Author: Sampo Pajulampi

We are celebrating Independence Day and the hall is closed!

Human rights are at the core of sport. The Don't break sports campaign awakens all sports and exercise lovers to an even better sports world, where everyone could play sports safely and on their own. Sport is broken without human rights.

https://alarikourheilua.fi/

21.11. a crushing competition was organized at the Espoo Taekwondo Academy. The taekwondo athletes had a triple victory in the men's handcrush (1. Juhana Raitasalo, 2. Jyri Väyliö, 3. Lasse Laaksonen). 1st place for Lasse in the side kick and 3rd place for Oskar Väyliö in the powerball. Luca Lonka collected medals from several children's series.

Score:

https://www.taekwondoacademy.fi/murskauskisa/tulokset/

Organizer's race photos:

https://www.taekwondoacademy.fi/murskauskisa/kuvia-ja-videoita/

The EC championships for business series will be held in Portugal In Seixal 18.-21.11. Taekwondo athletes are represented by Christian Kamphuis, Aino Kortelainen and Sofia Sarala. Christian participates in the adult freestyle series and the U30 group series. Aino participates in the cadet girls' individual series and the cadet girls' group series together with Sofia Sarala and Airada Heikkilä (Kuopio). Sofia also participates in the cadet doubles series together with Lassi Kaasinen (Herttoniemi).

In own words

Achieving a prestigious competition place requires a lot of work and perseverance. How much do you train on a weekly basis?

Aino: The amount of training varies depending on which features and areas I focus on. Now that the preparation for the competition is underway, the amount of training is less, because I only do sports training. In summer and early autumn, when the effort was at its hardest, the amounts varied between 15-20 hours per week.  

Sophia: The amount of training for me also varies depending on how close the games are. In the summer, there is about 10 hours of training per week, and now less when the competitions are coming up. Before the games, we only do sports training. The body must be kept ready and energetic for the games. The last week is really light.

Christian: Today, I train less time per week than, for example, a couple of years ago. I'm trying to focus even more on quality and that I also recover better. Each week is a little different due to the varying schedules of the school. A normal week usually includes about 2x per week boom saw, 1-2x trickery, 3-4x per week characteristic training (speed exercises, strength and mobility). I try to take 1-2 days of complete rest a week these days. When I was younger, I was able to recover even from larger amounts of training.

How much do you train on your own and what?

Sophia: A lot depends on whether the guided workouts are suitable for what I want to hone, or whether I prefer to train independently. If you aim high, you have to do a lot yourself.

Aino: I do about half myself. At the moment, I mostly do the characteristic training myself and some of the sport training as well. A couple of times a week, I go over things with the coach and we work on different skills. Otherwise, yourself.

Christian: 90% of the time I train alone. In practice, I only train with a group in poomsae training. I don't have a permanent trainer at the moment, but I am responsible for my own training. Fortunately, I get a lot of help from my training buddies and sometimes from outside coaches too! I like to train alone, because I can focus on my own thing in peace. It's also more practical due to fluctuating schedules.

You have a great attitude during training, which helps you to continue from one training to another?

Aino: It's really hard to describe. The goals are high and internal motivation is needed to achieve them. I want to find out what I can do at my best. As a goal, it motivates a lot.

Sophia: We are going along similar lines. Internal motivation must be found. When the competitions are approaching, you focus on them fully and try to show the best version of yourself. I go one race at a time and give all my attention to the next performance.

Christian: I really enjoy the process of self-development, no matter the topic! In my opinion, training should basically be fun most of the time. It is also motivating to notice how development takes place from year to year.

Aino and Sofia, you also guide Taekwondo athletes in training for children. How has the competition experience at a tough level been useful in training guidance?

Sophia: We already know the techniques very well and have received a lot of quality feedback from our coaches, so we can share our tips and expertise. We ourselves have learned what good and encouraging feedback is like.

Aino: We have experience in what is required. We already trained a lot as children, so we know what kind of training is needed and we have been able to see the model from our own coaches. However, we have to remember that everyone is different and we can't just assume what is needed or always do exactly the same way.  

What last-minute race preparation routines do you have?

Aino: You have to take care of the basics, even if you're nervous and you don't like breakfast. I try to wake up peacefully and talk about things that relax and help. The warm-ups are pretty much the same every time these days. First, a bit of leg kicking and then a bit harder sport-specific training. When I'm waiting for my own performance, I don't look at my opponents or their scores at all. If the race has more than one round, I don't look at my own ranking either.

Sophia: I don't have a particularly specific routine. I try to find the right feeling and assess what my body needs today. However, I always do one thing. Just before my turn, on the corner of the competition mat, I try to relax and close my eyes for a moment to find the right kind of focus.

