It was February 17, 2021, and I was in middle school, just about to finish my first year of middle school.
My cousins had joined a sport, something that I wasn´t so interested in; something that never really caught my eye.
I preferred more things like playing video games and eating different types of food. One day my aunt told me how my cousins had joined a sport named taekwondo. She told me that it looked really fun, and that I could be really good at it if I joined.
My aunt later said “Oye Luis no te gustaria entrar al taekwondo con tus primos”? Which in English means “Hey, Luis, wouldn’t you like to join taekwondo with your cousins”?
I wasn’t really interested, so I said no. My aunt and my uncle then repeatedly proceeded to tell me, basically begged me to join, I told them no, that it was too boring and it wasn’t something I liked. I proceeded to lie about how I couldn’t use up all my time on some stupid sport.
They would tell me that I needed it because I was overweight and that I should at least walk outside some days; they threw any kind of slur about my body that they could think of towards me. It made me overall upset, so I thought maybe all this sports stuff was going to be easy, and decided to just give it a chance, so I could avoid any problems with my aunt and my uncle.
I was nervous for the first day, thinking the kids who had already done that sport for many years were going to make fun of me, maybe because of my looks, or maybe because I wasn’t as good as they were. My hand opened the door, and I took a step in, shivers went up my left shoulder. I think it was pretty obvious. I was nervous.
As I walked in, I saw my cousins and sigh in relief. The class starts, we do weird stretches, warm up, and drill exercises, and not even half the way through class. I was exhausted. I felt like I was going to vomit, my legs were already sore, and I didn’t wanna exercise anymore
Later on, the coach told us to start putting our gear on for sparring so I went and did as told. I go back into the dojo, and the coach sends me to fight. First, I fought against a yellow belt. His name was Luis, the same as my name. We sparred, and he ended up teaching me some new stuff I have never done.
A week passed and I didn’t see any changes in my life or my body. I wanted to quit, I was saying to myself that I should have now even tried to step foot into that dojo. I tell my mom that I don’t want to go anymore and she proceeds to tell me that I am going to keep going or I will be grounded with no playstation.
I remember my body being so sore I didn’t go to school the next day my body felt heavier than ever. My mom, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins all believed in me which gave me more and more fighting spirit to stay in that sport and train.
Next thing you know, one whole year passed. It all happened so fast, it felt like it all passed by in the blink of an eye. I started taking care of myself, including fasting, going on a calorie deficit, and exercising even more. I look back on the past and remember how I used to weigh 250 pounds at only 12. I look at myself in the mirror, my body has changed, my face looks skinnier, and my belly has started to get smaller. I was happy with what I had done; I had endured all that pain, and I had been rewarded. I got better at sparring, and suddenly, one day, our coach invited me and my cousins to our first tournament.
Me and my cousins grasped for some air and instantly said Yes.
