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Tae Kwon Do’s Helping Hand – Q&A with Zacharie Hicks

Zacharie Hicks is a martial arts teachers at United Tae Kwon Do Canberra and Shugyo Canberra. Picking up the art of Tae kwon do at 9, he would continue on this path until today and through his work become a black belt at the young age of 14.

Zac never stopped the love of Tae Kwon Do and wanted to share this with the youth.

Yet this was more than just a hobby for Zac. Tae Kwon Do became a part of who he saw himself as, he relied on it during the tough times during life and thanked it when times were good.

He has put in the work of someone who has found his passion and doesn’t intend to stop anytime soon.

Zac shared his biggest influences, the process of becoming a black belt and more

Zacharie Hicks in his element

Q: Where did the love for Tae Kwon Do start?

A: I had a few different influences growing up that all kinda came together to build and solidify my love for Tae Kwon Do.

The first came from my brothers Keiran and Conner who started practising TKD when I was about 4. Seeing them dressed up like ninjas I thought it was really cool and with Keiran and Conner being my 2 biggest influencers at that time in my life and I wanted to be just like them.

The second influence came from the cartoons like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto I was around 9 years old when I started to watch them religiously every morning at 6am.

The shows were so fascinating to me that I wanted to be able to kick, punch and flip just like the characters that appeared on the screen that when my mum said she’d take me to a Tae Kwon Do lesson I couldn’t contain my excitement.

But the moment my love for Tae Kwon Do was set in stone was when I was 14 or 15 and I was training for my black belt and we were just practising a range of different advanced kicks just after my instructors had put me through an intense sparring session.

I had multiple students both younger and older than me coming up to me telling me that they found me inspiring and telling me they wanted to train to the skill level.

That moment I had realised I found a place where I felt like I belonged.

Q: What does it take to get a Black Belt?

A: To become a black belt it takes a huge amount of both physical and mental effort, when I was 15 and training for my first black belt I had 5 training sessions a week including 1 intense black belt applicant “special” training where my instructors would push me to my limits until the point where I couldn’t move my legs any more.

For my second black belt I had between 6 – 8 training sessions a week. But the training sessions weren’t only physically draining but also mentally.

In short I’d say you have to have a strong commitment to your training with a strong positive attitude.

people in a building indoor close-up photography
By Jonathan Borba from Unsplash

Q: How has Tae kwon do helped with other aspects of your life?

A: Tae kwon do has helped me develop my confidence to the point where I can go out in public and meet new people and build relationships with almost any person I meet.

It’s also helped me in some pretty dark and depressing times, helped me realise what I’m worth as a person.

Q: What would you be doing instead of Tae kwon do?

A: I honestly couldn’t tell you. TKD has been such a huge part of my life that I can’t imagine who or what I’d be without it.

The people I’ve met through TKD have helped shape my life so much that the idea of never having met any of them seems impossible.

Q: Any advice for kids looking into getting Tae kwon do?

A: Jump into it head first it can be intimidating but once you’re there it can help with so many aspects of your life.

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