On the 23rd of August 2008, I was able to live out a dream that I had thought daily about

since Taekwondo was announced as an official Olympic sport for Sydney 2000. It was a

dream that I had constantly battled to obtain for many years. As I walked out onto the mat

at the Beijing University of Technology in China behind the New Zealand sign, it was

undoubtedly the best day of my life to date and I could not have been a happier man.

It had been a long journey attempting to make an Olympic Games. I want to outline this

journey so that anyone reading who dreams of making an Olympics understands what is

really required. I also want to show that although is requires a lot of effort, the actual

Olympic experience is worth all the blood, sweat and tears.

I first tried to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In order to increase my chances, I

traveled to Korea to train for three months and then had a six week trip to Europe to

compete in various International Opens. I made the New Zealand selection team and

traveled to Croatia in 1999 for the Olympic World selection event. Unfortunately I lost

my first match and returned to New Zealand heavily in credit card debt, disappointed and

to be honest very depressed! I decided to have a break from Taekwondo and took off to

London for my O.E.

After a few years in London, I realized how much I missed competing. I started training

again and also entering the various International Opens around Europe. It was during this

period that I really rekindled my love for competing again. At these European opens, I

felt no pressure as no one knew who I was. I was not competing for a spot on the New

Zealand National Team so could really relax and just enjoy competing. If I preformed

badly, I could learn from my mistakes and enter another International Open the following

month. While in London, I was always keeping an eye via the internet on what was

happening back in New Zealand in regard to Taekwondo. The creation of TNZ really

excited me. It really impressed me how fairly it appeared to operate and how well

organized it was.

In late 2006, I made the decision to give my Olympic dream another crack. I contacted

TNZ in order to see what the selection policy was in order to be eligible for the New

Zealand Olympic selection team. This procedure was clearly laid out for me so in

December 2006, I returned to New Zealand to give my Olympic dream anther shot.

After returning to New Zealand, Taekwondo became the number one priority in my life

again. I obtained employment that would allow me flexible working hours and leave so

that I could train twice a day as well as travel overseas. Leading up to my selection as

well as after being selected, I did everything I could to improve my Taekwondo ability

and chance of being selected. This included,

- Attending a training trip to Thailand.

- Accepting help with training and sparring from people who offered.

- Traveling to Europe to compete in 3 back to back International Opens.

- Traveling to Australia to compete.

- Competing at the World Selection event in Manchester as well as the World

Championships in China

- Traveling to Korea to train and compete.

As I have mentioned, the whole Olympic experience was truly amazing. From the minute

it is announced that you have made the New Zealand Olympic team your life changes.

The amount of support and well wishes you receive from various people around New

Zealand is humbling. As soon as I started receiving communication from the New

Zealand Olympic Committee in regard to preparation for the Games, I started to feel like

part of the NZ Olympic team and part of something really special. The time began to fly

past and before I knew it, I had received my Olympic Uniform and was on a plane bound

for China!

There are too many things about being part of the NZ Olympic team, living in the village,

the opening ceremony and all other aspects of being at the Olympics to mention

individually. I have talked about these things in my blog on the TNZ website

http://www.taekwondonz.org.nz/olympics.html if you interested.

My actual match in China did not go exactly as I had always dreamed it would. When I

imagined competing at the Olympics, I always thought about winning gold, being carried

off the mat on the shoulders of my team mates while the crowd chanted my name. I

would then return to New Zealand a hero and be able to earn massive amounts of money

doing dog food adverts! This unfortunately was not how it happened. When I drew China

in the 1st round of the competition, I always knew it would be a tough match. On the

betting websites I was 100/1 to win my division where as he was 5/1. He is a tall and very

talented player who has spent the last 4 years training full time for this event and is

known as a very good counter attacking player. I knew that if I got a point down, it would

be very hard to get back in into the match in front of such a massive cheering home

crowd. Unfortunately my worst fear came true and I went one point down early in the

match. I knew that I could then sit back and lose by one or go for it and risk being

countered. I chose the second option and was unable to regain back an even score. I gave

it everything I had but also had to be cautious and not just dive in. This point was

illustrated when my head was almost removed by a countering hook kick! I did feel that

that I was unlucky to not be awarded a few more points but in the end I must admit that I

was beaten by a better player on the day

I looked at my division on paper and really there was no easy draw. With 16 of the

world’s best players competing, there were previous World Champions loosing during

the 1st round. The current World Champion from Mali even left China without a medal so

I therefore realized that I had no real right to be upset. I do however laugh when I think of

the player in my division from Kazakhstan.

