Younger athletes and judges watched on as Samantha Guanzon (front) and Somonta Num (back), both of Champion Taekwondo, perform in a tie-breaker during the poomsae portion of the Grassroots Tournament in Red Deer on Nov. 4, 2023. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

champion

Grassroots taekwondo tournament teaches resilience and respect, win or lose

Nov 4, 2023 | 2:22 PM

Next time.

It means when (not if) you lose, suffer a setback, fall, hurt yourself, or misremember a step, you’re mindset will shift to what you can do to make the most of your next opportunity.

Along with a smile, that’s the mentality Master Ben Couturier of Red Deer Champion Taekwondo hoped athletes would walk away with from the club’s first ever Grassroots Tournament, which went down Saturday in Red Deer.

Skill, focus, tenacity and grace were all on display at the competition, which was intended to introduce athletes to the taekwondo tournament scene, something even some Black Belts have never had a chance to take part in.

Hosted by Champion, it featured around 80 participants, ages 4-62, from White Belt to Black Belt, competing in speed-kicking, poomsae and sparring. Plus, it included demonstrations from high-performance athletes who are helped by the funds raised at the tournament to travel to national and international competitions.

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Sophie Anholt (left) and Brynley Fryer-Hall (centre) of Champion Taekwondo, plus Adara Myhr (right) of Sundre’s Mountainview Taekwondo Club, celebrate medals in the poomsae portion of the Grassroots Tournament in Red Deer on Nov. 4, 2023. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

There hasn’t been a grassroots introductory tournament in Alberta for many years, notes ‘Master Ben’.

“What we’re finding is we’re losing ground on the national stage because we don’t have a large pool of athletes in Alberta. Lower belt athletes can be intimidated coming to their first tournament because they think they’re going to run into a Bruce Lee-type fighter and get destroyed, so we want to reframe that narrative,” says Couturier.

“Tournaments are where you do the most learning, win or lose. In fact, when you lose, you learn more.”

Couturier explains that taekwondo is not about fighting, not even at the Olympics. Rather, it’s, “a game that you play,” which involves rules, tactics and various techniques.

“You can have the most beautiful roundhouse kick, but you have to know when to kick, or how far away you are from your opponent,” he says. “Lots of the time, people come into the dojang to ask about getting their kid into martial arts, but they don’t want the kid to just be fighting. That’s absolutely not what we do and it’s not what taekwondo is all about.”

Its foundation, he says, is respect, plus building self-confidence, resilience and patience.

Emily Lanoue performs her poomsae at the Grassroots Tournament in Red Deer on Nov. 4, 2023. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“There are so many things you can learn from losing,” says Couturier, who’s worked hard to build Champion’s membership back up to pre-pandemic levels. The club also held virtual classes during the pandemic in order to keep members involved.

“Sometimes life is hard and you don’t win every single day. You have to learn it’s okay to lose. What’s not okay is not getting up to keep going. We want athletes to have the attitude that if they don’t make it the first try, they can succeed the next time.”

Next. Time. Those two words together are paramount, says Couturier.

“Our goal remains to grow the sport and help people grow as individuals,” he adds. “Win, lose, it doesn’t matter.”

To learn more about Champion Taekwondo, visit reddeertaekwondo.com.