THE BIG PICTURE

Click for full resolution panorama shot

Austrian Open Poomsae, 15th June 2013, Vienna - At first, I edited this picture putting out of focus the whole scene except for Patrick Bogusch's terrific yeopchaghi. Then I realized the girl inside the back square was the amazing Matea Bersinic, and I felt sorry for blurring her, because last saturday I had already seen the judges wash out her performance with ungenerous marks. Later, I noticed many more faces and situations I really wanted to keep sharp, because apart from Patrick's side kick and Matea's choombi, this shot reveals a whole constellation of personal moments and feelings from the competition day. The judges are scrutinizing players on the mat, one coach is watching his pupil in apprehension, someone is resting, someone is bored, someone is stretching, someone is eating, someone is using his dobok to clean his nose. In one hour or so, some would be rejoicing, some would be crying, some would be thorn between delusion and relief, some others would be happy for themselves but upset for their friends and vice versa. It's TKD competition. It's one day and one place where hundreds of sport stories interwine in one piece of life cloth. It's something you can only feel when you're there. It's an event infinitely larger than your own performance. It's an experience that can always inspire you in spite of how poor was your result. It's something you can either enjoy or suffer while you're living it. It's something you cannot but miss when it's all over.

WINNING IN HAIRSTYLE

Whereas fighting helmets forbid to show off creative hairstyles, Poomsae's gearless outfit and emphasis on presentation truly let TKD girls unleash their princess within. And man, buns are all the rage here! Large or small, high or low, braided or sponge sustained, donut or onion-shaped. Big international Poomsae events nowadays look like chignon parades, staging a competition within the competition for the cutest head on the mat. God I love this sport :P

PEEP SHOW

If you're a veteran of TKD events, you might have noticed how many people think to make you a favor obstructing your view in a climactic moment. Fortunately, their attempts are not always successful.

RING-A-RING O'DOVES

The Olympic Champion Carlo Molfetta instructing more than a hundred children: <<You can do anything you like. If your master says so>>.
Then apparently it is freedom and discipline that make you a champ. And a pinch of humor, I guess.

Carlo Molfetta kicking the gigantic Liu Xiaobo (China) at London 2012 (photo twitter.com/taekwondofita)

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

After watching over and over again my Koryo performance at the last weekend Poomsae event, I have come to a grave decision. I have to shave my moustache, it makes me look terribly old from the distance >__<

GENTLEMEN, FASTEN YOUR BLACK BELTS

When a taekwondist enters the gym, they don't change. They suit up. Wearing a clean pressed uniform is very different from putting up some common sportswear. There are dignity, order, beauty and tradition involved. When you wear your dobok, you know and feel you're about to do something important.
It's not just sport, even if you're the competition-only kind. The finishing touch of the clothing process is of course tying your belt. Once it is knotted, you know you're ready to start, you know you represent something you must live up to, you know it's once again TKD time. If you've ever experienced a long period without training, you also know how special it feels to tie your belt on the day of your comeback. Like you're reinstalling a part of you which had gone lost for a while. A missing link, between you and your passion. And all that happens when you stay together. Pull it tight then, you don't want to lose it anytime soon.

DOMINANT SPECIES

Taekwondo girls. They're out to extinguish you guys.

CITY ANGEL

Maybe he doesn't watch over you by night, but he certainly puts up a big show by day.

(Photo: Kim Hong-Ji, Reuters/Contrasto)

TOO TIRED TO DIE

Because at the very end, the only thing hanging must be a piece of metal.

AN INTERVIEW WITH QUEEN ELIF

Elif in action at the European Poomsae Championships 2013

The first time I told you about Elif Yilmaz was in 2011, when she emerged victorious from the European Poomsae Championships held in Genoa. She was only 17 but she was already a star, equally shining both in and out of the mat. This year, as soon as she became senior, Elif rocked the national selections to be confirmed in the Turkey National Team, thus entering the European Championships in Alicante (Spain) this late April. So the young girl who impressed Italy with sky-high kicks and incredibly long princess-like hair, was facing a new challenge. In a new division. With a new look. But the same outcome... Gold! The princess has now become queen. Then a few days ago the kind Elif agreed to be interviewed for this blog. The result is a long conversation, uncovering the immense work behind her victories, some lovely anecdotes from her childhood and her evenly sweet and tenacious personality. Then let’s hear it from Her Majesty... 

Cryu: Elif, you followed your father's footsteps, as Mustafa Yilmaz is also an internationally renowned taekwondo master and champion. Did you start TKD on your own will or it was him who first took you to the gym? Once I read Laura Kim Kim as a child didn’t like TKD, but her father Master Kim someway obliged her to train. You and Laura are maybe the most successful European Poomsae athletes in the world, so it is curious to see how similar are your beginnings of career.

Elif: When I was 1 year old and I took my first steps, my dad bought me a dobok, started to make me do some kicks and teached me how to kiap. As for all girls on this planet, dad was my first and biggest love. So I have always followed his footsteps and I still try to do it. When I was 3 or 5 years old he went to some championships abroad and I was very sick because my love had left me alone for the first time. When he came back home I healed up and started to check his gifts for me. He always bought Barbie dolls and TKD bears for me and my sister. I've always liked bears. One day I asked him <<how you going to other countries? By plane? Can you fly, dad?>>, he answered me <<yes I am flying and if you want to fly away you have to start TKD!>>. That day, I decided to start TKD.
My first training years were very easy, I learnt so many things in the fastest way because we used to train at home. After 3 years, I started to train in a dojang. It was scary but I inculcated into myself: <<Elif, you are the daughter of Mustafa Yilmaz. Stay strong!>>, and so I did.