ADHD · fitness · martial arts · trackers · training

Christine preps for a new year of TKD

Christine Hennebury

Since I spent most of the time between October 2024 and June 2025 either injured or recovering from an injury, it was not a great year for me at TKD.

I didn’t really have my usual capacity (and didn’t know why) and it was hard for me to invest the level of mental and physical effort required to properly practice.

Without the ability to practice/participate fully, I couldn’t properly enjoy TKD and I couldn’t get as much out of it as I normally would.

There’s nothing that can be done about last year, of course, but I’m determined to have more fun, do more work, and just get more out of my classes) this year.

While it would have been ideal if I had been practicing steadily all summer, that wasn’t possible for me, so I’m working with the time I have.

Aside from the fact that I was still easing back into my normal activities over the summer, I have to allow for my ADHD brain’s variable sense of time, in particular for something that is primarily related to myself. The start of TKD was in the ‘not now’ up until this week until the time frame suddenly shifted to ‘now.’ Once that shift happened, I had much more clarity around how to set myself up for a fun year at TKD.

Soooooo, once that clarity arrived I made a plan for the next 2.5 weeks and then I put that plan into a zine.

I like the zine format because it’s small and contained and it makes the project feel more doable.*

It’s not a super-structured plan (my brain noped out of that immediately!), I just wrote down all the things I could do to start prepping for class and then organized them onto the various pages with a way to track them (or a space to write notes about them) and it feels useful.

I intend to do some things daily (mobility exercises and yoga), some things almost daily (some focused cardio), and others 3-4 times between now and the first day of class (each of my patterns.)

As I mentioned above, the time frame between now and the beginning of classes is short enough that my ADHD brain will accept that time is real and that it is ok to prep for something happening that soon.

My plan is specific enough to ensure that I don’t have to spend too much time deciding what to do in the moment and, yet, flexible enough to let me choose what feels like the most fun on any given day.

I may not fill in all the little circles, stars, and hearts but I am going to work towards it and then be VERY kind to myself if I ‘just’ get 10 or 12 hearts coloured in. After all, 10 or 12 hearts is waaaaaaaaay better than what I would do otherwise.

Frankly, I’m looking forward to challenging myself over the next couple of weeks.

Realistically, ANYTHING I do to prepare will help me head into that first class feeling more like my old self.

And I really like that idea.

KiYA!

a photo of the cover of my practice zine. It says 'TKD Prep Work' on the top half with spirals behind the TKD, arrows pointing to the word Prep, and dots surrounding the word Work. On the bottom half it says August 21 to September 9. The text at the bottom is surrounded by a black frame.
Image description: a photo of the cover of my practice zine. It says ‘TKD Prep Work’ on the top half with spirals behind the TKD, arrows pointing to the word Prep, and dots surrounding the word Work. On the bottom half it says August 21 to September 9. The text at the bottom is surrounded by a black frame.
The photo is in portrait view but the text, etc. is in landscape. A photo of an inner page of my practice zine with the word Mobility at the top with trackers (circles to colour in) for hips, wrists, ankles, shoulders/neck.
Image description: The photo is in portrait view but the text, etc. is in landscape. A photo of an inner page of my practice zine with the word Mobility at the top with trackers (circles to colour in) for hips, wrists, ankles, shoulders/neck.
a photo of a inner page of my practice zine with the word Cardio at the top, the outlines of 15 stars to colour in (as a tracker), and thin black lines in the background. At the bottom of the page there is a blank space with the words "Make a list:" at the top of it.
Image Description: a photo of a inner page of my practice zine with the word Cardio at the top, the outlines of 15 stars to colour in (as a tracker), and thin black lines in the background. At the bottom of the page there is a blank space with the words “Make a list:” at the top of it.
a photo of the middle pages of my practice zine. This page has two trackers for two sets of the first group of patterns on the left side, and the name of the individual black belt patterns I know (or am working on) with circles beneath each one to track my practice for each one. The words 'Black Belt Patterns' are in the centre of the page. There are a few stars, some small dots, and a couple of spirals decorating the page.
Image description: a photo of the middle pages of my practice zine. This page has two trackers for two sets of the first group of patterns on the left side, and the name of the individual black belt patterns I know (or am working on) with circles beneath each one to track my practice for each one. The words ‘Black Belt Patterns’ are in the centre of the page. There are a few stars, some small dots, and a couple of spirals decorating the page.
a photo of an inner page of my practice zine. The word Yoga is at the top and there are a bunch of hearts to colour in to track my yoga sessions.
Image description: a photo of an inner page of my practice zine. The word Yoga is at the top and there are a bunch of hearts to colour in to track my yoga sessions.
The page is divided into three sections. The top section is headed by the word Kicks then there is an empty space, the middle section is headed by the word Footwork with a space beneath it, the bottom section is headed by the words Punches and Strikes with a space beneath it.
Image description: The page is divided into three sections. The top section is headed by the word Kicks then there is an empty space, the middle section is headed by the word Footwork with a space beneath it, the bottom section is headed by the words Punches and Strikes with a space beneath it.

*My ADHD brain perked up when I typed that. “Consider doing zines for other projects, Christine.” “Let’s make a note and revisit that later, Brain.”

Published by Christine Hennebury

I'm a writer/storyteller/director/creativity & lifestory coach with a black belt in ITF Taekwon-do. I read voraciously and I write like my fingers are on fire. I'm the founder and Chair of the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl and I'm a former president of the St. John's Storytelling Festival. I bake a mean chocolate chip cookie.

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