Senior Anna Kaenjak (third from left) and her Mixed Freestyle Poomsae Team win medals for second place. Kaenjak’s team represented USA at the 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Taipei, Taiwan.
By: Chris Ha, Whitney Tran
Students take Taekwondo for several reasons, among them self-defense, self-discipline, and self-esteem. Some even go out of the country to compete nationally.
Senior Anna Kaenjak began her Taekwondo journey in fourth grade when one of her classmates brought in their uncle for Career Week, she said. He was a master of a Taekwondo school nearby and did a presentation on Taekwondo and what the sport had to offer, she added.
“It was through his presentation that I learned of the many moral lessons that come with Taekwondo, alongside the very technical and precise physical aspect of the sport,” Kaenjak said. “In longing to try something new at the time, I took my chances with the sport and stuck with it for seven years to where I am now.”
Throughout her seven years in Taekwondo, she has competed in roughly 50 local competitions, five state championships, four national championships, and one world championship, she said. On an average week mid-season, she normally train for roughly nine hours a week, but after making the National Poomsae Team, a U.S.A. Taekwondo team, she has been training for 16 or more hours a week in preparation for the World Championships, she explained.
“Before the World Championships, my coach required my team to fill out a weight tracker every week.” she said. “The tracker listed out the weight our coaches expected us to be at and our weight for that week.”
Her body became weak after the six days and it was difficult for her to move, she said. By the end of that cleanse, she had lost about ten pounds, she explained.
“I’ve gone through almost any diet you can think of. From no-carb diets, water fasting, and juice cleanses. You name it,” Kaenjak said. “I had a really bad experience the first time I did a juice cleanse. I didn’t eat for six days and all I was allowed to drink was naturally pressed juice and water.”
In November, she competed in the 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Taipei, Taiwan, she said. She competed in the 12-17 Mixed Freestyle Poomsae Teams for Team USA against ten other countries in her division: Taipei, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippine, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Russia, Indonesia, and Ukraine, she added.
“My team and I scored a 6.600, placing us second, and falling short of Team Taipei in first place by 0.1,” she said. “Second place was still a major accomplishment for my team and considering that we were able to defeat the reigning world champions for that division, Team Vietnam, who placed third after my team.” she continued.
Although they were able to place second, Team USA has many disadvantages when compared to other teams, she said. Many National Poomsae Teams around the world are government funded and get paid-leave from school or work in order to prepare for competitions,
Kaenjak said. Some countries give their athletes cash prizes and guarantee their athletes a spot on their national team the following year if they win in international competitions, she added.
“Unfortunately, Team USA is not of these countries and doesn’t receive paid leave, paid transportation to competitions, or hospitality,” Kaenjak said. “Through the years, Team USA Taekwondo has been highly acknowledged over the years: to defeat these high-level teams despite the lack of funding for athletes.”
Managing Taekwondo with school is a struggle for her, she said. She would usually get home around 11:30 PM after marching band practice and Taekwondo practice and would finish homework at 2:00 AM, she continued.
“As tough as it can get, I’ve had to balance both marching band and Taekwondo with school since my freshman year,” she said. “My time management has definitely improved over the years and I’ve built more perseverance to continue to pursue my dreams and my passions alongside school.”
Competing at the Poomsae Championships in Taipei is the highest level that she can compete at in Taekwondo since the event that she does is not held in the Olympics. Sparring, the combat aspect of Taekwondo, is the only Taekwondo event featured in the Olympics, she explained.
“Some people in the Poomsae community also refer to the World Championships as the ‘Olympics of Poomsae Taekwondo,’” she said.
One of her role models is her coach, she said. Two years ago, her coach had a major setback to his Taekwondo career when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.” she added.
“He had explained to me that he was emotionally distraught for months during the time of his injury and felt like he would never be able to compete or kick again. Although despite the severity of his injury, he overcame his doubts and slowly rebuilt his confidence and the strength in his injured knee.”
Through endless physical therapy sessions, perseverance, and his strong-willed mind, he built himself back to an even better athlete than he was before, she said. His experience truly inspired her and motivated her to become better than she was the day before. To this day, she takes his experience to heart and reminds herself that giving up is never an option.