He was able to win a bronze medal without actually winning a match! He lost to the

silver medalist in the 1st round so then went into the repechage draw. He was losing his

next match but his opponent from Morocco had to throw in the towel due to injury. In the

bronze medal match he was loosing again but his opponent from Cuba was disqualified

hence giving him the bronze medal!!!

I would like to end by giving some advice to anyone who wants to try to represent New

Zealand in Taekwondo at an Olympic Games. I do not pretend to be an expert by any

means but hopefully can assist others with my experience.

Get a solid base

When you start Taekwondo, before you plan to become a gold medal winner at any

tournament, you need to obtain a solid base. I was extremely lucky in that I had one of

New Zealand best instructors in Master Barry Hawkins. We had an amazing club

environment and atmosphere that development, encouragement and learning flourished

in. I hear stories of people obtaining their black belts in Taekwondo after one year of

starting! This sickens me. Learn correctly from the very beginning as it is a lot easier than

trying later to correct bad techniques learned over years of training. Master Barry insured

that no one in the club graded before they were ready and we all had to train for a solid

year in between black tip and our black belt grading. This is something that I always

respected him for.

Accept help from those with the skills to help you

I have been fortunate enough to train in clubs and universities all around the world. I am

never to proud or stupid to not consider advise from someone in regard to my technique

or game plan. I was also very lucky to have Stephen Rickard as a personal trainer. He is

not only the New Zealand middle weight and the best sparring partner I could have but

also a degree qualified personal trainer. Taekwondo is a martial art but is also a sport. I

was therefore more than happy to add speed, power, plyometrics and core training to my

routine when Stephen suggested it. When preparing for tournaments, I was also very

lucky to have black belts from all over the Wellington area come and spar and train with

me which is something I really appreciated.

Keep going

Everyone looses. When I started entering New Zealand tournaments I lost a lot more than

I won. The same when I started competing overseas. You learn a lot more from a loss

than a victory and a true champion is someone who comes back after a defeat to fight

again.

Get overseas as much as possible

It is a massive and daunting jump from the New Zealand Nationals to a World

Championships. To prepare for international competition you need to compete and train

overseas as much as possible. The Australian open and State championships are a great

start. Europe is better as you can squeeze three major events into a 6 week period and the

divisions are stacked with Olympic and World Champions.

The more results you can get at an international level the better your chances of being

selected by TNZ for the Olympic selection team and later by the NZOC for the New

Zealand Olympic team. I can not stress the importance of building up your Taekwondo

C.V enough.

Make it happen don’t make excuses

Training and competing overseas can be hard work and not very pleasant. No one likes

turning up as a new person to a foreign club or University and having people try and

smash you around in sparring. It’s also not nice doing an insane paddle kicking or track

running session in a foreign country! I have been on 4 training trips to Asia and trained

all over Europe and there were parts of each of them I hated passionately. Ultimately

however they all added to my chance of making the Olympics.

It’s expensive to get overseas but if you want it bad enough you will make it happen. No

one owes you anything when it comes to your own Taekwondo development. Beg for

sponsorship, get a credit card (or three!) or sleep on your mate’s floor or an airport in

Europe. It all adds to your character and believe me its all worth it!

Enjoy every minute of the journey

I have forged friendships, visited countries and had experiences that I never would have

had if I had not done Taekwondo. Sometimes it is hard but you will also share moments

with your team mates that will last long after you hang up your body pad for good.

Nothing can also beat the feeling of overcoming a goal. Whether that goal is to enter and

compete in a tournament, win a match overseas, a medal overseas or make the New

Zealand team. I love stepping onto a mat knowing that I have prepared to the best of my

ability and ready to test my skill against another player. I learn from every match I have,

win or loose and love very minute of competing. That is why I will compete for as long

as my body allows me!