Taekwondo Tale – Local athlete has high Olympic hopes

• Student-Athlete Testifies: Taekwondo Has Changed His Life

Editor's Note #1

• Taekwondo is among the most systematic and scientific disciplines of the traditional Korean martial arts, highlighting more than physical fighting skills, according to the USA Taekwondo website — taekwondo (pronounced TIE-kwon-DOE) is a discipline and a way of life that aims to enhance the human experience by training body and mind and spirit

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• One classic translation of the Korean term "taekwondo" is as follows: "the way of the foot and fist"— the one-word term is composed of three semantic parts, per USA Taekwondo: "tae" means "foot" or "leg" or "to step on" – "kwon" means "fist" or "fight" – and "do" means "way" or "discipline" or "art"

• Meanwhile, the Korean term "dojang" refers to a formal training hall or school for Korean martial arts — one literal translation is "the hall of the way" from these two semantic components: "do" means way (or path) and "jang" means place or hall — the English pronunciation is: DOE-jang (rhymes with clang or rang)

• Taekwondo debuted as a demonstration Olympic sport at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games and became an official Olympic sport at the 2000​ Summer Olympics

• The iconic "Karate Kid" movie series has captivated martial-arts fans for decades — in Connecticut's Farmington Valley, a Taekwondo Kid has a story to share — Jaemin Aziz and his parents are Avon residents, in the heart of Connecticut's Farmington Valley — here is the first chapter in the potential autobiographical book of a teenage student-athlete's life: currently an exclusive Today Magazine story

Jaemin Aziz at the U.S. Open hosted by USA Taekwondo in Las Vegas

By Jaemin Aziz

Special to Today Magazine

I will never forget the day I first walked into the taekwondo dojang. At that time I thought I was just signing up for another after-school activity like karate that I'd already done before my family moved from New London to Avon. However, taekwondo changed my life in ways I never expected.

I am a 2026 graduate of Avon High School in Connecticut, where I learned to balance academics with athletics. My favorite subjects are science and history because both help me better understand the world, just in different ways.

Science explains how the world works, from the smallest particles to the largest systems in nature. History reminds us that the past continues to influence the present. I enjoy learning how civilizations, leaders and major events have shaped the world we live in today, and I believe the saying "history repeats itself" contains a great deal of truth.

Outside the classroom, much of my time has been devoted to sports. In addition to taekwondo, I participated in both indoor and outdoor track throughout high school — outdoor track all four years and indoor track for three years. I competed in all the sprint events: 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay and also the high jump.

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Competing at the varsity level and earning all-conference honors have taught me valuable lessons about consistency, teamwork and pushing myself to improve. Although track and taekwondo are very different sports, they complement one another. Track has helped me develop speed, endurance and explosive power, which translate to taekwondo. Together, they have made me a stronger athlete.

Even with my involvement in track, taekwondo has remained the sport closest to my heart. I train at Olympic Taekwondo Academy, a school with several locations throughout Connecticut — I attend classes at the location in the Unionville section of Farmington. From the very beginning, the academy was much more than a place to exercise. It became a second home.

I remember my classes when I was young very clearly. I began practicing taekwondo in the summer of 2017, and I was always excited. I was 8 years old and about to enter fourth grade, my first year in the Avon schools.

Everyone else seemed to know what they were doing. I was focused at the back trying to copy the movements. I picked up the basic things like bowing correctly and remembering the Korean terms pretty easily. I felt embarrassed but never scared when I made mistakes, especially when the other students knew the forms correctly.

Jaemin Aziz and his coach, Kiye Cho of Olympic Taekwondo Academy, at the New York State Championships hosted by USA Taekwondo

Quitting was never something I thought about — there was no way I would let go of this sport. Something about the martial arts always had me coming back. The instructors were encouraging and fun, and I would always be able to get my energy out in a constructive way.

As time went on, taekwondo taught me an important lesson: progress takes time. When I first started, I didn't have any trouble with flexibility, balance or endurance. Yet some kicks were very hard for me to do. But every time I showed up to practice on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, fighting with other students kept showing me the levels I could reach, the different ways to fight and score points, and how much better I could get at how to spar. Especially coming off karate, it was a completely different style I had to adapt to.

Taekwondo showed me that success comes from the grit you show when you train, even when it felt like I kept losing.

Those experiences taught me that improvement is earned through consistency rather than talent alone. Every difficult practice, every frustrating mistake and every challenging opponent became another opportunity to grow. Instead of fearing failure, I learned to see it as an important part of the learning process.

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The mental lessons I learned have been even more valuable than the physical ones. Earlier in my training, I became easily frustrated whenever I struggled with a technique or lost during sparring. I remember being intimidated when older or more experienced teammates threw fast, high kicks that I could not yet perform myself.

