THE fifth Global Open Taekwondo Championships showcased a stunning display of skill and determination, with Mildura’s Ataru Taekwon-Do club emerging as a dominant force.
Held in Caroline Springs on April 5, the championships drew approximately 100 participants from various taekwondo styles across Australia, including Geelong, Sydney, and Darwin, as well as international teams from the likes of New Zealand, Singapore, Nepal, and Ethiopia.
Ataru Taekwon-Do put Mildura on the global map however, securing a broad collection of gold and silver medals under the expert guidance of Ataru head instructor Gordon Bettess (fifth degree black belt, international instructor), assistant instructor Matthew Turner (fourth degree black belt), and team coaches Darren Williams (fifth degree black belt), and John Zaffina (third degree black belt) who also participated.
“The level of this competition was great,” Zaffina said. “The unknown of new faces brought excitement and nerves. The competitors from New Zealand were especially impressive.
“But to see the team take this on and be extremely competitive was unsurprising. I was already confident of the team’s success through their dedication and effort in their training leading up.”
The championships offered a wide variety of categories, from senior and veteran men’s and women’s to children’s divisions in sparring, patterns (tuls), weapons, and self-defense demonstrations.
Organised and run by eighth-degree black belt and United International Taekwondo president Michael Muleta, the success of the event underscored the lasting value and wide appeal of the discipline.
“Taekwondo is a good starting point … it does lay a foundation of skills and co-ordination. And a lot of other successful martial artists have their grounding in taekwondo, originally,” Muleta said.
“If you don’t like the combative stuff you have the option to enter into patterns, or in some tournaments you can smash some boards, they might be the skill set for some people.
“Our oldest competitor today is in his 80s, and our youngest is four years old.”
The Ataru Taekwon-Do squad will now look to kick on from their achievements as they eye the Australian Championships in Newcastle, New South Wales in November.
