Katikati martial arts competitor Will Brownlie has returned from a recent International Taekwon-Do Federation New Zealand tournament that doubled as the fifth Oceania Championship, held in Wellington, with a bronze medal and an invitation to be part of a New Zealand Taekwon-Do team.
This is a great achievement for Will, whohas miraculously bounced back from a vicious beating he endured outside Bethlehem Hall in December 2008 while at a Christmas function.
"In intensive care with serious head injuries, my parents were told I wouldn't wake up and when I did doctors said I'd never walk again, that changed to 18 months recovery and I was walking after three weeks - the doctors thought it was completely unbelievable and didn't know what to make of it."
Since then, Will has taken to a low contact form of his favourite sport and trained hard to reach his goals. "A basic day for me begins at 6am at Katifit Gym where I do two hours training for martial arts, at midday I do an hour of sprints and go back to the gym for up to two hours of weight and body work and spend two hours at an evening class learning the moves."
A Katikati resident since 2004, Will began practising martial arts at age five, after being a victim of bullying at school in Auckland.
He now holds three different blackbelts, one each for kickboxing, martial arts and karate, and belongs a to Katikati's Kiaidoryu Club, trains at Katikati Wrestling Club too and also travels to Auckland and Wellington for advanced training.
He qualified for Oceania after competing in a regional championship at the end of June, where he won four gold and two silver medals. "I competed for the Wellington region because it has the biggest pool but from Katikati," says Will, who is loyal to his home town. His recent achievement came on July 3 and 4, at TSB Arena in the open men's hyperweight division.
Despite being part of a Wellington regional team, Will plans to remain based in Katikati and says he wouldn't have been able to make it this far without Katifit Gym and its owners Michael and Jackie Podbury. "They have sponsored me with free gym membership, nutrition and physio and also with a range of gear for competitions."
In return, Will loves working at the gym on a volunteer basis.
He is now looking forward to being available for the national Taekwon-Do squad.
