Today is exactly 1 year since I won my first medal in Taekwondo. Yaaaaaaay!
Poomsae Championship in the UAE, February 2020
Just in time before the world lockdown started, I attended the Senior Woman Poomsae Championship in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, as the only athlete from my club Sangrok Abu Dhabi. I am forever grateful to my master Said who gave me the chance to have this experience and for the additional training in preparation for the championship.
My master and I at the Championship, February 2020
I remember being insanely anxious before the competition and repeating the forms on and on in my head and also in a small changing room adjacent to che championship hall. My coach was pretty cool, or at least he seemed to be. I watched the others competing from 9am and by the time it was my turn it was already afternoon. We did have a lunch break, but I wasn't very hungry - you know that awful feeling in your belly before any kind of examination? Well I was struggling with that for hours! What a relief when it finished! And I won the silver medal!!! In Sparring (fight in a short session) it is important to preserve strength and there are so many unpredictable events that can change the score, but you don't need to be "perfect" at all times, it's more instinct guided (and the instinct is formed with a lot of training). In Poomsae (pattern of defense-and-attack motions) you need to give your best straight away because you have only that one chance, no mistakes. So it is imperative to focus and stay calm. Again repetition forms your instincts. Basically as my master says, you need to keep kicking!
White to Yellow belt
Yellow to Green belt
Green to Blue belt
My first dojang (training hall in Korean) was Sangrok Abu Dhabi and I believe it is gonna stay my favorite for the rest of my life. Our biggest privilege at Sangrok was that we had an "old style" master, one of those difficult to find anywhere in the world nowadays (besides in Korea, the cuddle of taekwondo and Morocco, the second best in the world). When students from other schools would come to train with us, they would get out of breath and struggle to keep it up - exactly as I did when I first started, but consistency is the key. Those trainings gave me a splendid form, flexibility and strength which I needed, especially for the kind of job I was doing (daaaah, Cabin Crew!).
First time wearing my taekwondo uniform
I had my weekly routine training 2-3x/week. Training itself started at 6pm, then a long spa session would follow - available in our changing rooms (jacuzzi, steam room and sauna) and finally a hot shower. Heading home after a total of 4 hours! I would compromise on that routine only when I went out for dinner with my taekwondo family or in case I had a night shift for work. In that case I would try to cut a bit on the spa and try to get home by 9pm and take a nap of 1 or 2h (depending on a reporting time at the airport) and then stay awake all night long on a night flight most often heading to Europe, just to find myself in Dusseldorf, Munich, Milan, Paris or Dublin at 7am in the morning and finally get a resting sleep in the hotel until early (or late) afternoon.
My favorite puppet brought me my first dobok
What's missing? Oh wait, maybe I need to go a few steps back in time and tell you about how it all started! Back to the roots than!
I always loved martial arts therefor films about fighting without weapons. I had a regret that I never tried any, but that dream was meant to come true! In the past I did some karate during my Erasmus exchange in Frankfurt, Germany back in 2007. And that was all. I tried some lessons in different martial arts over the years, but there was no passion, so I never went on. Until I met my other half back in 2012 and learned about his taekwondo passion since his age of 17: he is 5th Dan black belt today. So I started learning about the Korean martial art with him and attending some trainings with his Korean master in Italy and San Marino. I already felt closer and more motivated to choose this art as mine. But I didn't actively start training until I found my own dojang and my own coach in Abu Dhabi. That was revolutionary, finally imprinting!
Training in San Marino
When I look back in time and think about all the crazy coincidences that brought me on this path, it feels like a long fairy tale, but it's actually my story and my experience, from A to Z. Taekwondo is a lifestyle, it's a well-being state of mind and body, it's an intense challenge with yourself and an extreme control of your body. It is power and weakness, ups and downs. It is happiness and fulfillment. It is martial, it is Art.
Now we're gonna fly back to 2013 when I had my fist ever flight to South Korea. It was a memorable one, as every next one, so it became one of my favorite destinations ever.
Royal Palace
I already told you about my perception of this parallel amazing world, so I won't repeat that. (In case you missed it, go check out the article about wintertime in ICN).
DMZ on the southern part
What did not cross my mind even from far away is, that years later I would finally realize one of my dreams and start learning and practicing a martial art. And the art I would choose would be taekwondo! And cuddle of taekwondo is... well.. Korea! If I only knew back then, surely I would have visited Kukkiwon, world taekwondo headquarters. Next time, I'm coming! The rest is history: 5 years later I started training in Sangrok Abu Dhabi dojang and got so passionate about this martial art, that I even did a competition in poomse (pattern of defense-and-attack motions) and won the 2nd place in senior woman category held in Sharjah, UAE just before the world lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. My Master is from Morocco, the country which is only 2nd to Korea in taekwondo tradition. I was blessed to find this dojang (training hall in Korean) and Master Said, who's words are always with me: "keep kicking".
February 2020 - Poomse competition in Sharjah, UAE
Well back to aviation now!
