The Army martial arts team hosted a fun and informative seminar called Taekwondo for Kids Day for the West Point community March 19 at Eisenhower Hall. In addition to basic Taekwondo and self-defense techniques, the cadets helped instill taekwondo’s core values of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit.
The martial arts team’s primary focus was on practicing and teaching taekwondo. The team consists of cadets, who work together to not only cultivate their own taekwondo skills, but also to introduce taekwondo to other cadets who are interested.
Some members of the taekwondo team are high level black belts who are already experienced martial arts instructors and come from strong backgrounds.
“Our team’s mission is to teach character through sport. Getting a black belt is not something to be taken lightly, as it takes years of work and dedication to achieve,ˮ said Class of 2022 Cadet Chris Jin, team captain. “A lot of black belts on our team have particularly strong backgrounds, so they offer their experience and wisdom to strengthen the physical and mental fortitude for other cadets on the team.”
Practicing martial arts enhances the overall mission of West Point to develop leaders of character; the prerequisites required as an athlete and martial artist is the ability to lead and inspire others. In addition, the core values of taekwondo are directly related to the Army values.
“The most important thing that we learn on the team is to lead by example — actions carry more weight than words,ˮ said Class of 2024 Cadet Jewoong Jeong. “Personally, I always remind myself that the goal when teaching taekwondo is not simply to help my teammates to become better taekwondo athletes, but to challenge them to become better, more disciplined individuals.”
The community outreach event hosted by martial arts team garnered positive feedback from members of the community.
“The cadets were so willing to work with the kids, they taught them a lot in a short period of time. We hope there are future taekwondo clinics,” Carrie Powers, a member of the West Point community, said.
In addition to the Taekwondo for Kids Day, the team was also featured in the Superintendent’s International Day Banquet, which took place on April 6.
The martial arts team will assist in a martial arts seminar hosted by Dr. Olivia Holloway. This demonstration will focus on capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian form of martial arts.
The martial arts team will continue to host and assist in martial arts seminars held within the West Point community.