Persistance pays off

Persistence pays off

April 16, 2009

Section: Sport

Close to four-and-a-half years ago a shy 10-year-old northern Illawarra boy entered the Bulli PCYC to try out a Taekwondo class just to see if he might enjoy something a bit different from the normal sports available.

Enjoy he did and last week, after competing in the NSW Taekwondo Open Championsips at the Olympic Sports Stadium, Homebush, Patrick Moss, Year nine student of Bulli High school became the under 15 NSW Taekwondo blackbelt champion.

Training initially under Master Keith Grimson of Chinson Taekwondo, Patrick displayed a natural talent in the martial art which was complimented by a strong desire to learn. He progressed quickly through the mandatory levels, developing the skills required to finally achieve the honour of being granted a blackbelt.

At the start of last year, Patrick was accepted under the guidance of former champion Taekwondo athelete and Australian Olympic selector, Master Rob Cooley of Five Star Martial Arts Albion Park Rail.

Five Star Martial Arts School has a reputation for producing taekwondo atheletes of the highest standard including state and Australian champions.

Master Rob Cooley set about fine-tuning Patrick’s skills to reach a level where he could compete at tournaments. This standard was achieved recently with Patrick in his first official competition coming away with the gold medal and quite significantly a victory over a more experienced Korean competitor in the final and considering Taekwondo is the national sport of Korea, this was quite an achievement.

Patrick’s success is the result of many hours training, excellent coaching plus a strong determination.

His ultimate goal is to one-day represent Australia at the World Taekwondo championships or even possibly the Olympic games.

No matter what the future holds there is no doubt that Patrick will enjoy the journey.