Whitecourt Taekwondo is ready for action!

Even though COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on organized activities, Whitecourt Taekwondo is looking forward to another fantastic season. Master Jim Rennie said that they have increased their cleaning rituals and have divided up their gymnasium space into distanced slots (thanks to red and blue foam pieces) to enable them to continue practicing the sport they love. “Our areas get cleaned after every class, and everyone’s hands are sanitized multiple times. Our guidelines are brought to us by Taekwondo Canada, which works with Health Canada,” explained Rennie.

“For the first time in our history, we have a cap on the number of students that can register because we have to stay safe.” Rennie said that even before any advertisement on the club’s part, they have already filled half their capacity. “There will be a waiting list for the first time ever. Normally, we would add in more classes to get everyone in, but we cannot do that this year.”

The club is incredibly grateful to be in their own dedicated space now that restrictions have limited their use of rented spaces. During a typical year, the club would rent the gym at Central School, but last year they opened their own gym at 4105 41 Ave. Given that outside clubs are not able to rent in the schools right now, had they not had space, they would have been in a desperate search. “For us, having this space right now could not have been any better.”

Rennie said he is thrilled to be able to safely offer the classes and continue building their athletes’ community. Interestingly, the Whitecourt Taekwondo Club received an award last year for having produced the most black belt athletes in Canada. No, that is not a misprint. “We’ve never won this award before because a different Master in Eastern Canada, highly respected in the taekwondo community, held the title for a long time.” When he passed, all the clubs under him broke off into smaller groups, leaving Whitecourt the next biggest club to take over the title.  

The title does not just include athletes that live in Whitecourt but also those in all the clubs that fall under Whitecourt’s umbrella. There are 2000 students with 20 schools around the province that are part of the local club. Rennie said that the schools that fall under Whitecourt are there because they needed a Master to lead them, and the Rennie family stepped up. “My dad and I said that we would lead them on a fair and developed path with high standards. It was something that a lot of schools in the province were looking for.”

As for Whitecourt, Rennie said the community holds a neat title too. “Per capita, Whitecourt has more black belts than any other city in North America. I think that says a lot about us. We are a small community with a lot of black belts.” Locally, of the athletes that lived in Whitecourt and trained here, there are nearly 200 black belts, and their names grace the stretching beams in the club’s gymnasium. Across the province, the Rennie family has promoted roughly 2000 black belts.

Three black belts that had just reached new milestones are Wylie Farquhar and brothers Ryan and Jason Steenhart. Farquhar just succeeded at promoting to his third-degree blackbelt and said that he was overjoyed when he received word that his testing had passed. “I’ve been in taekwondo for half my life, seven years, and I enjoy the challenge that it brings me. It’s a way to learn how to defend myself but also build confidence and strength.” At just 14 years of age, Farquhar stands over his peers at 6’2. Rennie said that taekwondo had taught the teen how to be graceful in his movements, which is not something that comes easy for someone so tall. 

“He was able to build his coordination and has worked so hard to learn the techniques. For me, that is what martial arts are about. It’s not about being some incredible level athlete, but rather about taking yourself from one level and getting yourself to a higher level.” Farquhar agreed. “It’s more than just a sport. Most of it is in your brain. You get nervous or anxious, and that is basically what pulls you back a bit, but once you know what you’re doing, it just comes naturally, like a flow of movement.”

The Steenhart brothers are peas in a pod as they train together and are each other’s biggest fan. “We’ve been practicing very hard, and we are finally at this point with getting our second-degree black belts,” smiled Jason, 10. “I was nervous in the beginning when I was testing, but I was very happy when I got my results. I feel confident,” said Ryan, 11. Both said they loved taking part in tournaments and love knowing how to defend themselves. “It has taught me to be strong,” concluded Ryan. Jason added some words of encouragement for anyone thinking about giving taekwondo a try. “It’s not like they are going to push you so hard that you’re going to want to give up. They will help you and support you to get to that next level.” Rennie said that he is proud of them and that they both have big taekwondo futures ahead.

With more members of the taekwondo community set to test for higher black belt levels next month, the numbers are sure to keep growing. Speaking of growing, Rennie also mentioned that the club had introduced a Tiny Ninjas Group for youngsters three and four years old. “We’ve developed a program that, in my mind, is a perfect blend between Boy Scouts and martial arts training. We will work on a lot of listening skills, but there are many really small, easy to achieve awards along the way.” Aside from the Tiny Ninjas group, parents will not be able to watch their children perform in person this year and will instead watch through Facebook Live. Classes start in September.