Katie Bandera
RANK: 4th Degree
INSTRUCTOR STATUS: Level 3
Birthplace: Austin, Tx
Favorite Book: Man’s Search for Meaning
Favorite Movie: The Notebook
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Ice Cream: Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Goal: always exert my maximum effort even when I could succeed without doing so.
Taekwondo essay:
When I was in third grade, Mr. McCulloch visited my classroom for a Partners in Learning Demonstration. I, like the rest of my class, was impressed by how Mr. McCulloch portrayed Taekwondo and the ITA program. When I came home from school that day, I gave my mom the brochure that Mr. McCulloch had given me and begged her to let me join. My parents were a little unsure about letting me start Taekwondo, because in the past I had only participated in activities like dance and piano.
Six months after I introduced Taekwondo to my parents, they agreed to enroll me. I liked the class that I had tried out and immediately decided that I wanted to do the sport. I began going just twice a week and realized immediately that I was not content with minimal attendance. As I started to attend more frequently, my passion for Taekwondo increased exponentially. I fell in love with it and it dawned on me that all along I had been searching for something that was intangible. Taekwondo was everything I had been trying to find, but was not at all what I expected myself to have such a passion for.
Taekwondo changed something in me. As the years passed, I became happier and more outgoing and I started to set more goals for myself. I was more motivated than I had ever been and wanted to become a black belt and an instructor. Now, almost seven years after joining, I am physically in better shape and I am knowledgeable of not only the martial art itself, but also of good people skills and qualities to have as a person. The tenants have given me great guidelines to live by, and I am reminded of the continuous and unsuspected benefits of Taekwondo as I try to follow them each day.
Becoming an instructor has also made a sizable impact on my life. I never realized how much one could learn from teaching someone else. I am more responsible than I have ever been, and put forth a great amount of effort to not only be a positive role model for the people I teach, but also to instruct with the same quality that I have been instructed with. Sharing the knowledge I have gained from my instructors with others is an exhilarating experience that has taught me more than I could ever possibly learn without being an instructor myself.
When most people look at Taekwondo, they see a showy martial art and think, “Oh, that’s cool! I want to join!”, but Taekwondo is much more than that. I feel honored to be part of Westlake Taekwondo Plus. Each year I have grown to love the people and art more, and I know that this is just the beginning for me. I have made new friends of all ages and learn something new each day. The people at Taekwondo Plus are not simply my acquaintances, but my family.
Without Taekwondo, I would be much less of the person that I am today. I would not be as happy or as fulfilled as I currently am. I can barely imagine the way I would be without Taekwondo or my role as an instructor. It has done so much for me and I feel like the luckiest person on earth to have joined.
