How taekwondo helped me build self-confidence and resilience

Topics mentioned: self-esteem, self-care, friends

About: Eden explains how practising taekwondo growing up continues to help her mental health, from building confidence and support networks to coping with stress and change.

Growing up, I’ve always really struggled with my confidence. I tried different things to try and improve my confidence, like lots of sports. I really enjoyed them, but I struggled to find a sense of community and really connect with the sport and what it stood for. But then I started taekwondo.

On my first day, I was scared to go in and remember thinking that I wouldn’t stay for very long – I was just there to try and see what it was all about. But then I fell in love with taekwondo and here I am 11 years later, writing about how much it helped my mental health. I want to share how and hopefully encourage lots of people to try something new for their mental health.

I met loads of other people from different clubs, from all across the UK and from all different backgrounds, ages and genders. Our shared interest in taekwondo helped us connect, but over the years we developed a really close bond. We spent a lot of time together training, travelling, competing and going out socially.

My taekwondo friends very quickly became my taekwondo family. Growing up it’s been so important for me to have a support network, especially when things were tough in my family life or with my health. Over the last two years I’ve experienced having a long-term health condition and growing up, I’ve had quite a lot of health challenges. The support of my taekwondo family, especially my coach, has really helped me get through difficult times. I know that they are always out to support me and I have great confidence, love and trust in my relationships with them.

The first moment that really pushed me out of my comfort zone was my first national competition. I was only 11 years old and I had to open the competition in front of 400 people. This was terrifying for me! But it was a real opportunity to do something I never thought I could, and I remember feeling really proud of myself.

Despite being quite a competitive and sometimes stressful sport, taekwondo always had a positive influence on my mental health. I felt like I could just be myself in a non-judgemental environment. That network of people have my back and can help me when things get challenging.

When I was in school, I remember being really excited to go to training and get away from the highly stressful, academic environment and all the revision that came with it. Taekwondo was where I could destress and completely switch off from what else might be happening in my life, and I’m really grateful for that positive, safe space.

I’d encourage any young person to give sport a go as it really helps you to develop as a person. You might be feeling really nervous, and you might not know if it’s for you, and that’s okay! It took me some trial and error to find the right sport for me, so don’t worry if it doesn’t happen straight away. Trying something different and new, even if it’s scary, could be what you really need.