IN February this year, four local teens were invited to train in Sydney at Irontiger Taekwondo under Australian Coach Master Di Carn with her successful team, including Commonwealth Champion Kate McAdam.

Modern Media: Advertise with News Of The Area and you get your ad in 1) in Print, 2) on the News Website (like this ad), and 3) on our Social Media news site. A much more efficient way to advertise. Reach a HUGE audience for a LOW price TODAY! Call us on 02 4983 2134. Or media@newsofthearea.com.au
Or CLICK FOR ADVERT QUOTE

Chase Thoburn 16, Mia Gillespie 14, Nicky Blanch 17 and Daniel Blanch 15 have a wealth of existing martial arts knowledge having trained with Imugi Martial Arts in Williamtown.

They committed to adapting their skills and applying them in corporation with the new skills they would build in World Taekwondo (Olympic style).

Since February, the four teens and their dedicated parents have travelled to Sydney every Saturday morning for their training session, as well as maintaining their existing training with Imugi and additional training, such as swimming.

They trained four to six times a week, competing in Sydney twice, Gold Coast Open, Lithgow and finally in Bendigo.

Having never trained in the sport taekwondo style, they had their work cut out for them, but their dedication and perseverance paid off.

Mia and Nicky remain undefeated all year including achieving NSW State Champion.

Daniel achieved NSW State Runner Up.

Chase was unable to contest the State titles due to injury however all four qualified for the Australian Championships in Bendigo, Victoria from the 22-24 September, 2018.

When asked what he had learned about himself during this dedicated year of training, Chase told News Of The Area, “I have learnt to stay relaxed during the fight, fight my fight regardless of what my opponent is doing, and also picking my shots and staying composed.”

News Of The Area asked Mia if the experience was difficult to adapt to, and she responded, “Yes, it was difficult for my body to adapt to a style foreign to what it is used to.”

“It was difficult to keep within the guidelines of the style, and preventing myself from utilising other tools acquired elsewhere.”

Nicky spoke about the lessons they will take from this year into their lives and training, saying, “I have learnt that stepping out of your comfort zone and doing things almost completely different to what you have been taught has helped me feel more comfortable in taking on new challenges and new experiences.

When asked about the hardest part of competition day, Daniel responded, “The hardest part of competition is the night before when im going over all the worst case scenarios that could happen in the fight, in my head.”

Congratulations to these young champions for excelling at their chosen sport.

By Rachael VAUGHAN