Martial artist Ma Soe Soe Myar practicing a kick in Yangon. Pic: Aung Tun Win

“TAEKWONDO is not about fighting, it’s more of an art,” said 25-year-old Ma Soe Soe Myar, who should know because she won a gold medal in the sport at last year’s Southeast Asian Games.

The sport, in which contestants score points by landing kicks on targets on their opponents’ stomachs or face, originated in Korea and has now become an Olympic sport.

At the highest level the sport is a blur or kicks, feints and defensive moves that most observers would struggle to make sense of but Ma Soe Soe Myar is no ordinary spectator.

“When I watch a taekwondo match, I can see it all happening in slow motion.
“And when I watch world or Asian champions in action it’s exciting for me and I love how they form their kicks – it’s amazing and beautiful,” she said.

Even though she’s only 25, Ma Soe Soe Myar has already competed in five SEA Games, starting in 1999. But only in the most recent editions has she taken home medals: silver in 2003 and 2005. In Bangkok in 2007 her dedication and training paid off with a gold medal in the bantamweight division.

She said that the experience she picked up during the 2003 and 2005 campaigns gave her the mental strength to clinch gold.

“I realised that I’d been too excited in my previous final matches so when I got to the final in 2007 I just treated it like any other contest,” she said.

Ma Soe Soe Myar’s journey to SEA Games gold really started in February 1998, when some federation officials came to Loikaw to select talented youths to train for international events and she was chosen as a junior. In August that year she was selected in the national team and one year later took part in her first SEA Games.

“I left my hometown Loikaw only for taekwondo,” Ma Soe Soe Myar said.
Prior to the 2007 edition, the Myanmar Taekwondo Federation said it had placed high hopes on Ma Soe Soe Myar because she had such extensive experience as a competitor.

The federation’s confidence was obviously well placed as she became their only athlete to win gold in 2007 and only their second-ever winner.

The federation last month repaid her efforts with a US$10,000 share in the Myanmar Livestock and Fisheries Development Bank. Additionally, she received about K900,000 from other organisations, including the Myanmar Olympic Committee.

Ma Soe Soe Myar said she first encountered taekwondo as an 11-year-old when she watched a demonstration of the sport in 1994 and then immediately took up a summer course in her hometown of Loikaw in Kayah State.
“When I saw a taekwondo demonstration, I immediately realised that I enjoyed watching it and wanted to try it myself.

“And my friends also wanted to attend, although we didn’t know what Taekwondo was all about. During the course we not only learned what taekwondo was but became addicted to it was well ,” she said.

Ma Soe Soe Myar’s taekwondo career started with pain and victory.
“When the summer course finished, I competed in a tournament with other state-school students. Although I won a gold medal I injured one of my knees pretty badly and because the weather in Loikaw was so cold, the injury ached until it healed,” she added.

As she was the youngest of three children in her family, Ma Soe Soe Myar’s parents were initially unsupportive of her plan to continue competing in the contact sport, especially after her injury.

But just like her opponents in the ring, she sorted them out fast.
“I told my parents that if I was not allowed to continue with Taekwondo, I wouldn’t go to school,” she said, adding that her parents quickly realised how much talent she had and became strong supporters.

She said that being a martial artist is an advantage for a girl like her and she’s happy to change peoples’ perceptions of what should be expected from an athlete.

“Some people still have that belief that women and girls – especially those who are married – should not participate in martial arts competitions.

“I realised that this is completely wrong because a female athlete is usually more confident and active compared with someone who is not,” Ma Soe Soe Myar said.

She is employed by the Myanmar Timber Enterprise under the Ministry of Forestry. Before the SEA Games she laboured under a gruelling daily training regime of nine hours, which were separated into four blocks.

And while Ma Soe Soe Myar is now a gold medal-winning athlete – a dream she’s held since she began – she says she’s not finished yet.

“There is no way that I’ll be satisfied with a gold medal at the SEA Games. I will continue to work hard and win even more medals,” she said.

Taekwondo has no age limits and Ma Soe Soe Myar says she intends to compete for as long as she can. And when she is finished competing, she says she will work to further the sport in Myanmar.

“I’ll be willing to pick up any post, not only that of coach to help a new generation of taekwondo athletes.”