TaeKwonDo, Teaching, and Taiwan.

My name is Constance Ui-Seng Francois. I am a FOMA ambassador and life long TaeKwonDo practitioner. For several weeks I traveled throughout the beautiful country of Taiwan visiting family, exploring new destinations, and discovering the rich culture that Taiwan has to offer.

TaeKwonDo, Teaching, and Taiwan. These are all things that have been a part of my life since I was born. My father is my instructor and founder of Cadet Martial Arts, the TaeKwonDo school I have been training at my whole life. This of course comes with responsibility on my end as well, and it wasn’t too long till I found myself teaching classes at the school and passing on the Cadet curriculum. Beyond that, I am Taiwanese American. My grandparents on my mother’s side are immigrants from Taiwan who came over to the states in the 60s for graduate school. So, here I am a Haitian-Taiwanese American girl, born into the Martial arts and the art of teaching. It wasn’t until this trip that I began to see the crossover in all of these realms.

What initially brought me back to Taiwan was working with the students at the Foundation Stone Tree Park Waldorf School in Changhua, Taiwan. By writing and directing a play for the Student’s english class. In addition to being a Martial Artist, I am a professional actress and dancer as well. 

When I first began teaching TaeKwonDo to the students, it started out as an informal gathering. My cousins, whom I was staying with and who also attend the Waldorf school, would always come home after school and bring a couple of friends over. One day, they asked me if I could teach them some TaeKwonDo moves. I taught them a few basic techniques and that was that. But the following day when they asked me about learning more I decided to make the class more structured. On the first day there were only four kids that took class. The next day there were six, and then ten! The class was growing each day and the students were focused and eager to learn.

There were challenges of course, like language, but despite what many people may think, it was not a barrier. Although there are many philosophical aspects of the Martial Arts, it is very physical and therefore visual (that’s how I naturally learn anyway!). I found that as long as I performed the techniques clearly and precisely, it translated and the students were able to perform them. From this experience, I learned that regardless of lingual differences, Martial Arts transcends.

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Teaching the students in Changua was not my only experience teaching TaeKwonDo in Taiwan. On a trip down south to Taitung’s mountains, I came across an entirely different group of kids. 

I was visiting a family friend in Taitung, who is from the Bunun aboriginal tribe. She teaches english to Bunun children in her village and they were scheduled to be my next group of students.

But! On the way to her house, where I would teach, we stopped by her friends place who is a potter! This is where I met Gue. It turned out that her friend’s son also does TaeKwonDo!  He and I bonded by doing some forms together. 

It was surreal! I was halfway across the globe and I met someone else who also practices martial arts and TaeKwonDo at that!  The same art form that I dedicated my whole life to. It was truly a beautiful moment and an experience I will never forget. I even learned a bit of pottery myself!

By the time I was supposed to teach my friend’s students I was exhausted, yet their energy was contagious. These students were so energetic and playful. They just seemed so happy and were excited to learn. I couldn’t help but smile. Being there, sharing my knowledge, facing all of their smiles as they mimicked my movements, I fell in love with teaching all over again.

TaeKwonDo, Teaching, and Taiwan. These are all things that have been apart of my life since I was born. And through this trip I experienced a crossover of these aspects of my identity. It was amazing getting to share my knowledge of the Arts with others overseas. And I am grateful to everyone who joined me in the Practice.

As a teacher, I have learned. As a Martial Artist I have grown. Being outside and training in nature has opened a new perspective and I cannot wait to apply all I have gained into my practice moving forward.

This is just the start of many journeys to come.