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Adam Everett; Taekwondo

My name is Adam Everett. I am currently in my third year of studying Medicine at UCL and I am a 4th Dan black belt in ITF Taekwondo. I began training because my brother was already training in Taekwondo and I was keen to start a martial art. I have since found a passion for the art, working my way up through the grades and competing at an international level.

I train four times per week at Richards TKD St Austell and Falmouth and assist with coaching in the junior and adult classes. This increases to six times per week in the build up to competitions and I also do independent strength and conditioning training outside of the club. When I came to UCL, I began training with the UCL Taekwondo Society, which specialises in WT style Taekwondo, one which I was less familiar with. During term time, I balance training in the evenings and weekends with my studies during the day and my week is filled with four Taekwondo sessions as well as two strength and conditioning sessions which supplement my training. I find that Taekwondo is an effective strategy to destress during term time and helps me to maintain peak fitness and performance whilst I’m at university.

I achieved my first Dan black belt at the age of 8 and soon started to compete at regional competitions. This very quickly progressed to national competitions and I qualified for my first international competition when I was 14 years old. Consequently, I competed at the European Championships in Naples in 2011, where I won a bronze medal in the Junior Male Second Dan Patterns division. Since then I have competed at other European Championships in Barcelona in 2013 and Chisinau in 2015 as well as World Championships in Ottawa in 2012, Rome in 2014 and Brighton in 2016. My most notable achievements include becoming World Champion in Junior Male Third Dan Patterns and Junior Male -70kg Sparring in Rome 2014 and again in Adult Male -70kg Sparring in Brighton 2016.

During my first two years of Medicine, I struggled to maintain my training and had a short break from competition, however this year I have committed to training so that I can compete both with UCL Taekwondo and at the UKITF National Championships, with a hope for qualifying for the next European Championships in Cork this summer. My short-term goals are to qualify and medal at these upcoming championships, and to progress my abilities in WT Taekwondo with UCL. In the future I hope to move into a coaching role with my club at home in Cornwall and balance this with my career as a doctor.

Taekwondo has given me many opportunities in both a competitive and a coaching role. Most recently, I was able to attend the World Championships in Buenos Aires last summer. I have also benefited from strength and conditioning training as part of the Elite Athlete Programmes at Truro College and now at UCL. I have found that, through Taekwondo, I have developed values such as discipline and perseverance that allow me to achieve in my sport, academically and in life outside of Taekwondo and university.