I was really excited to see all kinds of martial arts from different countries. Later on, I got to see, learn, and experience five different martial arts from four different countries. Other than the martial arts introduction from different countries, there were lots of other activities for us. I was given lessons about the problems that are occuring around the world. I discussed a lot about the problems with my team, and this helped me to become more active around people. These lessons also helped me understand the flaws on the earth more deeply, and it also encouraged me to do better for the world I am on.

- Norovtseren Ganchimeg

My name is Norovtseren. I am 17 years old, and I was one of the youth martial artists from the Mongolian team for the 3rd International Youth Martial Arts Camp(IYMAC) during the 15th until 21st of August, 2019. I am writing this to share my thoughts and experiences about IYMAC. During IYMAC I received an award for being the most active participant which was really amazing. The reward was one of my favourite moments in Korea, and it will be cherished.

[Martial Arts Introduction from Different Countries]
On the day of the opening ceremony for the IYMAC, I was really excited to see all kinds of martial arts from different countries. Later on, I got to see, learn, and experience five different martial arts from four different countries. The first martial arts that was introduced was a Brazilian martial art called Capoeira. It was really interesting to see a martial art that had a combination of fighting, and dancing with music. What I liked the most about Capoeira was that the martial artist would change his/her speed according to the rhythm.
Next, was a Korean martial art called Ssireum. It was similar to my national martial art called Bukh. This martial art was all about wrestling, and making the other person fall on the ground. The only difference between Ssireum and Bukh was the tradition and the design of the martial arts clothes. It was really interesting to see that there are different types of wrestling other than my national martial art.
After that, there was another Korean martial art called Taekkyeon. This was the second most exciting martial art for me after Capoeira. I really enjoyed this martial art because it is divided into 3 types. I forgot the names of the 3 types, but I got to see the differences. Taekkyeon also had a lot of techniques from what I saw from the teacher, and his students. They taught us a couple of techniques before the class was over, and I really enjoyed it.
Later on, a similar wrestling martial art was introduced. It was a Kazakhstan martial art called Kuresi. This martial art was also similar to Bukh and Ssireum. The last martial art that was introduced was a Turkish oil wrestling. Even though this is also wrestling, it was interesting to see oil over the martial artists’ body. This martial art was a bit different from the rest of the wrestling martial art. In my perspective, I think the oil makes it harder for the martial artists to wrestle against each other because of the slipperiness of the body.

[Other Activities]
Other than the martial arts introduction from different countries, there were lots of other activities for us. All the activities were really fun for me to do. We did a team building activity, which helped me to know more people from different countries. We also got to visit a lot of places in Korea. The National Intangible Heritage Center had a lot of past relics, and its history. I got to learn a couple of things during my time at the National Intangible Heritage Center. I also got to see the palace where the king and queen used to live at the Changdeokgung Palace. The most interesting one was the Seoul N Tower. After arriving at Seoul N Tower, I went to the top floor with everyone else, and I could see the whole city of Seoul. In the Seoul N Tower, there were windows with individual` countries written on them. I got to see the window that had Ulaanbaatar (Capital city of Mongolia) written on it. Lastly, I was given lessons about the problems that are occuring around the world. I discussed a lot about the problems with my team, and this helped me to become more active around people. These lessons also helped me understand the flaws on the earth more deeply, and it also encouraged me to do better for the world I am on.

I really enjoyed IYMAC, and the tour around different cities in Korea. I have learned a lot of things about different martial arts from countries all over the world, and I will continue being interested in martial arts. Special thanks to all the people that helped us during our adventure in Korea (Programme Specialists, Volunteers, Chefs, etc.).

Martial Arts for Peace!!