Sixteen-year-old Josh Parker showed his instructor a thing or two at the inaugural taekwondo world cup in Florida.
Competing in the under-18 division, the Waiuku College student claimed two gold medals. One in sparring in the black stripe division, which is one grade down from a black belt, the otherin patterns in the red belt division.
Parker's instructor Dan Jackson, 23, competed in the men's middleweight sparring, but bowed out in the first round to a Russian competitor who went on to win the bronze medal.
The event was the first involving both taekwondo federations - the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) and the World Federation.
Athletes did not have to qualify for the event, but Jackson believes the standard of competition wasn't far off the ITF world championships, one of the more elite competitions open to black belt holders only.
"You have to be selected to go to the world champs, so everyone there is of a high standard. In this one there were some people who would normally not be at a world champs. But it was a really good tournament," said Jackson, who is part of the ITF and is a third dan black belt.
While the world cup event was dominated by ITF competitors, Jackson believes the two federations working together is a step in the right direction.
In this country the international federation (ITFNZ) and the world federation (WTNZ) have a volatile relationship.
"At the end of the day it is international politics that are influencing what is happening here.
"New Zealand is too small to be divided. ITFNZ is very strong and going from strength to strength. I don't know about WTNZ but I would like to presume that they are the same, because martial arts are definitely growing in New Zealand.
"We are starting to get a good international standing, and if there is more interaction between us then that will make us stronger."
