BY MIKE TUA FEMALE
TAEKWONDO practitioner and Solomon Islands medal hopeful for the upcoming 2015 Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea, Emily Margret is looking forward to the participate in the prestigious regional sporting event with fresh optimism after months of intensive training with the country’s Taekwondo team.
Speaking in an interview with the Solomon Women, Emily confirmed how passionate her love and connection for the highly discipline sport of Modern Taekwondo since she had joined the martial art nine years ago.
Solomon Women Newspaper (SWN): Where do you come from?
Emily Margret (EM): I am originally (ethnicity) from Malaita and Temotu Province in Solomon Islands.
SWN: How old are you?
EM: 23 years old
SWN: What is your profession and educational background?
EM: I am currently without a form of job employment and I actually left formal primary education system in class six (6) in 2006.
SWN: What sports participated in?
EM: I first was interested in football (soccer) in 2007 and so I joined the Northern United women’s Football Club but after spending two years with the club I finally decided to switch sports by initially enrolled in Karate (martial arts sports)and later merged into Taekwondo in the same year.
SWN: How many Years in current sport?
EM: Eight (8) years in the sport of Modern Taekwondo.
SWN: What got you started?
EM: I personally joined Taekwondo because it is a martial art sport and it has a well-recognized (profound) history in self-discipline, self-defense and physical fitness apart from other important sports.
SWN: Is there other personal information you would like to share?
EM: Taekwondo is a respectable and good sport for all age category and it has a lot of long term health benefits attach to it and it can help improve the healthy wellbeing of an individual practitioner both physically and mentally. At the same time, it’s a form of martial art that can help guarantee the absolute safety of an individual when they come under heavy physical attack and I believe the sport is a good form of self-defense sports.
SWN: What is your biggest accomplishment in your sports?
EM: My biggest personal achievement was to earn a bronze medal in the Oceania Games at Noumea, New Caledonia in 2010 after competing in the 72 kg heavyweight category.
SWN: What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?
EM: Currently, I am really working extremely hard with several of my important kicking technics which basically important to score critical points although it’s challenging but I working very hard to improve on my axe kick, double turning kick, back kick and more importantly my mental and physical fitness.
SWN: What would be your ultimate achievement?
EM: My ultimate achievement is to earn a gold medal in the upcoming 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG).
SWN: How do you set your goals?
EM: Since I have a low educational background in formal education, my opportunity to earn a basic living and recognition in a society is to remain committed to the sport of Taekwondo and to hopefully become a female senior instructor in the future.
SWN: What is your biggest challenge, and what do you do to manage this challenge?
EM: My greatest challenge is to achieve a highest standard of fitness level but now I am really committed to overcome that barrier by concentrating on my basic fitness training drills and technics.
SWN: What is your diet like?
EM: Consuming a Healthy diet is an important part in an athlete’s preparation however due to my intensive trainings in the mornings I am usually restricted to heavy breakfast in that particular part of the day. Therefore, for now I much more comfortable with a light form of breakfast with the inclusion of hot tea of Milo or milk with biscuits because heavy meals are restricted to control my weight.
SWN: What is your biggest dream in the future as a female Taekwondo athlete?
EM: My biggest dream in the future is to earn a black-belt and a higher (Dan) ranking in the modern sport of Taekwondo because I want to start my own martial art club to train our younger generation of interested martial artist in the country.
SWN: Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?
EM: My motto is to stay focus and committed to my sports as long as live and to set a good example for others in a society.
SWN: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
EM: My inspiration comes from myself which I believe that as a female (weak sex in a society), I need to protect my physical wellbeing and guarantee my safety apart from anything else. I strongly believe that self-defense has driven my great interest and passion for the sport of Taekwondo to this very day.
SWN: Anything else you’d like to share?
EM: I want to encourage more women and girls to come and joined Taekwondo because at the moment the sport itself has a very low number of female membership and therefore I strongly believe the sport needs more girls to be heavily involved and attached their lives with the martial art sport.
