Threshold Theories Nine disciplines Endurance ahead
Emad Karami
Built in motion
From my first taekwondo class at three to marathon and ultra-distance ambitions, I have never belonged to a single sport.
Each discipline left something behind: control, speed, adaptation, efficiency, patience.
This is my story, told through the nine disciplines that built me.
Taekwondo
- Started Age 3 alongside my brother
- Rank 6th Dan Iran Taekwondo Federation
- Practice Poomsae · Kyorugi belt progression and competition
- Rank 4th Dan Kukkiwon
- Also Dan level All Tang Soo Do · Haedong Kumdo
01 — Taekwondo · Age 03 → Now
Where everything began.
I started taekwondo at three, alongside my brother. What began as a summer activity became the foundation of my athletic life.
Years of Poomsae, belt progression and Kyorugi competition built foot speed, coordination, explosive power and control under pressure. The most lasting lesson was patience: ability is built through repetition, even when progress is hard to see.
I hold 6th Dan with the Iran Taekwondo Federation, 4th Dan Kukkiwon, and Dan level in All Tang Soo Do and Haedong Kumdo. Migration interrupted my regular training for a while; the practice is still part of my life.
Read the full chapterRoller skating
- 2009 Gold 500 m · Tehran Provincial Championships
- 2010 Gold 100 m
- 2010 Silver 500 m
- Age 11 The last race a lower back and flank injury ended my competitive skating
02 — Roller skating · Age 08 → 11
Speed changed the question.
Skating was my first serious move beyond martial arts. Speed, balance and the freedom of motion took me from recreation into racing.
Across two consecutive Tehran Provincial Championships I won gold in the 500 m in 2009, then gold in the 100 m and silver in the 500 m in 2010. At eleven, a serious lower back and flank injury ended my competitive skating.
Tehran Provincial Championships / 2009–2010
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Parkour
- Two years Jumps · landings vaults and balance
- The cost Shoulder & fingers right shoulder instability, several fractures
- The lesson Movement intelligence not another medal
03 — Parkour · Age 11 → 13
Learning to adapt.
After skating, my curiosity moved from pure speed to a new question: what can my body do in an unpredictable environment?
For nearly two years I practised jumps, landings, vaults and balance. Right shoulder instability and several finger fractures made it hard to continue, but the experience changed how I understand spatial awareness and movement.
What I took away was movement intelligence, not another medal.
Read the full chapterSwimming
- Encouraged by My grandfather
- The study Breath · timing technique and efficiency
- 2019 Grade 3 coach I.R. Iran Swimming Federation
04 — Swimming · Age 13 → Now
Less force. More precision.
My grandfather encouraged me to learn to swim. Over time, a basic skill became a study of breathing, timing, technique and efficiency.
Small changes in position or rhythm showed me that performance can improve by wasting less energy. In 2019 I also earned a Grade 3 Swimming Coaching Certificate from the I.R. Iran Swimming Federation.
I.R. Iran Swimming Federation / Grade 3 certificate / 2019
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Skiing
- Came back Seriously after I first skied as a child
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Mountain terrain / visual study - Terrain Alpine · touring · powder
- Skill Edges & decisions reading terrain at speed
05 — Skiing · Age 16 → Now
All the disciplines met on snow.
I first skied as a child, then came back to it seriously at seventeen. Skiing brought speed, balance, body control and conditioning into one demanding environment.
My practice grew beyond recreation into alpine skiing, touring and powder. Reading terrain, managing edges and making fast decisions made skiing one of my most enduring disciplines.
Alpine / touring / powder
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Strength & conditioning
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Recovery / cold water - Started Age 14 with a personal trainer
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Training portrait / personal archive - Focus Stability · control eccentric control, mobility, resilience
- Coaching Two specialists once skiing became serious
06 — Strength · Age 14 → Now
The system beneath performance.
I started strength training at fourteen with a personal trainer, to support my taekwondo, especially power and explosiveness.
As skiing became more serious, the demands changed. Working with two specialised coaches, I began to focus on stability, eccentric control, mobility, muscular endurance and resilience alongside strength.
For me it is a performance practice, not an aesthetic project.
Read the full chapterTennis
- Duration ≈ 18 months of deliberate training
- The work Footwork · timing technique and positioning
- The lesson Anticipation reading play before the ball arrives
07 — Tennis · Age 22 → 23+
Reading what happens next.
Tennis began casually with friends. Interest turned it into about eighteen months of deliberate training in technique, footwork, timing and positioning.
The game asked me to anticipate before the ball arrived. Even after my priorities shifted, that technical base and a faster reading of play stayed with me.
Movement intelligence also means anticipation.
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Mountain biking → road cycling
- Introduced by My ski coach as off-season conditioning
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Road cycling / visual study - The shift Mountain → road endurance, efficiency and volume
08 — Cycling · Age 21 → Now
From mountain to road.
My ski coach introduced me to mountain biking as off-season conditioning: a way to keep leg endurance, balance and capacity through long climbs and changing terrain.
As my focus shifted toward endurance, the path moved to road cycling. What began as cross-training became a discipline in its own right and a key part of where I am heading now.
Endurance, efficiency and volume.
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Running / marathon / ultra
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Race day / personal archive -
Race effort / personal archive - Next Marathon · ultra the endurance chapter, in progress
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Training path / personal archive -
On the course / editorial wide edit
09 — Running · Age 23 → Now
The next horizon is endurance.
Running is my latest chapter, with marathon and ultra-distance ambitions shaping the road ahead.
Years of movement, technique and conditioning now meet the demands of sustained effort. Every session I train carries that experience toward a longer horizon.
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