After I was officially diagnosed with ADHD I immediately enrolled in Taekwondo. We had heard that it was a good sport to help focus. Any sport that helps to enhance focus is good treatment for ADHD or ADD, however, Taekwondo is especially good for this purpose because of it’s attention to discipline, focus and physical activity. Since the main purpose of Taekwondo is self defense it is a good sport for anyone regardless of whether they have ADHD issues.
In order to learn all the different forms for each belt I had to pay close attention to the instructor. Each form also involved quite a bit of physical activity and eventually quite a bit of sparring. Since my sister was in the class with me I was very motivated not to fall behind. I quickly moved from white belt to yellow belt to green belt and so on. With each belt my focus improved as did my self esteem. It gave me a great feeling of accomplishment. My parents encouraged and believed in me which really helped me to keep going. At the age of 11 I became a black belt and I am currently a 3rd degree black belt.
I have to say that Taekwondo really did help me. Not to the point where I would not need some medication but I believe it played a big part in why I am off all ADHD medication today. The discipline and skills that you learn in Martial Arts stay with you for the rest of your life.