Today we feature two more awesome athletes.

Let's see who they are.

Sir.

I will live with perseverance in the spirit of Taekwondo, courtesy for fellow students, integrity within myself and to become a Black Belt leader.

Welcome to the ATA Nation Podcast.

ATA parents, students, instructors, masters, we are thrilled to be back with you for episode 139 of the Ata Nation podcast.

I don't know if you guys have been watching, listening, seeing all over social media the amazing athletes that the Junior Brand Ambassadors have been highlighting.

And in the last two episodes we were catching up on some of the athletes that have been shown across AT Nation on their social medias and we partnered with the Junior Brand Ambassadors to help bring these stories.

I think it's been really fun, especially since a lot of the times we here on the AT Nation podcast interview a lot of adults and we don't talk to as many of our young athletes.

And of course ATA is made up of mostly our youth martial artists.

So it has been really neat to get to highlight these guys.

And we have this episode is going to catch us up to be in sync with the.

Right there.

I wanted to cue like the bye bye bye.

Nevermind, I'm not editing that in, but you can picture it for yourself if you're of the right generation.

We are going to be then in sync with the live updates from the ATA Junior Brand Ambassadors.

Now if you're listening to this or watching this in the future, you might miss the live drops, but they're going to be continuing for a while, letting ATA Nation see some of these Junior Brand Ambassador or some of these Athletes of the Week.

And then we're going to be dropping on Fridays the audio and video interviews that we're doing here on the ATA Nation podcast with those athletes as well.

So this episode is going to get us caught up and then we'll be doing those episodes as we move forward.

And that's going to mean we're going to be back on our weekly format for a while.

So how exciting is that?

Really great during the month of April that you guys can just make sure this is in your news feed, make sure that you're subscribed on Instagram or excuse me, on your favorite podcast player or on YouTube.

That way you know, you're getting to travel to those tournaments every Friday in April and you can hear the new athlete.

Maybe it'll be you.

Who knows, it might be you.

Could you be the next athlete of the Week?

I bet you could be if you keep out there training hard.

Let's get moving on over to our first special guest special guest interview at nation.

We are super excited to have with us today Mr.

Aaron Lee.

How are you, sir?

I'm doing good.

How are you?

I am great.

First, can you tell us where you train, who your instructor is?

I train in world class martial arts and my instructors are senior master Church and chief Master Church.

Excellent.

Fantastic.

And what rank are you?

I'm a first degree black belt.

Fantastic.

Okay, so you have been chosen by the brand, the junior brand ambassadors, one of the athletes of the week.

Congratulations.

That's a pretty awesome accomplishment.

Were you surprised about that?

Yes, sir, I was very surprised.

And so as an athlete of the week, one of the things I've been asking is what's one of your favorite activities in maybe competition or just at the school?

What's one of your favorite parts of Taekwondo?

My favorite parts of Taekwondo is definitely weapons, sir.

Ah, what, what weapon is your go to weapon?

My go to weapon is BO Staff.

Bo staff.

And do you Traditional, extreme, creative.

Which one or all of them?

I do all them.

All of them.

And do you have a favorite between those in weapons or is it just like anytime you get to hold a weapon, you're happy?

I'm.

Whenever I hold a weapon, I'm very happy, sir.

Okay, that's awesome.

BO staff.

What?

Is there any weapons that have given you challenges as you, you use that weapon or have you always felt like weapons is just a natural thing for you?

I always thought weapons are a natural thing to me.

Nice.

If you had to pick then like just one that wasn't your favorite, which weapon would you say is like your, your, your least favorite?

You probably love them all.

But if you had to pick one.

My personal least favorite is definitely Chucks.

It was really interesting.

Okay.

A lot of people just love Chucks.

That's their thing.

But you're a BO staff guy, so Donatello is the best ninja turtle and he had the, the Bo staff.

So you're right on track.

So if your competition, you love weapons, creative, extreme, I'm doing all that kind of stuff.

If you had to pick an event that was like maybe not your favorite, you probably still compete in it, but it might not be your favorite event.

What would that be?

Definitely sparring.

Okay.

Okay.

Excellent.

And is it just not come as naturally to you?

Is that why you would say that?

Yes, sir.

Yeah.

Cool.

I just think it's really interesting to talk to all these athletes about what they love and what they, you know, might still really enjoy but isn't their top thing.

Because I Think it's neat for other students, other people to get to see, hey, we might see this student do an amazing job at this event.

And we don't realize that, hey, they.

This.

They've got things that they don't love as much as.

Well, you know, just shows that they're human.

What's been one of the things that's been really a lot of fun for you, being a.

An athlete, being a competitor out there in martial arts.

My favorite thing would be extreme weapons.

Oh, good choice.

You like to throw that bo staff, get it spinning.

Crazy and nice.

Awesome.

When you.

Oh, you know what?

I forgot to ask you.

How did you get started in martial arts?

