Every sport has its own story or stories. For some people the story is an easy one, for others the story is one of struggle.
Not every student that start out with Martial Arts (whatever discipline) advances to Black Belt level. In fact, according to the Instructors, a lot are starting off, but very few finish, or carry on after they achieved Black Belt status.
Hanlie started with Taekwondo in June 2013 and at first did it just to get fit and hopefully loose some weight. In October 2013 their Instructor enrolled them into a competition just to get some competition experience. Needless to say, although Hanlie did won some medals, she did not do well. The next year she decided to take some extra Taekwondo training sessions and at the end of 2014 Hanlie became the South African Ladies 40+ Colourbelt champion. (that was despite tearing a calf muscle 8 weeks before the South African Championships)
Sounds like she is doing well and everything is her way. Hanlie's performance and progression is nothing short of miraculous. It is taking a lot of hard work, concentration and dedication to get where she is now. Directions and movement does not come naturally to Hanlie, some students learn a form or routine in one class, Hanlie takes many classes to learn that.
You see, Hanlie has Aspergers Syndrome, which is part of the Autism Spectrum. One of the things of Aspergers is that she does not intuitively know left from right, she has to think about it. Then instructions has to be broken down into small manageable steps, as a long string of instructions (such as a complete form) confuses her, then the smallest thing can grab her attention, make her loose concentration and go into a fluster. Therefore she has to concentrate and work twice as hard to get somewhere.
But, on top of that, Hanlie has Type 2 diabetes, that sometimes plays havoc with her blood sugar levels, especially when she becomes stressed (like before a grading session, or a competition).
However, it does not stop there, Hanlie also has 15-20% sight in both her eyes. She is totally lost without her glasses, and she cannot spar (fight) without her glasses. Fortunately one optometrist recommended disposable contact lenses and she is wearing those during sparring sessions. (It is a hassle to put in, because of her Aspergers, she also does not have fine motor skills).
Despite all of this, Hanlie is persevering, she is not quitting! She is working extremely hard, she is concentrating extremely hard and it is spilling over to the rest of her life. When she started with Taekwondo she was overweight, and she lost 20 kg in the first year. Her concentration improved. Her patience and self control improved (another one of the Asperger traits).
She is currently Assistant Trainer for the Special Abilities group at the Traditional Taekwondo Academy (TTA), Pretoria, South Africa (the club she practices at). She will take over the training of the group when she achieves her Black Belt ranking. They are also planning to expand the group to include kids on the autism Spectrum, ADHD and ADD.
Hanlie also progressed and improved so much that she now has the opportunity to attend the ATA World Championships in Little Rock Arkansas, USA. But for that she needs funding. Please consider making a donation at her fundraising page. Donations start at $1 (About R11).
Steps to donate at the gogetfunding pare are as follows:
Click on Green Donate Now,
Complete the donation amount on the next page, then click on the Blue Continue Button,
verify your payment and click Pay Now (even if you want to use a Credit card),
a new window will pop-up for payment,
If you are donating via paypal add your paypal details,
if you are donating via a credit card, click the buy as a guest link and follow the instructions
For any questions or information regarding other sponsorship opportunities you can contact Hanlie at hanlie.scheepers@gmail.com or hanlie.worlds@gmail.com
Not every student that start out with Martial Arts (whatever discipline) advances to Black Belt level. In fact, according to the Instructors, a lot are starting off, but very few finish, or carry on after they achieved Black Belt status.
Hanlie started with Taekwondo in June 2013 and at first did it just to get fit and hopefully loose some weight. In October 2013 their Instructor enrolled them into a competition just to get some competition experience. Needless to say, although Hanlie did won some medals, she did not do well. The next year she decided to take some extra Taekwondo training sessions and at the end of 2014 Hanlie became the South African Ladies 40+ Colourbelt champion. (that was despite tearing a calf muscle 8 weeks before the South African Championships)
Sounds like she is doing well and everything is her way. Hanlie's performance and progression is nothing short of miraculous. It is taking a lot of hard work, concentration and dedication to get where she is now. Directions and movement does not come naturally to Hanlie, some students learn a form or routine in one class, Hanlie takes many classes to learn that.
You see, Hanlie has Aspergers Syndrome, which is part of the Autism Spectrum. One of the things of Aspergers is that she does not intuitively know left from right, she has to think about it. Then instructions has to be broken down into small manageable steps, as a long string of instructions (such as a complete form) confuses her, then the smallest thing can grab her attention, make her loose concentration and go into a fluster. Therefore she has to concentrate and work twice as hard to get somewhere.
But, on top of that, Hanlie has Type 2 diabetes, that sometimes plays havoc with her blood sugar levels, especially when she becomes stressed (like before a grading session, or a competition).
However, it does not stop there, Hanlie also has 15-20% sight in both her eyes. She is totally lost without her glasses, and she cannot spar (fight) without her glasses. Fortunately one optometrist recommended disposable contact lenses and she is wearing those during sparring sessions. (It is a hassle to put in, because of her Aspergers, she also does not have fine motor skills).
Despite all of this, Hanlie is persevering, she is not quitting! She is working extremely hard, she is concentrating extremely hard and it is spilling over to the rest of her life. When she started with Taekwondo she was overweight, and she lost 20 kg in the first year. Her concentration improved. Her patience and self control improved (another one of the Asperger traits).
She is currently Assistant Trainer for the Special Abilities group at the Traditional Taekwondo Academy (TTA), Pretoria, South Africa (the club she practices at). She will take over the training of the group when she achieves her Black Belt ranking. They are also planning to expand the group to include kids on the autism Spectrum, ADHD and ADD.
Hanlie also progressed and improved so much that she now has the opportunity to attend the ATA World Championships in Little Rock Arkansas, USA. But for that she needs funding. Please consider making a donation at her fundraising page. Donations start at $1 (About R11).
Steps to donate at the gogetfunding pare are as follows:
Click on Green Donate Now,
Complete the donation amount on the next page, then click on the Blue Continue Button,
verify your payment and click Pay Now (even if you want to use a Credit card),
a new window will pop-up for payment,
If you are donating via paypal add your paypal details,
if you are donating via a credit card, click the buy as a guest link and follow the instructions
For any questions or information regarding other sponsorship opportunities you can contact Hanlie at hanlie.scheepers@gmail.com or hanlie.worlds@gmail.com
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