The Taekwondo Twins: Daddy’s Dandy Dream

IKPOIGBINOBA 

There was an evil bully at his son’s school, daily tormenting the child. He instilled so much fear in the child that going to school became a nightmare for him. Resolving this dilemma could have been a huge challenge for many parents. Some would have considered withdrawing  the child from school while others would have preferred appealing to the school authorities to call the bully to order. But for a sportsman like Jerome Braih, he played hockey while in the university, he had a different solution.

Mr. Braih recalls how he took his son to the world of taekwondo to solve the problem of the bully. According to him “On almost a daily basis, Raynald was always complaining about this bully who derived pleasure from tormenting him. 

“I had a solution and it was taking Raynald to a self defence club”.

“I made inquiries and in February 2019, I took Raynald to Bodyweapon Taekwondo Club. He was seven years old then.

Raynald has a twin sister, Rosabelle and though she was not a victim of the bully,  she also got registered”. 

The gains of that decision began manifesting in a few weeks. After a couple of drills in the club where the undiluted form of Korean taekwondo is practiced, the story of Raynald and the bully changed. Not aware of the transformation that has taken place in Raynald, the bully as usual wanted to play his evil pranks.

But this time the bully met his Waterloo. Raynald, having gone through the furnace beginners are subjected to at Bodyweapon Club, had grown immensely in confidence. Instead of fleeing at the sight of the menacing bully, Raynald stood his ground and dared the devil.

In the ensuing exchanges, Raynald had the upper hand after unleashing a torrent of powerful kicks on the bewildered bully who took flight with his tail in between his legs. Rosabelle who witnessed the encounter between the bully and her twin brother was excited when she returned home to relate the story to her father.

According to Mr. Braih “It was Rosabelle who told me the story of how the bully confronted Raynald but this time the tide turned against the fiend”.Since that encounter, the bully and other potential bullies in the school avoided the taekwondo twins like a plague in their own interest.

Though deterring bullies was the primary reason for registering the twins in the taekwondo club, Mr. Braih said it was not the only reason. According to him “I have always admired the martial arts not just as sports but as a way of life. The martial arts instil in practitioners the virtues of etiquette, modesty and self control apart from 

 Since February 2019, when he took the leap of faith into the world of taekwondo, Mr Braih has invested a lot of resources in the taekwondo journey of his twins. Every Saturday without fail, he has maintained a schedule of waking up at 5 am, getting the twins ready with the assistance of his wife by 6 am and taking them to their taekwondo training at Frontliners Primary School premises in Agbado.

Hectic? Yes a tough schedule for a man involved in the daily struggle of survival in Lagos. But Mr. Braih is enjoying every minute of the hectic experience.

“The Saturday schedule is hectic but considering my twins ‘ progress in the sport, I have every reason to be happy”. 

“My twins’ progress in the sport is a thing of immense joy to my family. “They have attended two competitions, won some laurels and progressed from beginners’ white to yellow belt”.

 Mr Braih has the ultimate dream for his taekwondo twins. Hear him “I know my twins will play taekwondo on the big stage and the icing on the cake would be a podium performance at the Olympics”

With the current zeal of Mr Braih and his taekwondo twins, the Olympic dream would someday be a reality