Nov-Dec-Jan | 2019-2020

FEATURE

To say that Master Patrick and Yidojang have had a great impact on my life is simply an understatement. To say the least, I am who I am today because of my time in that dojang. I am who I am today because of the lessons Master Patrick taught me. I am who I am today because of Yidojang taekwondo. I became a member of the Yidojang family when I was only five years old—I am now 16. I had watched a fellow Iranian win an Olympic gold medal in taekwondo and decided that that was a sport I wanted to pursue. I started taekwondo at The American Club, and my younger brother followed about two years later. I remained a student of Master Patrick’s for the subsequent seven years until my family moved back to Los Angeles. I never knew what a tremendous impact those seven years would have on the rest of my life. Under Master Patrick’s instruction, I grew as a taekwondo athlete, won multiple national championships, mentored newYidojang members, and earned my second-degree black belt. In fact, to this day, many of my proudest achievements stem from my time at Yidojang. Master Patrick taught me many lessons through taekwondo that still per tain to my daily life. I have learned from him that I must work hard to achieve my goals, as the desired results will not just fall into my lap. Later on in my taekwondo career, he also encouraged me and a few other students to help teach younger classes.We listened to him and began to come at 10:00 a.m. on Saturdays in order to help him teach; this experience not only allowed me to grow as a mentor and teacher, but it also helped me learn more about myself. I also grew tremendously as an athlete. Not only did Master Patrick help us grow stronger physically and mentally, but he also encouraged all of us to be diligent and to keep persisting and working hard in the face of adversity; this is a lesson that, to this day, I use in academics, athletics, and general life. My time under Master Patrick also gave me a group of incredible friends that I still keep in touch with today, four years after I moved across the globe, back to the United States.

For example one of his favorite sayings is “No pain, no gain,” and he could not be more correct.

26 THE AMERICAN CLUB SINGAPORE