Eleven ASP Taekwondo students have qualified for the National Championships after competing strongly at the recent state selection competition.
The competition, held last weekend in Brisbane, is the largest tournament on the Queensland circuit with around 400 martial artists competing for selection ahead of the national championships in Bendigo on December 3 and 4.
Head instructor at ASP Taekwondo Mitchell Archer said his students would receive extra training and learn a range of new skills after being selected on the state team.
“It is an excellent opportunity for us as a regional club to gain new skills and train with the best in the state,” Mitchell said.
“Being on the state team allows students to receive extra training from experienced, often international, coaches.
“A win at the National Championships can lead to competing internationally, which can ultimately culminate in Olympic qualification.”
Mitchell said having all eleven students qualify in 2022 was a fantastic achievement, with only two students competing at nationals last year.
“This year we have had a big increase in the number of students who qualified, with 11 students qualifying as opposed to two last year,” he said.
“I am satisfied that the culture of the club is shifting towards being competitive at this level.”
The ASP taekwondo students underwent intense training in the lead up to the state championships to ensure they were in the best shape possible ahead of the event.
“Training was intense and frequent,” he said.
“We train Monday to Saturday.
“Our hard sparring sessions are on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings.
“Our main goal in the lead-up was building fitness and resilience.
“There have been a number of rule changes to Taekwondo recently that have essentially eliminated any stalling or rest time, so students needed to shift to a new level of fitness and be able to push through when they felt gassed out.”
Bailey Ward was voted Fighter of the Tournament by her fellow ASP taekwondo students and said while she was new to tournaments, she enjoyed competing.
“As it was only my second tournament, I was quite nervous, but excited at the same time,” Bailey said.
“Once I started fighting, I loved the feeling of accomplishing the win and the support of my club played a very big part in my win as well, cheering me along.”
Having only been training in Taekwondo for a little over a year, Bailey said it was very exciting to find out she had qualified for nationals.
“I felt very excited and happy to be able to go to nationals, it is a great privilege,” she said.
“I am looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere of nationals and just being able to compete against other fighters.”
You can find out more about ASP Taekwondo here.
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