day 7: healthy rivalry

hi! i'm almost sure you read the title of today's post wrong. disclaimer: this post is NOT about heated rivalry, which i 100% want to watch before season 2 comes out. today's post is about why competition sports are so good for people and can create bonds that will last lifetimes.

in the middle of 7th grade (or eighth... i'm honestly not sure), after doing taekwondo for about 6 or 7 years (i'm being so serious), i told my dad that i wanted to start competing for sparring. at my age, my dad was already a swimmer for the Turkish national team and literally the 3rd in Europe, and that competition was on a bad day. because of his competitive background, he knows what it takes to be a competitive athlete: all the effort, discipline, and perseverance. after i told him, he asked me if i knew what i was asking and if i actually wanted to do it.

my pistachio latte girl forever <3

lo and behold, i said yes. little did i know the amount of work that it would take. after my first degree black belt test in april of 2024, i fractured my ankle. every year i go to istanbul, turkiye for the entire duration of summer, literally from the end of may to early august. during that summer, my parents found a dojang for my brother and i to train at and met this girl named azra. azra is the daughter of the master at this dojang and is one of the best taekwondo athletes that i personally know. when i met azra, we were the same height, same weight, and only one year apart. over the summers of 2024 and 2025, we became stuck together like glue, whom i never expected to become one of my best friends. whenever i would get injured, coincidentally, halfway across the world, azra would too. i think that just proves that somehow we are internally connected. 

although, azra and i have experienced many laughs, frustrations, and supported each other through and through, we also fight each other pretty hard and many other good friends also experience a little bit of healthy rivalry. we do that because that is how you be a good training partner to help the other grow. might i also add that her dojang, yenigun, is one of the best taekwondo environments i've been in because the people that train there ACTUALLY want to be there. they are not only competitive with each other, but also encourage their friends to get better. that's why every year, i'm ecstatic to train there again.

when the summer of 2024 ended, we got back to florida, my dad got the memo and we built a mini-dojang in our loft. there, we trained after school in addition to going to the nightly practice at my home dojang. during that fall and winter, my brother and i competed in quite a few competitions, growing each and every day. 

my dad also took us to another dojang in miami, a 45-50 minute drive each way, to train with another competition school and endure long, 4 hour practices. this school now has 2 girls on the Guatemalan national team and are now in the 2028 LA Olympic cycle. i wish them all the best and cannot wait to watch them on TV!! every sunday, i used to get beat up by the oldest girl there. i would cry and make excuses not to go, but of course, we still went each weekend.

through all of the hard practices, bruises, cries, and of course, dedication that was built up over time, i got stronger. though it seems like someone was praying on my downfall, because throughout all of 2025, i went through a cycle of getting injured, going back to practice for a month, and then getting sick and repeat. this really messed me up because i wasn't able to properly practice all year long. through it all, i'm finally back for good (knock on wood). 

you may be asking yourself, maia, what is the point of all of this? well, through competitive sports, i've learned:

• courtesy, and respect by bowing to both the flags, of South Korea, America and Brazil (because my master is Brazillian), and to all of my peers
• integrity, by not cheating myself by doing less reps when my coach isn't watching
• perseverance, after getting beat up every sunday and still showing up because i know it will help me improve

• self-control, with cutting weight to be in the proper category for my height
• discipline, by showing up to practice each and every day.

these traits have been taught to me through taekwondo and are uncoincidentally part of the 5 tenants of taekwondo. the 5 tenants include:

1. courtesy
2. integrity
3. perserverance
4. self-control
5. indomitable spirit

if i hadn't decided to be a competitive athlete, i wouldn't have learned these things so early in my life. these things i can carry on into the rest of my life and will undoubtedly help me succeed wherever i put my energy.

through taekwondo, i've also made amazing friends that i cannot live without. special shout-out to: azra (left) and nico and angella (middle). one other thing i'm so insanely grateful for is that the sport that i love has helped me become much closer to my younger brother (right). taekwondo has also helped me build my support group with people that want to help and see me succeed.

taekwondo has not only taught me to be strong, which now i believe because of my daily affirmations (if you read day 5, i know you know), but i now have a new-found level of respect towards competition athletes because i know how hard it is to be one. if you ever run out of motivation to do something, remind yourself that your there is always someone out there that is training harder than you. when you're training at 90%, your competition is training at 110%. if you're ever thinking of starting a competitive sport, or going to your first tournament/competition/scrimmage, do it! as you've read, i highly suggest that you do.

finally, thank you to my parents who are so so dedicated to my brothers and i. i appreciate you both so much for supporting everything i do and making sure that you do everything in your power to help us get to where we want to be successfully. although i'm not where i want to be right now, taekwondo wise, i know that if i ask, my parents will help me each step of the way. I LOVE YOU BOTH!!!!

have a great one and i'll catch you on the next post! 

don't wish for it, work for it.