This is the inspiring black belt journey of Luciano Favari, who began his Taekwondo training at Pacific International Taekwondo Brisbane at age 6. Luciano shares his honest story of perseverance, self-doubt, and ultimate triumph in achieving his 1st Dan black belt. His journey reminds us that the path to mastery is never linear.

Childhood Dreams and First Steps into Taekwondo

From a very young age, even before I started my Taekwondo journey, I was always infatuated with fighting movies. Legendary sportsmen and actors, in particular Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, captured my young, impressionable eye. Their ability to control their bodies with elegance yet maintain inhuman levels of speed, strength, and precision left me spending hours in my backyard, trying to replicate the same movements and kicks I saw them perform. Their focus, discipline, and ability to rebound from the most troublesome situations captivated me.

Finding My Passion at Pacific International Taekwondo

As time passed, at the age of 6, I struggled to find a sport that I enjoyed. My mum, having tried every traditional sport she could find, from soccer to swimming, could tell that I wasn’t truly satisfied or interested. Following this revelation, with my infatuation for fighting and action movies in mind, she signed me up for Pacific International Taekwondo. My first lesson, despite 10 years of total experience, has never escaped my mind. Believing that the impressive fighting I had seen up to this point only existed in movies, I was entranced by the performance of techniques done by my Instructors Max, Emma, and Jack. Directly after that lesson, I told my Mum with a new passion ignited, “I really want to come again. From then on until now, Taekwondo has become a central part of my life.

The Reality of Progress: Challenges Along the Way

Taekwondo has not only allowed me to increase my strength, speed, and flexibility, but much greater than that- it has allowed me to develop bonds with friends and mentors as well as discipline, respect, and integrity. Despite Taekwondo allowing me to build these qualities, improving both my physical and mental ability, the journey did not come without challenges. For myself, one of the biggest challenges I faced was seen in my loss of drive to pursue my best in Taekwondo. The journey of progress for any endeavour is never linear – Taekwondo was and is no different. At some points in my journey, I felt stagnant in my progress- at worst, I would feel like I had regressed and, in fact, lessened in skills. The nonlinear development of my skills challenged me greatly. Seeing others my age and at my level flourish and grow exponentially in skill, whilst my skills grew at a slower pace, brought me down. In retrospect, it’s embarrassing to think how upset it made me, and how I was ignorant of the progress I was making.

The Breaking Point: When Self-Doubt Took Over

A pivotal moment that has stuck with me years later, encapsulating my struggle the most, came when I was a brown tip. At this stage, I had begun board breaks and could not achieve a single break. For months upon months, I could never even crack the practice boards, and it left me defeated. I felt like I was expected to and should have been able to break with ease. However, that wasn’t the case, and like every other skill in Taekwondo- required repetitive training and attempts. The failure I found in board breaking, in addition to seemingly stagnant progress at points, made me lose a desire to even try, and at some points manifested thoughts of giving up on my journey completely.

Perseverance and Achievement: Earning My Black Belt

However, thanks to my parents, my supportive class, and underlying passion to always improve, I was able to rebound- just like the idols I admired from a younger age, the idols which kickstarted my journey in the first place. Ultimately, staying consistent and enduring the hardships enabled me to achieve my long-term goal of a black belt and my inner childhood goal of being able to perform a martial art. Furthermore, I’m forever grateful for Taekwondo and my journey in it for helping me create lifelong bonds, develop my physical health, as well as respect and mental fortitude through the tenets of Taekwondo.

NOTE: Videos of Luciano’s grading exercises are available in this video gallery.

Start Your Own Taekwondo Journey

Luciano’s story shows that with perseverance and the right support, anyone can achieve their martial arts goals. Whether you’re a teen looking for a challenge or an adult wanting to try something new, Pacific International Taekwondo in Brisbane welcomes students of all ages and abilities.