Contender: Getting real kick out of flying

By ANGELA GREGORY

An international taekwon-do judge's jaw dropped as Auckland teenager Carl van Roon leaped nearly 3m in the air at the world championships in Poland.

And the Auckland teenager was only warming up.

Not surprisingly, Carl, who easily jumped 2.7m and broke a board, then went on to scoop a gold medal in the senior specialty division.

The world title was won against stiff competition last month as Carl, a 19-year-old Auckland University student, beat competitors from 55 countries.

It was the first gold New Zealand had scored at the international competition, now in its 13th year.

Carl's performance was followed by other wins from the New Zealand camp which saw the country's ranking leap from 46th to third in the world.

At 1.89m, Carl admits his height helps, but leg flexibility and jumping power was more important for the sport, which features spectacular flying moves and jumping kicks.

He started practising martial arts eight years ago with karate lessons under "influential and motivating" teacher Chris Dessa.

Carl moved on to taekwon-do and kick boxing, but never envisaged how far martial arts would take him. He now has a first dan in taekwon-do and a second dan in karate.

"I enjoy the challenge and try to improve every day. I know it sounds cheesy but if I win or lose it does not matter if I'm not improving."

That has meant pushing boundaries and overcoming obstacles, fears and self-doubt.

No less challenging was getting into the world champs. Carl had to win at a regional level, then a national level, and then get invited to trial for entry.

He trained two hours a day for several months before the world champs, including weight training and dieting.

With the help of some team sponsorship from printer company Epson, part-time work as a waiter and family support, Carl was able to make the trip to Poland.

He said new talent was coming though and benefiting from professional training regimes.

While happily studying sport and exercise science, Carl is also considering a career in stunt work.

But a more immediate challenge would be a fundraising run the length of New Zealand with other students for World Vision.

International Taekwon-Do of New Zealand coach Andrew Niven said Carl's maturity and attitude to training were key factors in his success.

"He's an amazing talent and led the charge up the ranks for the team. He got gold on the first day of a four-day tournament which set everyone else up."

Mr Niven said Carl was impressing the international judges even in his warm-ups and kicked so powerfully that the electronic recorder could not get a reading.

"Luckily they gave him full marks."