A Day In The Life Of A Taekwondo Prodigy

 Gruesome. The work ethic of one young Taekwondo artist is gruesome and an outstanding one. A Marian High School student, Nathaniel Brown, 17, is a young promising Taekwondo artist who started training at a tender age and is on the brink of making history. He has a blackbelt which shows his dedication and commitment to the sport. He credits his mother for his introduction to taekwondo arts.

"When I was younger, I really loved watching martial art movies, and I would go around the house, copying what I had seen," Nathaniel said. Since then, Nathaniel has grown to love the sport and the commitment it requires. His mother, Mrs Placidia Brown, a fitness fanatic who is a Zumba Fitness Instructor, the gym owner of Iron Bar Gym Club, and a Sports Administrator at Marian High School started paying for his training.

In an interview, Nathaniel’s mother said, “As a Zumba Fitness Instructor, my greatest legacy would be passing on the benefits of physical fitness to my children. That’s why I supported my son’s passion to do Taekwondo.”

“My mother is a powerhouse support; she loves anything that has to do with physical fitness and sports. Fitness and sports actually run in the blood. My father is a former basketball coach, and my brother used to play rugby for Zvishavane Bulls,” he added.

His mother continuously encouraged Nathaniel to practice taekwondo despite his occasional protests. “There were days when I really didn’t want to train. I just wanted to hang out with my friends like other normal kids,” revealed Nathaniel. “But I’m really grateful that my parents pushed me to do it. If I had stopped, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he said.

In July, Nathaniel will compete at the Taekwondo National Championships. He hopes to improve on his results from last year when he finished third. Nathaniel’s coach, Admire Tshitshiliza, said he is destined for greatness because of his passion and dedication to training which is unmatched.

"The minute I saw him, I went, ‘Whoa,'" Tshitshiliza said. "I mean, he kept right up with my other trainee, who is 28. He’s doing all the same things, the same drills. This kid is destined for stardom,” he said.

“Because of his talent, sometimes Nathaniel has to spar against boys four years older than him. But that doesn’t seem to bother him,” he added.

"I love sparring higher belts or older kids because I get lots of experience, and it’s really fun fighting them," Nathaniel said. His younger siblings, 13-year-old Christian, 10-year-old Victoria, and nine-year-old Adrian are all taekwondo artists as well.

Taekwondo has a lot of physical and mental benefits. These range from being able to defend yourself to building up your mental strength and endurance. Being able to react and overcome different opponents when sparring, for example, is an excellent case of proper stress management taking place.

 Practicing Taekwondo helps the student overcome the different mental stresses that are created and observed in both everyday life and during training sessions. Stress management and stress reduction result from the student overcoming and directly challenging fears, from practiced mental focus, and from understanding the sources of stress and how they impact us.