th grade. By that time, I had stopped participating
in the English club extracurricular, but I continued with the violin. Wanting to explore new
activities, I pondered, “What extracurriculars should I try? Perhaps Taekwondo this time?” I was
curious about Taekwondo, especially since my youngest brother had recently taken it up.
Coincidentally, he was practicing Taekwondo at school, so I observed him from a distance. I
mimicked the kicks, punches, and parries he did. Surprisingly, I found that I could do it too!
Taekwondo wasn’t as intimidating as I thought; in fact, it turned out to be really cool!
After my youngest brother finished practicing, I told my mother that I wanted to take part in
Taekwondo like my little brother. My mom was hesitant at first, but then I told her “Mama, don’t
worry, I’m strong! I will become a skilled Taekwondo athlete in the future!” My dad, who
overheard our conversation, reassured my mom, “Ma, a girl should have self-defense skills,
there’s nothing to worry about. She’s grown up after all. Let her make her choice. We just need
to support our kids.” Finally, my mother agreed, and from then on, I participated in Taekwondo
extracurricular activities with my two younger siblings. My younger sister has also joined
Taekwondo after finding out that our youngest brother and I were involved. Thus, the three of us
joined the Taekwondo extracurricular at school. Taekwondo is divided into two categories:
Poomsae and Kyorugi. At that time, our Sabeum-nim (a Korean term for a Taekwondo
instructor) asked us to choose between Kyorugi and Poomsae. Feeling confused about the
difference, I was persuaded by my classmates to choose Poomsae without consulting Sabeum-
nim first. Consequently, my sister and I opted for Poomsae, while our youngest brother chose
Kyorugi.
It turns out that after practicing several times, I realized that Poomsae and Kyorugi are very
different. Poomsae involves a series of movements where a practitioner perfects their technique
against an imaginary opponent, while Kyorugi is sparring; a competition between two
practitioners using techniques derived from the forms of Poomsae. After two years of practicing
Poomsae, I felt that it wasn’t my passion. I perceived that I wasn’t very talented at Poomsae
since I consistently earned bronze in matches. I communicated to Sabeum-nim that I wanted to
try Kyorugi, and finally, I began Kyorugi training. Honestly, Kyorugi’s training is more
challenging than Poomsae’s, but I enjoy every part of the process.
Unfortunately, on September 2, 2019, I had an accident at the Shalom Retreat House during the
Outbound event, which caused my left knee to swell. Falling during the event made me the
center of attention among my teachers and friends. Eventually, the teachers took me to the
nearest hospital where my feet were x-rayed, revealing a fracture in my left knee. Discovering
this saddened me deeply; I couldn’t walk without the help of crutches. My teacher sent me home
because of my fractured knee. This incident left me feeling very down. Despite this, deep in my
heart, I still yearn to participate in Taekwondo and achieve the “best player” trophy. At times, I
thought I wasn’t destined to be an athlete. Now, I have given up on my dream of becoming a
Taekwondo athlete. From this experience, I have learned a lot; indeed, sometimes some dreams
cannot be achieved, and we must be ready to face reality.