One Step At a Time
&RQÀ GHQFH
By Master Noly Caluag
I knew a quiet kid who was very shy and lacking
confi dence. He had a hard time talking in front
of the class without fumbling for words. As a
child, he was interested in sports and would play
after school with some friends, but he wasn’t good
enough to make any team sport in elementary
or middle school. Art and music also interested
him, but he could only draw stick fi gures,
and as far as playing any musical instrument,
he had a hard time memorizing all that sheet
music. You can say that he was just an average
kid who just wanted to be someone. Someone,
who can be good at something—anything.
Th at kid was me. Finally, I got tired of this “not
good enough for anything” business, and sick of
“being average.” I said to myself, “I will never give
up and I will be good at something... someday.”
Th en, in my late teens, I discovered the magic
of martial arts. I was really lucky and got
a chance to study Tae Kwon Do through
Grandmaster Sung Chon Hong, a Korean
world champion who happened to teach in
Manila, where I grew up. Learning Tae Kwon
Do was one of the greatest things that ever
happened to me. It was awesome to be able
to learn all those cool Bruce Lee moves.
Yes, I remember my white belt days. Th ere
were a lot of stances, hand strikes and blocks to
memorize. My stretching was anywhere from
below average to average. I couldn’t kick high,
as my joints were too stiff and my hamstrings
needed a lot of stretching. Th e Taeguk and
Palgwe forms did not come natural to me,
but it didn’t matter. I was excited and willing
to learn. You can say that the journey from
white to yellow belt was the toughest one.
Th rough hard work and dedication, I got
better and got my yellow belt. Th is promotion
was important to me. I was no longer a
white belt and had moved on to the
next level. Th e new belt wrapped
around my waist gave me a feeling
of accomplishment—and boosted
my confi dence. Th at feeling gave methat extra energy to continue. As I progressed,
our forms and self-defense techniques got more
complicated. As expected, the kicks were much
harder to execute. Regardless, my body was
getting used to it. I was getting better, and I
could tackle every bit of obstacle that came my
way. Our sahbumnim assured all of us that
there is always light at the end of the tunnel
as long as we worked hard and never quit.
He was right. Eventually, I made it to the top.
I was the fi rst student of our school to get my
black belt. It was a dream come true for me.
Getting my black belt opened new opportunities
for me as well. Black belt training was so much
harder and longer than practicing as a colored
belt. I saw the transformation in my body. My
stretching and stamina improved, and I lost
weight. All of a sudden, I developed muscles
in my abs and calves, and I was kicking higher,
faster and stronger. At last, I was doing all
those fancy high jumping and spinning kicks.
I was able to help promote Tae Kwon Do doing
exhibitions and demonstrations. Later on, I
was able to represent my school and country
in local and international competitions.
Martial arts helped me with my self-esteem
and confi dence. I cannot believe that I was that
quiet and shy kid. Don’t just take my word for
it. Enroll in a good martial arts school right
now and watch for amazing things to happen.
Master Noly Caluag is a 5th degree WTF black
belt and has organized over 40 tournaments in
Guam. A Philippine Taekwondo Sports Hall
of Famer, middleweight champion, and WTF
international referee, Master Noly has competed
in a World TKD tournament, California Open,
Asian Championships and the Philippine
National Open. He has coached and trained
national teams to the Oceania, WTF World
Junior Championship and others. Currently,
he is the founder and chief instructor
of Guam Taekwondo Center, and has
practiced Tae Kwon Do for 40 years.24 January 2018 / taekwondotimes.com