Numerous New Zealand and international championship titles allude to Christine Young’s string of successes in taekwon-do, yet trophies and medals are almost incidental to what is achievable in martial arts. Rather, it’s the inner journey made through lifelong practice that has led to some of her greatest accomplishments. Christine, 6th dan black belt from Tauranga and co-owner of The Martial Arts Academy, talks to focus about self-discovery, perseverance and the importance of learning for life, whatever your age.
When we meet in early March, Christine Young is getting ready to run free, public self-defence classes to celebrate International Women’s Day. She’s offered these since 2016 to build self-confidence in women and teach the physical skills of self-defence. Promoting gender equality is important too, and participants receive flowers and inspirational messages reminding them of the beauty and diversity of womanhood.
A basic understanding of self-defence is important for all women, but she says mindset has a lot to do with confidence and whether women are victimised in the first place.
“We teach the physical moves of self-defence, knowing these skills give people more confidence in what they can achieve, and this mental boost shifts their mindset, so it’s a circle of skills – as they learn one they develop the other.”
Other sports can inspire self-confidence too, yet can be hard for women to return to later in life if the sport is geared towards competition. Martial arts, however, are more about self-improvement and mastering techniques for yourself. It’s a gradual process, Christine says, of building confidence, trusting instincts and knowing you can achieve something to reach your goals.
“We eventually do things in martial arts that we don’t think we could have done physically, but we learn to persevere to overcome the physical challenge that is initially beyond our capability. I have quite a few mums training with me, who’ve come back after a long break and are enjoying finding their self-confidence again and the knowledge that they can achieve so much more from a physical aspect.”
This subtle combination of mental and physical training has positive spinoffs for both men and women. Students focus on ‘grading’ goals to reach the next level of their martial art and ultimately develop and deepen their practice, and it is this ability to set goals and achieve them that becomes a valuable life skill. With martial arts training, she says, you learn how to overcome any roadblock.
MARTIAL ARTS PIONEER
Christine co-founded Tauranga’s Martial Arts Academy with business partner Scott Coburn in 2013. The Academy is pioneering a new trend in New Zealand and internationally in offering a wide range of martial arts in one place, for children right through to older adults. A second studio opened in Papamoa last year. While each martial art may look different – some use weapons, others are non- combative and low impact, and some take place mostly on the ground – they all provide effective methods of self-defence, and, once students grade to high levels, the peak of learning is essentially about self-enlightenment and self-discovery.
“When you reach black belt you have only just mastered the essentials,” says Christine. “You realise there’s still so much more to learn about the art and especially about yourself. I started taekwon-do when I was 15 and I turn 50 this year, and I’m still learning. Everyone eventually reaches a similar belief and philosophy, and they will often want to share the art with their students because of what they have learnt about fulfilment, achieving goals, or learning to overcome challenge.”
She credits these learnings as crucial to her own successes in life. As a teenager in Levin she was keen on learning karate kicks but the taekwon-do dojang was nearer to home – before long she found her confidence improving as she learnt the physical skills, so she persevered. By 1990, aged 21, she had earned her black belt, and between 1992- 95 won numerous New Zealand taekwon-do titles.
The discipline of focusing on her goals translated into her personal life, and by the mid-90s, as a fully qualified chartered accountant, she moved to England with a clear vision and career path ahead. With her husband studying at Oxford University, taekwon-do was simply a means to keep fit and she juggled training sessions with the University club around her work commitments. At this time of her life – she was 27 – Christine thought she was done with competitive taekwon-do, but as it turned out, the UK selectors had other plans for her.
So she began training with the British team to attend the 1997 World Taekwon-Do Championships, coming home with a gold medal in the team power breaking. She attended two more World Championships with the British team, winning three more medals, before putting aside the competition once again and returning to New Zealand in 2006.
For the next four years, she coached the New Zealand national representative team, while continuing with her professional career. Last year, aged 49, she decided to aim for one more event – this time to represent New Zealand on the world stage – and was delighted to end her competitive career on a high with five gold medals, a silver and a bronze for her age group at the International Taekwon-Do Federation World Cup in Sydney.
DELIBERATE LIFE CHOICES
Of course, no path is without its hurdles and unexpected detours, and Christine has confronted difficult decisions in her life; once again she credits her martial arts practice for instilling self-confidence. When her husband returned to New Zealand from the UK she made the decision to remain and focus on her career in London instead; essentially ending the relationship. In 2006, when her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she wrestled with leaving London and returning home to support her parents, and later, when she decided to stop work entirely to set up her Martial Arts Academy, she again had a big decision to make – this time facing the uncertainty of leaving behind a reliable income for a life offering far less financial security.
“I think martial arts practice teaches us to live more deliberately, rather than being swept along in the current and drifting through life, or getting stuck in our own comfort zones,” she says. “So I’ve never been afraid to step out of the current and take up new challenges because I believe in my own strength of mind and the confidence in my abilities to know I’d be okay whatever roadblocks I might face.
“It’s our own self-talk that prevents us from doing more things in life because of fear of failure, and even with small failures we tend to give up too easily.”
LEADER AND INFLUENCER
When her students have left for the day, Christine changes focus and begins her own training. While the thought of a workout after a hectic schedule may seem onerous to many of us, Christine says it’s energising, and naturally, she is preparing for her next big goal – grading for her 7th dan black belt in February 2020. Achieving that would see her become the highest graded female for ITF Taekwon-Do in the country.
Not only is she leading the way in her own practice, Christine was the first woman to coach a New Zealand representative taekwon-do team and, in 2011, became one of the first women in the country to become accredited as an international umpire for a world event. In April, as a beneficiary of a Prime Minister’s Performance Scholarship, she joined the New Zealand delegation to umpire at the World Championships in Germany.
As she says, small successes led to bigger successes and her story is a reminder to all women: whether it’s competing, participating or trying something completely new, focus on your goals and don’t let age be a barrier to going after what you want.
And when you live your life with purpose and focus, can there be any regrets, even when you turn a hobby into a profession? Not for this determined and influential woman.
“When I was young I always had a feeling that I wanted to influence more people, to work with others to help them overcome their fears. I feel that martial arts are definitely a great vehicle for that and for building strong communities at the grassroots. It’s like my candy store here – I get to work with an amazing team of instructors and reach so many people from all walks of life.”
With student numbers now over 600 ranging from aged 4 to late 70s, and a number of instructors teaching in a full-time capacity, The Martial Arts Academy is creating opportunities for hundreds of people to experience the physical and mental elements of martial arts, whether to dip their toe in at the edge, or to appreciate a life-long journey of self-discovery and fulfilment.