Seven years ago, junior Nathan Arel took his first taekwondo class. Soon, Arel acquired a regular routine before class: he put on his taekwondo uniform, referred to as a Dobok, and stretched while waiting for class to begin. Arel joined taekwondo when he was nine years old and found a specialized facility, Red River Traditional Taekwondo, which helped him accomplish his adolescent dreams of becoming “a ninja.”
“My parents did some research and there was one really in-depth [taekwondo facility], Red River Traditional. The masters there go to South Korea and train with Grand Master Yun, the only tenth degree black belt alive in the world. It’s really legit, it’s actually from South Korea, the real taekwondo,” Arel said.
Taekwondo was a challenging sport to keep up with, but Arel says it was worth the hard work.
“You have to have a lot of endurance. [It is] very fast moving but [the masters are] at this point where you don’t exactly have time to get your adrenaline up, so you always have to keep pushing yourself and it’s never just easy to keep going,” Arel said. “It really helped with self-control and it kind of makes you a better person because it gives you the willpower to do what’s actually right. It makes you feel good too, and it’s a lot of exercise.”
Taekwondo has affected Arel in ways he did not think participating in a sport could. Going off the five tenets of taekwondo, he gained qualities much like the ones people in a school setting should have, including perseverance, self-control, integrity and much more.
“I wasn’t really prepared for the way that [taekwondo] would change your personality; it’s not like a giant emotional experience but you’d be surprised what it does for your self-confidence,” Arel said. “It’s all about confidence; they teach you that even if you think you’re wrong, you still need to say it loud and proud.”
Arel’s mother, Carmella Arel, thought Arel’s confidence level increased after joining taekwondo.
“I think taekwondo helped to develop Nathan’s physical abilities, which gave him confidence because before he went to taekwondo, he really struggled with sports,” Carmella said. “He wasn’t coordinated well [enough] to be able to do well, but since taekwondo, he does really well with sports.”
Although taekwondo has impacted him so positively, Arel recently quit taekwondo because of his commitments to theater.
“I miss the people, and I miss being able to jump and kick so high. I tried to go back a few times but there really wasn’t enough time,” Arel said. “[I loved] being able to kick a foot and a half above my head and doing a 360 spin in the air while kicking someone in the face, and just the agility and flexibility that comes with [doing taekwondo].”
Grand Master Jim Grimestad, a seventh degree black belt and the head instructor at Red River Traditional Taekwondo, remembers having Arel in class.
“The one word I would use to describe Nathan is stoic. He worked harder than anyone. At first, he didn’t want to do taekwondo, but when he changed his mind I remember him saying, ‘I’m not stopping until I get this right,’” Grimestad said.
Taekwondo has given Arel a new attitude towards the people and events in his life and he recommends it to anyone who is thinking about joining taekwondo.
“It’ll set you straight. It gives you a lot of willpower, and it makes you less susceptible to peer pressure,” Arel said. “It’s not just martial arts, it’s not just kicking people. The Red River Traditional Taekwondo teaches you how to act and stand up for what you believe in.”