Nadia has been practicing martial arts for around 13 years, starting out at 7 years old doing karate. They grew up watching a lot of superhero and martial arts movies. Of course, the ninja turtles were a big motivator. Their favorite was always Donatello because he used a bo staff. Learning how to defend themselves was also a big reason for starting.
After making it all the way to the brown belt, they stopped training for about a year due to moving towns. In this time, they realized how important this was to them and that they didn’t want to quit. So they got signed up to a different school and continued training. It wasn’t long after that that they earned their first degree black belt, then their second degree a few years later.
This is when they decided to end their karate journey and try out a different form of martial arts, Taekwon-do. Having already known Mr. Mbow, they knew it would be a perfect fit. They appreciated the intention behind each move and the countless applications for each technique. It all became very practical, which is one of the reasons they started training in the first place. Although Covid inevitably cut their time with Taekwon-do short, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get back in the game again when the time came around.
“With martial arts being the only sport I did throughout school, taking a break for so long really took a toll on my physical health. On top of the underlying health conditions I didn’t know I had. Getting back into it has really been a real blessing in my life. It’s almost scary to think where I would’ve been, had I not continued training. These past few years have been very rough both physically and mentally, but I feel myself getting closer and closer to where I want to be everyday. For that, I am beyond grateful to have Taekwon-do in my life. It saved me, so I’m honored to be able to share it with others in hopes of it doing the same for them.