TWO Hamilton based Taekwondo athletes have represented Victoria at the recent national championships and the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane respectively.

Palace Martial Arts’ Stephanie Farquharson and Taylor Crane flew the flag, and each had success in their chosen events of Breaking and Poomsae where Farquharson came away with medals in each event.

Poomsae is the name for the traditional patterns where competitors perform a series of movements based on attacks and defences and receive a score out of 10.

In Power Breaking, the term generally refers to a single strike or kick that breaks through a stack of multiple boards or tiles that are held in place very rigidly.

As the name indicates, Power Breaking demonstrates an athlete’s breaking power, though of course accuracy is also essential (e.g., hitting a thick stack of tiles off-centre makes them dramatically more difficult to break).

Farquharson won the Poomsae (individual) event at the Pan Pacific Masters Games and claimed the silver medal in Power Breaking.

At the national championships she claimed second place for both events, while Crane finished in eighth place in the Poomsae (individual) event.

 Both athletes train approximately four hours of formal training each week and then undertake personal training on their own to supplement their skill development in preparation for competitions.

Palace Martial Arts Master Muhktar was also involved in the nationals being a referee and he will also head to Hong Kong where he will referee the World Championships.