At the National Dan Grading earlier this month, Sara Shahid reached her goal of achieving black belt status, and with that, her dream of becoming a coach is close to becoming reality.
On Sunday 14th June at the National Taekwondo Centre, the 20-year-old achieved her 1st Dan, marking a milestone that was ten years in the making. But beyond the personal achievement, the promotion opens the door to a new chapter for both Sara and the club she has helped build alongside her brother Shoaib.
With a black belt around her waist, Sara is now eligible to become a British Taekwondo coach, allowing her to take on a greater role at Kixstar Dragon Taekwondo – Cambridge and help expand opportunities for the club’s growing membership.
Despite having ten years of Taekwondo experience after taking up the Martial Art at the age of ten, heading to the grand stage in Manchester was no less daunting when the big day came around.
“I knew I had to get what I already knew to be perfect. All the technical things like one-step sparring, the etiquette, the patterns, and I had been working on really perfecting everything.”
“I was really nervous heading into it. Nerves were kicking in early morning, but after the speech from the instructors and the head examiner, it helped to ease my nerves.
“They made us feel reassured that it wasn’t sort of something to be nervous about, and that the day was more just to show what we’d been practising for the past however many years.
Sara’s Taekwondo journey began when she was around ten years old, following in the footsteps of her older brother, with Taekwondo initially started as a fun activity shared with family and friends.
That shared love of the Martial Art has continued to grow over the past decade, and after starting their own club 18 months ago, her recent achievement is fundamental in seeing the Cambridge establishment grow in the future.
“When I started off, it was more of just a fun activity that I would go to twice a week. It would be an activity I would do with my brother.
“I would go along with him. I’d make a few friends and then when I was around 16 or 17, I started thinking that this is serious. That’s when my brother proposed the idea that we could set up our own club.
“It’s been a big part of our lives; we’ve been doing it for a long time. We’ve been at a few different clubs, but I think the big thing has been starting our own club, forming that community and teaching the next generation.
“I’ve been an Assistant Coach at our club for a while and I’ve been helping out with teaching the kids. Then I wanted to step up and start leading classes and taking initiative.
“Now I’ve got my black belt it’s definitely a big step up for our club and hopefully we can use that to grow further.”
What began as an ambitious idea has since developed into a thriving community club in Cambridge. While Shoaib initially took on the coaching responsibilities, Sara helped manage the administration and day-to-day running of the club.
Now, with her black belt secured, the pair are preparing for the next stage of Kixstar Dragons’ growth, and Sara can seize the opportunity to give back to the community that has shaped her.
“Now I have achieved black belt we are both going to be coaches so we can expand the club even further.
“When you are coaching, it is great to be able to inspire people from different backgrounds. It’s lovely to see so many different people with different abilities, putting that spirit of Taekwondo into them.
“It’s really lovely to see them all enjoy coming to Taekwondo, having fun, making friends and making lots of progress.”
Alongside her commitments to Taekwondo, Sara is also studying Medicine at Anglia Ruskin University, having recently completed her first year after transferring from Biomedical Science.
Balancing university life, coaching and her own training has not always been easy, but despite those demands, Sara believes her experiences through Taekwondo have influenced her future career aspirations.
“I’m really interested in paediatrics, and I think that Taekwondo has helped with that. I love working with kids, and in our club our members range from four to about 13.
“Working with them it’s certified my interests in teaching kids and fostering that spirit of Taekwondo in the next generation.”
Having achieved her goal, Sara is already looking ahead. Her own competitive ambitions continue to grow, particularly within Poomsae, while Kixstar Dragons prepares to take more students to competition.
On top of all that, the most rewarding part of the journey is seeing the impact the club is having on the young people who attend every week.
“I’ve had lots of reviews from the parents about how much they’ve been enjoying Taekwondo, going home from class and practising in their living rooms, it’s really lovely to see.
“We started this club about a year and a half ago and it’s great to see how much progress we’ve made and how much the kids have learned, how much the kids have been enjoying it.”
For Sara and Kixstars Taekwondo in Cambridge, achieving 1st Dan has not been solely about getting a black belt, but the opportunities that progression within the Martial Art has opened up going forward.
It is about the potential to inspire, teach and develop the next generation of Martial Artists, while also pursuing her own ambitions in medicine and coaching.
Taekwondo journeys come in many shapes and forms, and for Sara Shahid, that journey is about to take the step to the next level.
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.