Christian: In the last week before the Games, I rest significantly more than usual. I try to keep my thoughts on things other than the games for as long as possible. I try to sleep a lot and eat well.

Throw in the best tips for alleviating race tension for enthusiasts who are starting to compete?

Sophia: Of course, it depends on the person, what helps everyone in relieving the stress of the competition. For me, that moment before my turn and calming down in general are important. It's easy to be over-energetic and tense during competitions. Conscious relaxation makes you feel better.

Aino: Everyone is really different. I'm always nervous myself. However, you have to remember that getting excited is natural and you don't have to be afraid of it. You get used to it. On race day, it's good to try to focus on yourself, and not analyze or compare. Don't look at others or give extra energy to the tension.

Christian: I recommend that you do everything else nice before the race days. It's good to keep your thoughts elsewhere so you don't exhaust yourself mentally before the race day. On the day of the race itself, I try to keep a sense of humor so that it doesn't feel too real. Listening to music also often helps to relax or psych yourself out, depending on how you feel and what kind of mood you want to get into the competition. Competing is fun and excitement is also fun when you learn to control it! Try to enjoy the racing feeling!

Plum Kopisto represented taekwondo athletes and Finland on 13 November 2021 in the European Youth Championships in Sarajevo. Plum competed in the boys' under 68 kg weight class. In the opening round, the Spaniard was stronger 24-6.

You can watch the matches live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2r3yMatiSo&list=PLNZ4ldstTfNusSR14gxZNPPMJFOHydrzr

Organizer's Viber channel: https://invite.viber.com/?g2=AQBhpIg9KCi8EE3M8dmj6siuOqXgrj9Lz62DAgGF4x4VJk7vVPiQOEz89jKBxBcF&lang=fi

The news is updated...

The last league match of the season took place in Loviisa. In the match, TU11 was the best team and the fighting couple Ali & Lex Lahti were awarded as the best judges.

Business series

Cadets female
1. Aino Kortelainen
3. Sofia Sarala

Cadet group
1. Sarala, Kortelainen, Heikkinen (Kuopio)

Cadet couples
1. Sarala, Kaasinen (Herttoniemi Hwang)

+40 female
3. Marita Jaakkola

Lynx blue
4. Luca Lonka

Lynx pina-black
1. Ines Benais

Blue men
2. Luca Lonka

Red and black women
1. Ines Benais

All motion series results: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lCRFKLTOhdp9sh5fvjtcxfcdfJ4EvxYz/view

Match

R1 – General men -80
1. Mirzaei, Bardia

R1 – General women -49
2. Mankonen, Juuli

B1 – Young men -73
1. Kopisto, Methasit
2. Hulikkala, Lauri

C1 – Cadet girls -51
2. Endah, Milay

C1 – Cadet boys -33
1. Anttila, Ken

C1 – Cadet boys -41
3. Liuko, Markus

C1 – Cadet boys -49
1. Hartikainen, Peetu

C1 – Cadet boys -57
2. Osadchiy, Egor
3. Takala, Teemu

D1 – Pre-cadet girls -30
2. Well, Vivian

D1 – Pre-cadet boys -30
1. Anttila, Ken
3. Noel Viitaniemi

D1 – Pre-cadet boys -37
2. Hip, Luca

D2 – Ilves girls -30
3. Anttila, Isabella

B2 – Young enthusiasts men +73
2. Hartikainen, Linus

All match results: https://revelage.net//Events/Results?CompetitionId=31

Taekwondo athletes turn 10 years old and we will celebrate it on November 27, 2021 with a versatile program. We invite all former and current Taekwondo athletes as well as members of our cooperation clubs. The program is still being refined. There will be interesting performers and fun things to do for everyone.

Program

10:00 Opening
10:15 Exercise / Petteri Kauppinen / Exercise for all ages
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Awards and greetings
14:00 Workout for everyone / Lex / K-POP Dance
14:00 Presentation: Let's relive the past and look to the future / Teemu, Sampo, Juho, Petteri, Pauli
15:00 Little Christmas for children
17:30 Children's Little Christmas ends
6:00 p.m. Little Christmas for adults begins, there will be a performer

Outfit and instructions for participation

Dress up for the party in a sporty way, because there's plenty of action! You can participate in training in dobok or in normal clothes suitable for indoor exercise. We also encourage parents to participate in training together with their children. The workouts are designed so that they are suitable for exercisers of all ages and levels.

Come with!

Let us know you're coming. In this way, we can book enough catering and take into account the special needs of the participants.