Do your parents sign you up?

Yes, sir.

Did.

Did you ask first or did they kind of drag you along to go?

I asked first because I was getting bullied at school.

Okay.

Have you found that the martial arts training has helped with that?

Yes, sir.

Very good.

Well, that kind of leads me into, you know, one of the things I love to ask everybody as we interview them and talk to them, is what does it mean to you to be an athlete that goes beyond the belt?

Going beyond the belt means, to me isn't always about winning.

Yes, winning is great, but me cheering for my friends and then cheering for me is the greatest feeling.

And that is what going beyond the belt means to me.

Oh, I love that.

Cheering for your friends, encouraging your friends, that's fantastic.

I know for a lot of people, martial arts is a very individual sport.

You know, it's about what you do.

But I love that you're bringing in that aspect of encouraging your friends, you know, the other people that are competing with you.

That's.

That's excellent.

Well, Mr.

Lee, I really appreciate your time today, and you are an awesome, you know, example for all of those out there in ATA Nation.

Any last things you'd like to just say to the students, instructors, the other athletes out there in ATA Nation, to.

Always work hard to accomplish your goals.

I love that.

That is such a great piece of advice for everybody, you know, no matter the age.

We've been interviewing athletes that are kids, athletes that are adults, you know, working hard to achieve those goals is fantastic.

So I really appreciate your time today, but also really appreciate your being out there being an athlete that's going beyond the belt to show other students to inspire the next generation of martial arts athletes.

So before we wrap up real quick, what kind of goals do you have?

You know, you talked about working hard for your goals.

What kind of goals do you have for the Next.

Either short term or long term.

My goal would be trying to get a world championship.

Definitely.

And trying to succeed in art and joining choir.

Excellent.

I love that you're bringing in martial arts goals and non martial arts goals together.

I love that.

Very good.

Very well rounded.

Well, again, sir, we really appreciate your time today.

You too, sir.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you.

Another awesome interview.

These guys are so cool.

And you know what I think is really awesome?

This is just a small sampling of the amazing athletes we have all over ATA Nation.

I hear we might have some international athletes.

I won't tell you all about it.

We'll see.

But it's super cool.

You guys listening are examples of these athletes.

We just.

This is a small percentage of our awesome ATA athletes, so I love to highlight them and I want you to be inspired to keep training hard and work to achieve those goals that you have right along with these athletes.

Let's go to another adult athlete.

This is going to be great.

ATA Nation.

I'm super excited to have another athlete with us.

And this is super special because this athlete is the parent of one of the previous athletes.

Monique.

2.

How are you today, ma'am?

Nice to meet you, sir.

I'm doing well.

Excellent.

Well, we were just talking right before this.

You are a doctor, if I'm not mistaken, an anesthesiologist, is that right?

Yes, sir.

So you help put people to sleep, make sure I'm not going to wake up while they're doing anything awful on me?

Yes, sir.

And you were mentioning before how, like, doing an interview and taekwondo stuff makes you more nervous than that.

Why do you think that is?

I don't know.

But like at tournaments, I think the worst part for me is like, I'm my worst enemy.

It's like my.

I just get really anxious.

I think, like you mentioned earlier, it's just being out of your comfort zone.

I was hoping the longer I would do it, it would get a little easier.

I.

I've stopped blanking in the middle of my form, so that's always a good sign.

Personal victory.

Yes, but I think it's just being out of my comfort zone.

I've been doing anesthesia for years.

It's a lot of schooling, as you know, but you get to the point where all of that's just automatic.

Hopefully if I keep competing, that'll that mindset will be become automatic for me too, so.

Well, I know that's no fun, you know, to have that nerves and whatever, but I really appreciate you mentioning it because so many adults out there, you know, we're so good at like, hey kids, let's try this new activity.

Here you go, go do this thing.

And you know, and then us adults, we're just like, yeah, no, I'll sit over here and watch and not step in.

And that anxiety, that nervousness is I think what stops so many adults and parents from stepping on the mat.

How did you first step on the mat?

So we, my husband and I did taekwondo like years ago when we were younger.

I did it for just a little bit in college.

So we knew we wanted kind of that discipline and the confidence to, for our kids to have as well.

So we knew we wanted them in martial arts.

We started them as tigers.

We ended up just really liking the school we were at.

Just from the tiger program itself.

We were just so impressed at how they get the little kids to obey and follow, follow instructions so easily.

And then my favorite part was when they would have each kid like step into the ring and you know, say self esteem is the joy.

Like we still have all the videos.

Yes.

When our kids were little and so they graduated Tiger program, we were already paying the rate for two kids, which is the family rate.

So my husband and I joined in and here we are.

And what rank are you now?

So we, the whole family, we test together, we level up together.

We're first degree black belts.

That's fantastic.

How cool is that?

And so competing the first time, you know, you're, you're chosen in one of these athletes by the junior brand ambassadors.

