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World champion gains advantage through study
Fresh from winning gold in power-breaking at the International Taekwon-Do Federation’s World Championships in Canada, Carlie Dann of Chancellor Park will soon be back hitting the books.
Carlie, 19, took a year’s break from her combined degree in Psychology and Exercise Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast to concentrate on breaking boards in the lead-up to the championships.
An intensive training routine during her “gap year” saw her claim three medals at the May 26 event in Quebec – the power-breaking gold, silver in specialty techniques and bronze in patterns – and become the overall senior women’s champion.
To win gold, Carlie had to smash through the equivalent of four one-inch thick panels of pine board . . . a task she describes as simply “mind over matter”.
“It’s all mental . . . and you have to be really prepared for it,” she said. “Before I go up to the boards, I mentally visualise that I’m breaking them.
“If you don’t do this, the boards won’t break.”
The third-degree black belt, who teaches classes at the Chang Hon Taekwon-Do club at Chancellor Park, said she was looking forward to returning to her USC studies when Semester 2 starts in July.
Carlie said her study would be just as important as her international taekwon-do success in her planned career as a taekwon-do coach.
“I thought the double degree (Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science) was the best option for me,” she said. “It was exactly what I wanted to do when I left school.
“I can put into practice what I have learned and know what it’s like to compete at international competitions. I know how to keep going with it, not to give up when things get difficult, and always to try my best.”
She said her Psychology major also would give her an edge as a coach, building on the mental skills she has developed since first taking up taekwon-do as a Year 4 student at Buderim Mountain State School.
In the year ahead, Carlie plans to concentrate on her study, work towards gaining her fourth-degree black belt and begin preparations for the next World Championships in Argentina in 2009.
The 2007 mid-year university intake opened recently for those who want to study at the University of the Sunshine Coast from July. USC Admissions and Recruitment Officer Lisa Latty can help with applications on (07) 5430 2876.