Publishing the Inclusive Taekwondo Manual
This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to work with someone very close to me: my father. With 20 years of experience as a Taekwondo instructor, he has run his own Taekwondo studio while giving back to his community in meaningful ways. For two decades, he has volunteered with KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now), a foundation dedicated to supporting students with mental and physical disabilities. Over the years, my father has become an integral part of this close-knit community, and as a result, my family and I have naturally become connected to it as well.
Seeing the impact he had on his students, my father felt inspired to create a specialized manual for them. This idea began as he realized that many of these students had been with him for a decade or more, and he wanted a structured resource to support their learning. He envisioned a program designed specifically for his students' needs, complete with detailed outlines, reference images, lesson plans, and activities based on what he knew they enjoyed most. With my experience in publishing, my father asked for my help in bringing this project to life.
Starting from 2023 and continuing through the end of this summer, we worked together on creating a 180-page manual that included over 30 lesson plans. My father provided the technical expertise and content from his years of teaching. However, as a South Korean immigrant, he occasionally struggled to articulate his ideas in writing. I stepped in to support with editing, promotional planning, manuscript development, and taking and editing thousands of reference images to make the manual accessible for students who benefit from visual aids. This role became more than just helping with the technical aspects—it was a way for me to help my father share his vision.
Collaborating on this project was an unexpected bonding experience for us. While I always imagined we’d bond over activities like Taekwondo itself, working together on this book allowed our shared passion to grow in a way I hadn’t anticipated. Through this experience, I came to understand the importance of sharing one’s dreams and passions with others and how impactful it can be to bring those dreams to life.