And what like for you, obviously it's a little nerve wracking.

What keeps you going and going out there and competing and trying to win some trophies and stuff?

Well, I mean I'm, I'm competitive, but also like, I think it's like, it's a personal victory.

Like I've just to, I mean, just to be out there as an adult in my 40s is, I should be proud of that.

But also like, you know, getting up, putting myself out there in front of people and you know, I, I get performance anxiety and so it's also like just learning to control my nerves.

That is a victory for me too.

I love that.

Yes.

That's fantastic.

What advice would you give to a parent that might be listening to this?

And they're, they're all in it for their kids and they're, you know, maybe watched and they're like, ah, yeah, no, I'm not gonna.

What advice would you give them to maybe like nudge them onto the map?

Well, I mean, just give It a chance.

It helps you kind of appreciate what you're, you know, what your kids are going through.

For us, like, it's.

It's family time.

We do it together as a family.

We just love the community so much.

Like, I love how much the older kids embrace and teach and support the younger kids.

It's just, I like all the values that ATA teaches and incorporates into their teaching.

And for us to be just even more involved on the mat, I guess that's what we like about it.

And, you know, we try to set good examples for our kids, and I love that.

Yeah, that's.

Do the same.

Yeah, that's fantastic.

You know, it's a great.

What do they say?

Family that kicks together, sticks together.

Yeah.

So that kind of leads right into, you know, the life skills, the things that we're teaching in martial arts.

What does it mean to you to go beyond the belt?

I guess to.

For me to go beyond the belt would be just to, like, take some of the things that you've gained from ATA and apply them to your everyday life.

Just like, you know, setting good examples for your kids, just interactions with others.

I.

I like to take it with me to work.

It helps, like, helps me communicate with my patients, that sort of thing, I guess.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

I love that.

And, you know, I didn't mention this when you.

We were, you know, mentioning how adults might get into it and whatever, and a lot of adults are going to be like, oh, you know, I'm just so busy.

Like, you're an anesthesiologist.

You got a lot of things going on, and you still can, you know, find.

How do you find a way to keep training?

So actually, when I submitted my little video to the Junior in Brass.

Yes.

Actually kind of what I talked about was how I managed to juggle being a mom and a competitor and a doctor, I guess.

So you'll have to watch my video.

But, oh, yeah, good plug.

I do take things to work, practice when I can.

And again, it's like it doubles up as family time when we're on the mat.

So I'm traveling for competitions.

Yes.

Yes.

And you guys will be out at spring Nationals in Fort Worth, right?

Yes, we will be at Spring Nationals.

That's going to be fantastic.

Well, we want to really thank you for your time and thank you for your inspiration.

You know, seeing, you know, other adults, other martial artists out there competing and then online just, I think, inspires others to be like, hey, maybe I can take that first step and it'll change Their lives then, too.

So we really appreciate your time today, ma'am.

Well, thank you so much for having us.

Thank you again.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Certainly.

Okay.

Well, how cool.

Ladies and gentlemen, that gets us all caught up with the ambassadors athletes of the week that have been announced already.

But stay tuned.

Each week, the junior brand ambassadors are dropping their ambassador corner clips and show on Instagram and across the social medias.

Make sure you tune into those to find out who the brand of, or, excuse me, who the athlete of the week is going to be.

And then directly following on Fridays for the next couple of weeks, we're going to be highlighting those athletes.

We'll be having interviews with them here on the show.

Make sure you subscribe in your favorite podcast player so you get the audio.

And then, of course, you can watch the video on the ATA's YouTube channel.

We would love to help the ATA build up that YouTube channel.

So make sure you go over there, hit subscribe.

My here's.

I haven't told a lot of people this.

This is kind of a secret between you and me.

I just.

You don't have to tell anybody.

It's just.

Just between.

Just.

Okay.

I think we should get the ATA one of those silver YouTube play buttons.

We.

We can do that, right?

If everybody in Ata Nation subscribed to the.

To their YouTube page, we'd have a.

We'd have a silver.

We'd have a silver YouTube button.

I want to work on that.

Okay, so over there, click subscribe on the YouTube page, share it with your friend, and we will see you guys next week.

Make sure you are out there going beyond the belt.

I don't know how many are tuning into this.

I don't know.

Let me know.

Hey, I'm going to be in Fort Worth.

This is the first time I'm going to spring nationals in Texas.

I mentioned that the other day.

And so if you see me there, make sure you stop and say hi.

Let me know what you want to hear on the podcast, what you love, what you've really enjoyed on the podcast, what you've been like.

Eh, I don't care about those on the podcast.

We want to keep making this better for you guys.

And what do you think about the video version?

It takes me a little bit of work to get used to it because my camera is here, but my screen is up here.

So I can't look at the screen when I'm interviewing.

Sometimes I got to look down and I have to be more aware of that because we're doing this video are you guys watching?

Silver, play button for ata.

Okay, see you guys next time.