Fight for Oceania

As Hayley Brandon irons her fresh white taekwondo dobok (uniform) she has one thing on her mind — the Oceania Taekwondo Championships.

The Warnbro 17-year-old was selected for the tour after winning her division fights at the National Oceania Selections earlier this year in Perth.

Hayley said being selected was one of her biggest achievements in the sport.

“I was just overwhelmed because this is my first Australian team,” she said.

The Rawlins taekwondo student said she remembered looking up to the black belts when she first started as a white belt, aged seven, and was proud to have come so far since.

Inspired by her older brother to start the martial art, Hayley said she had developed a passion for sparring.

“At first I just wanted to progress up the belts, but now, as a black belt, I like competing,” she said.

“I like sparring — I like the competitive side of it... when you win, it is a huge confidence boost.”

Hayley said achieving her black belt in 2008 was her first major taekwondo achievement.

“It was really good because it is such a tough belt to get and there is so much training and preparation involved,” she said.

In the same year Hayley took home the national title in the Sports Taekwondo Australia National Championships.

The keen martial artist said she would not be where she is today without her coach Charles Rawlins.

“He has taught me heaps and he is able to get me focused and pumped up before a fight — because I can get quite nervous,” she said.

She said her greatest aspiration was to one day make an Olympic team.

The championships will be held at Sydney Olympic Park on August 14 and 15.

Competing in the events will give martial artists the opportunity to gain world ranking points to go towards qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.