Before learning about kimchi and generally about the spiciness of Korean food, I had a memorable experience that made me remember how to order food in Korea for the rest of my life. Our flight reached Seoul in the evening hours and by the time we were in the hotel, it was already dark and late. I decided to order some room service and go to bed early and leave the exploring for the next day, so I could be well rested and fresh to absorb everything I would see and smell and touch. I was starving after a long flight and generally a long day, so I took a hot shower and welcomed my food on a huge tray. It looked like it was full of cute little portions, besides the big bowl of the main dish. Yaaaaaaay! DelisciousssssssSpicyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! OMG didn't expect THAT spicy! So after a pause I tried again. My eyes started crying and I finally caught some color different than my usual ghost-white. I couldn't go on. You need to know that I don't eat spicy AT ALL, so for me it was a huge shock. Moreover because it was past midnight, the kitchen was closed and I was left with no other option. Did it ever happen to you to be starving and having the food right in front of you, but not being able to eat it? Walla, I ate it with my eyes! I tried again several other times, but my tongue jut refused to get used to it. So I went to bed hungry. Every single next time I would order food, be it in the restaurant or room-service, I would stress on NO SPICY, just to have it very slightly spiced. There is no spicy-less in Korea! Lesson learned!
Room service in Crew hotel (my happiness before the surprise)
So the next day I explored downtown with my fellow crew, from the royal palace and gardens to the Gangnam quarter and market where we inevitably danced to the rhythm of Gangnam style. The market was overwhelming with cute articles of every kind. I could smell food and wanted to try it all. And I just love the tradition of small old style houses and big gardens, even though skyscrapers are there as well along with the well connected metro system.
Who can resist dancing to the rhythm of Gangnam Style?!
Another time when I came back to Seoul I got sick on layover with my ears blocked and runny nose. It might sound as a common flu that is not enough of excuse for the ground people to miss the working day. Well for us flying creatures it is a big deal! Just think about the pressure and altitude and that dry air in the aircraft. If you have flu, besides putting everyone else on risk (imagine that flu being Covid, ok now you get the risks), but you risk to pop your ear drums and damage your hearing for the rest of your life! Besides the suffocating feeling of not being able to breath! Well we have a procedure for Crew getting sick on a layover, so you call a special number for the world Aviation Medics who are mostly based in Canada or US and they pretty much deal with all the major airlines in the world, both for cases on board and during the flight, and for the Crew on ground when they are outstation (out of their base). They found the closest hospital for me and arranged the taxi. When I got to the Gangnam hospital they already got my documents, so they knew in which department to send me. Nobody spoke English so the communication was quite difficult, but the good old body language helped us to understand each other. After running some tests, they gave me medicines and sent me back to the hotel for 3 days. My airline advised the hotel that I was staying longer than my Crew and the hotel staff made sure to give me a lot of hot tea with lemon and honey. When I was finally fit to fly back to base, obviously deadheading, I met the new set of Crew who took care of me. I flew as a passenger in business class, which was a privilege of the sick Crew on company expense, but nowadays it is only economy, regardless of the length of the flight, seriousness of your sickness, empty available seats in business versus full cabin in economy. Not fair, right?! On the bright side, we were able to book staff tickets in any class and I used that privilege as much as I could, obviously respecting all the company rules from the dress code to behavior. I got used to flying business so much that I am having a hard time not to imagine that in my future as well. First and Business class are similar with just some extra perks and even more space and privacy in First, but the big breakthrough quality-wise is from Economy to Business. Comfort, space, privacy and quality that truly make a difference in flying, sleeping and reading or writing on board. Or simply the entertaining system with the bigger screen and better headsets (even though I am always using mine, because there is no better than Bose Noise Cancelling headsets). Well let me tell you the last word about who has the last word: if the Purser and the Captain agree to put you deadheading in Business (space allowed), you can. They asses the situation and make a decision, that's all. Unfortunately there are many people who follow the rules blindly and ain't able to think out of the box. These people are in each industry and they usually make it to the top by putting the others down and backstabbing. History of the humanity.
Moving on, I want to tell you about that particular layover (we're still in 2013) when I decided to visit the DMZ (demilitarized zone). It's a 250km long buffer zone between North and South Korea which divides the Peninsula in half. Created in 1953, it is one of the most militarized borders in the world. In the Armistice agreement both sides agreed to move their troops back 2.000m from the front line, creating a buffer zone 4km wide. Within that buffer zone there are so called peace villages on both sides. In order to maintain their residency, the villagers are required to spend at least 240 nights per year in the village. They are the direct descendants of the people who owned this land before the Korea War (1950-53), at least at the southern part. According to the checks with modern telescopic lenses, it seems like the northern villagers are actually skeleton crew of caretakers in a ghost town preserving the illusion of activity. Ruins of the old capital city Cheorwon of the Taebong dinasty that ruled united Korea from AD 918 to 1392 are within the DMZ, therefor off-limits to everybody except soldiers who patrol it. Basically the ancient history of the country is inaccessible. There have been a number of incidents and incursions by both sides, but what is interesting is the discovery of 4 tunnels since 1974. These tunnels crossing the DMZ in a north to south direction are believed to have been planned as a military invasion route by North Korea. Today these tunnels can be visited by the civilians on the southern side in a guided tour, accompanied with the military as an admonition and security prevention. That is the unforgettable tour that I have done.
Guided tour in the 3rd tunnel, South Korea DMZ
Who knows if our generation is gonna get to see the change, to have the possibility to travel in and out of North Korea. There is so much more to learn about this country and I hope I will be able to do just that in the close future. In any case nowadays we're barely allowed out of our municipality and region and country and continent due to Covid, metaphorically like the North Korean freedom of movement situation, information freedom apart.
To close the article on a highly danceable note, here is the video that in 2012 exceeded 1 billion views on YouTube for the 1st time in the website history. I think you all know what I am talking about.
Last but not the least, my own little layovers sum up from 2013 to 2019. Seat back, relax and enjoy the video!
