Words fail to describe the thrill taekwondo exponent Sophie Somerville felt but, suffice it to say, it was a double whammy for the birthday girl in Hastings yesterday.
Somerville turned sweet 16 and had the immense pleasure of attending a class Grand Master Fred Akard, of Denver, Colorado, conducted at the RTR Taekwon-Do dojang at the Hastings Intermediate School hall late in the afternoon.
"It's so exciting I just don't know how to describe it on my birthday," she said of Akard who is one of only 23 ITF Spain grand masters globally.
But it pays to know that while the Havelock North High School year 11 pupil is effervescent and affable, she also packs a vicious sidekick that often puts unsuspecting people perceptibly on their guard.
"It comes with lots of practice with kicking blocks and I've had some really good [black belt] role models [at the club] to take after," she said with a laugh when asked where that kick comes from.
Somerville joins a 16-member club contingent to compete in her maiden five-day International Taekwondo World Cup to be staged in Sydney, with the opening ceremony on Tuesday next week. The cup, which is held every two years and for the first time in Australia, has lured more than 1000 athletes from 35 countries.
Her passion for taekwondo dates back to the lasting impressions TV left on her as a child.
"It's like every kid wants to be a Ninja so a couple of my friends started taking taekwondo ... and I realised nothing was stopping me," she said, revealing a neighbour, Will Ewart, pointed her to a school holiday programme at the Hastings City branch of the club, which also has dojangs in Havelock North and Taradale.
The warm and welcoming environment Masters Rocky and Trish Rounthwaite have created here instantly struck a chord with the then 12-year-old from Taikura Rudolf Steiner School.
"Taekwondo teaches more than just self-defence," Somerville emphasised. "It teaches things like courtesy, honesty and offers a lot more to me, I think."
Her parents, Cherie Youngman and Mike Somerville, came on board immediately for a youngster who needed to break out of her cocoon.
"Mum and dad thought it would be really cool because I was just shy when I was younger so doing taekwondo just brings you out of your comfort zone with a bit more confidence with certain things," said the teenager who overcame an Achilles injury just after her birthday last year to become a black belt.
The experience went totally against any preconceived notions Somerville may have harboured about the martial art turning individuals into a bundle of aggressive energy.
Etiquette, among other life skills people tend to take for granted, rose to the fore.
"Master Rounthwaite taught us how to ask and answer for something with 'yes, sir and no, sir' [and] to stand up when we speak to someone."
She took up taekwondo competitively two years ago. Winning a gold medal in the patterns at the nationals and Oceania Championship in Wellington about two months ago was a timely reinforcement.
Patterns, sparring and speciality technique will be her forte at the world cup because exponents under the age of 18 aren't allowed to engage in block-breaking routines and full-contact bouts.
However, the excitement of entering an international arena isn't lost on her.
"I'm really excited and it means a lot to me," she said, mindful she'll be able to gauge her worth against unknown rivals who will be tough.
Patterns is Somerville's favourite so making it past the first round without disqualification is her ambition. It doesn't matter if she doesn't make it to the podium for a medal.
She can't imagine stopping engagement in taekwondo and hopes to take the summer Olympics code to as high a level as she possibly can.
"It's such a huge and normal part of my life, I guess. I used to play soccer but it started to get serious with taekwondo so I didn't have much time with anything else."
Somerville trains two hours a day and five days a week, mostly after school.
The importance of Akard's visit is evident in travelling down to Hastings to take children and adult classes. A grand master is the highest rank in the code and no Kiwis hold that status. They tend to conduct international instructors' courses during visits.
"When I answered the call and realised it was Grand Master Akard, I knew instantly this was a great opportunity for the ITF in New Zealand. He loves to teach. For the first time we have a grand master teaching in Hastings," said Master Rocky Rounthwaite.
Akard, a disciple for almost half a century, is a ninth dan black belt and will officiate at the world cup.
"To have this level of skill teaching our students one week ahead of our World Cup team of 14 departing for Sydney is an unprecedented opportunity," Rounthwaite said.
Akard, who has visited other centres in the North Island, is here until Monday and rates the local centre's standard as high as anywhere else in the world.
"I'll be looking at the fundamentals to make sure they are good and then No 2 maybe look at some of the punch stuff and flying kicks or perhaps some self defence-type routines," said the 69-year-old, who has built a friendship over three decades with Rounthwaite that took them to Papua New Guinea.
He will take some proteges from Colorado and will be a VIP at the world cup.
"It's a pleasure to be in New Zealand and to continue this taekwondo that the great general [Hong Hi Choi, of Korea, in the 1950s] gave us and to be with some of my good friends," he said of a discipline that helps create good people who respect one another and become integral part of society.
"It's not just a sport. It's a way of life and doing things ... the sport part is just one aspect, probably one of the smallest of taekwondo."
WORLD CUP TEAM
Cohen Batterham, Margot Bawden, Cameron Fox, Paul Hammond, Joy Hawaikirangi-Mackenzie, Simon Jarvis, Ethan Miller, Cody Milne, Richie Peters, Sam Ranapiri, Sophie Somerville, Rhyva van Onselen, Katie Whyte and Isabelle van der Wal.
Coach: Richie Peters.
Instructor/umpire: Master Rocky Rounthwaite.