What's Up, Doc? Lessons Learned From Taekwondo

By Randall Freeman, PhD

Last October, I enrolled in taekwondo. Prior to getting hurt, I had been working out at a gym that closed while I was injured. I decided that taekwondo would serve for the exercise and discipline that I needed after being on the disabled list for almost a year.

I spoke with the studio that had trained my daughters. It's a family business and I had always felt very comfortable with them. I began my training.

To date, I have advanced to green belt. We test every two months on forms, one-steps, sparring, and eventually breaking boards (they’re actually plastic and can be reused). I have learned a great deal about the sport and how difficult it is to train my mind to accept muscle memory.

The timing on my taking up taekwondo is astounding. The parallels in learning taekwondo and the new standards in school are amazingly similar. The emphasis begins with achieving "black belt attitude". The motivation to learn and the discipline to do so is crucial to successful learning.

"Why are we learning this?"

Once the proper positive attitude is ingrained in the student, we begin learning the basic moves of each form. We then proceed to integrate the moves into a complete form. White belt consists of 18 moves, black belt 81 moves. The various color belts progress from the 18 to 81 moves.

"But why are we learning this?"

Like our current educational philosophy, we learn why we learn each move, each form, and how it is applied. Application understanding goes beyond simple memorization of movement. It teaches us why each move is important and in what situations certain movements should be applied.

This is exactly what I do in my kindergarten classroom with my young students -- understand why we are learning it and how to apply it in real situations.

Collaboration among students is a critical component of taekwondo. Learning in isolation is neither desirable nor effective. It is the same in the public school classroom. Not simply cooperative learning but collaborative learning is essential to effective learning.

Next week I test for my blue belt. We’ll see what happens. I’m in it for the long run, so if necessary, I keep working on my green belt form until I have mastered the form and possess the necessary understanding for what I am doing and why I am doing it.

Randy Freeman and his family have lived in Menifee since 1993. Randy teaches kindergarten in Perris and his lovely wife Karen teaches first grade here in Menifee at Freedom Crest Elementary School. They are the proud parents of four beautiful daughters: Daniela, 18, and 14-year-old triplets Sarah, Holly, and Megan. Other family members include dogs Scruffy, Mikko, & Max, 17-year-old cat Hunter, and turtle Tuttles. Randy earned his PhD in early childhood education in 2011 and has served on the Menifee Union School Board since 2008. Randy has wisely decided to delete the bit about being Karen's boss in order to continue living in his happy home.