Instructor Profile: Dave Bradt, 1st Dan

Dave joined Tecumseh TKD in September of 2003, and attained the ranking of 1st Dan in June of 2010. He is the club's Webmaster, and member-at-large.

Here's a conversation with Dave:

What do you love about TKD?
I love how much I love it. I joined this club by picking it out of the yellow pages under the Martial Arts category. I was looking for some martial art that would allow both me and my 6 year old son to learn some basics and self defense together. From what little I knew about martial arts, I had heard that TaeKwon-Do might be just what I was looking for. Tecusmseh made a point of letting prospective members know that they were family friendly, with mixed adult & child classes. Although I started to get my son a head start on street proofing, I found that as we did it together, I was enjoying it much more than I expected.

What is your favourite TDK Technique, and why?
My favourite technique changes from time to time. Ususally depending upon what I've learned recently. The turning kick was, for a long time, my nemesis. I struggled with doing it well. But I expressed my dissatisfaction with my own ability to the senior instructors, and then next thing In knew, they found some time to give me some dedicated attention to address my shorcomings in that particular technique. With some attention, and a bunch of practice, my turning kicks are not on the good side of respectable. And while I used to hate doing them, now I get a "kick" out it!

And I know there's a whole bunch of other moves I will have an opportunity to pay some attention to in the future.

What advice might you have for younger or new TKD practitioners?
TaeKwon-Do is a journey; a path. And like in the old saying, it begins with a first step. It's important not to expect too much, too quicly, because there's so much to learn. But it is a very satisfying journey, and the successes are sweet when they come. Having earned my 1st dan only recently, I look upon it as a wonderful milestone on the journey, but it has never been a destination. Now the learning takes on a whole new dimension, and the journey continues.

What are you favourite pastimes? Happily, TKD has become a favourite pastime. It's intense, and relaxing, although that sounds contradictory. When I'm not in the dojang, I love playing Bluegrass music. I've been playing the banjo and guitar for nearly 20 years now, and have only recently taken up the Dobro (aka the resophonic guitar) and the stand-up Bass. All very fun instruments. I love to do woodworking and I consider myself a huge cinema-phile: I just love watching movies!

Current job/career/studies?
I have been working for the Canadian Pacific Railway for 22 years, all of it in their computer department, and have had a varying and interesting career there. Currently, I do IT project management.