At first, fear affected my confidence. Over time, however, I realized that everyone begins somewhere. The athletes I admired had once been beginners too.

The way taekwondo affected my mind was more important than the way it affected my body. When I got frustrated, taekwondo taught me trial and error in performing tasks. Sparring was especially different for me at first. I was scared of the way my teammate sprung his leg up high above my head in a way I couldn't just yet.

Taekwondo taught me that fear is normal and what matters is how I respond to it. Every time I sparred, I became more confident, not just in taekwondo but in everyday life. I even became more willing to speak up, try things and handle pressure without getting too stressed.

Respect is not about following rules — it's about recognizing the effort and humanity of other people

Taekwondo also taught me about discipline. Going to class every other day required commitment. There were days when I felt tired or did not feel like practicing, but my parents motivated me to go anyway, showing how I had to deal with the commitment of the sport.

Taekwondo taught me that discipline is more important than motivation. Motivation comes and goes, but discipline is what keeps you stable. The habits I built in taekwondo started to affect other parts of my life too. I became more organized in school, more responsible with my time and more focused on my goals.

I also learned about respect in taekwondo.

In every class we bowed to our instructors, our training partners and the dojang. At first it just felt like a rule, but eventually I understood what it meant. Respect is not about following rules — it's about recognizing the effort and humanity of other people.

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I learned to appreciate my teammates because we were all working hard to improve. Some people were naturally talented while others had to work, but we all shared the same desire to get better.

This has taught me to be humble. No matter how good I've become at taekwondo, there is always more to learn.

My taekwondo journey has included many tough times — when I lost matches in big tournaments, I would feel disappointed in myself. For a while, I thought all my hard work had been pointless. My coach, grand master Kiye Cho, never lost faith in me. Although he was stern and traditional, he motivated me, showed me solutions to my problems, and helped me achieve more.

He also supported my track-and-field ambition. Track kept me fit and was also fun. So I did both and trained harder than ever.

Taekwondo taught me that discipline is more important than motivation — motivation comes and goes, but discipline is what keeps you stable

When I eventually won another tournament, in New Jersey, it felt even more meaningful because I had faced failure before. This experience has changed the way I look at setbacks, teaching me a key lesson — losses have only showed me there is always room for improvement in my craft.

His guidance has encouraged me to continue training with even greater determination. Eventually, I earned another tournament victory, this time at a competition in New York. That victory remains one of my proudest accomplishments because I understood how much failure had contributed to my success.

To win, I had to understand what losing meant.

Today, my goals extend well beyond earning medals at local tournaments. I continue to dream of representing the United States at the Olympic Games. That aspiration remains as strong as ever. Whether or not I ultimately stand on an Olympic mat, pursuing that dream pushes me to work with passion.

Taekwondo taught me that fear is normal and what matters is how I respond to it

When people ask me what taekwondo has given me, I could talk about stronger kicks, faster reflexes or improved athletic ability. Those things certainly matter. However, the essence has been discipline and purpose. Taekwondo has influenced the way I approach school, sports, relationships and life itself.

Taekwondo has given me a sense of identity and purpose. It has become more than a sport. The dojang is a place where I can push myself, relieve stress and grow as a person. The lessons I’ve learned there have stayed with me.

Outside of taekwondo, I carry the mindset that the sport has taught me: Stay disciplined and respectful and keep moving forward no matter what.

The lessons I have learned inside the dojang will stay with me long after my competitive career comes to an end. They remind me to be disciplined, remain humble, respect others and never stop striving to improve. Those principles guide me every day, and they are the reason I will always be grateful for the sport that has changed my life. +

Taekwondo showed me that success comes from the grit you show when you train

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Editor’s Note #2

• Jaemin Aziz plans to attend Kyung Hee University​ in early 2027 to major in taekwondo and compete on the taekwondo team — the university's main campus is in Seoul, South Korea, where the 1988 Summer Olympics took place — in September, he anticipates moving with his family to Florida and then traveling to South Korea in November to visit his mother's extended family

• The website for the Olympic Taekwondo Academy based in Farmington and Simsbury contains this compelling statement on the About page: "We believe martial arts is more than just kicking and punching — it is a path to becoming the strongest version of yourself, inside and out. … We welcome students of all ages"

• A complementary compelling statement addresses a key goal of taekwondo: to pursue peace via a reasonable and proportional show of force and power — as the USA Taekwondo website states: "Taekwondo is the right way of using … fists and feet. … It is a way to control or calm down fights and keep the peace" — the website adds that the meaning of taekwondo is as follows: "The right way of using all parts of the body to stop fights and help to build a better and more peaceful world."

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