Sport
20 January, 2024
Black belt honours for Muccignat
AFTER dedicating countless hours to the sport he loves, 22-year-old Kyle Muccignat from Mutchilba was promoted to 1st Dan Black Belt at Xtrheem Taekwondo's final grading recently.
Kyle's journey in the Martial Art of Taekwondo began at the age of 6, training alongside his father Andrew and younger brother Jole.
After achieving his Junior Black Belt at the age of 12, Kyle took a hiatus from training, however he returned in 2023 with renewed determination to complete what he had started years ago.
Under the guidance of the Xtrheem Taekwondo, Kyle's dedication and rapid progress earned him the opportunity to apply for his 1st Dan Black Belt grading test.
“Kyle’s performed very well at the Grading with countless rounds of free sparring where he displayed effective self-defense, fitness and resilience under pressure,” Master Instructor Phil Quayle said.
“Kyle also demonstrated very good technique with all his board breaks, including two board side kicks, two board turning kicks, two board punches, single board spinning heel and single board jumping, and spinning back kick.
“Kyle achieved all his board breaks on his first attempt, which clearly demonstrated to all present that Kyle was focused well and truly ready for grading to 1st Dan Black Belt.
“It’s a great achievement for a young man like Kyle to demonstrate this level of athleticism and strength of character when required while retaining composure and respect towards others. These are essential values for anyone wanting to reach the level of Black Belt in Martial Arts.”
In another significant achievement earlier in the year, nine-year-old C.J. Schutte from Mutchilba achieved his Junior Black Belt after three years of dedicated training.
C.J., who began his Taekwondo journey at the age of six alongside his two older brothers, became the youngest ever Xtrheem Taekwondo Student to achieve the Junior Black Belt at the Dimbulah Training Centre in over 30 years.
“This is a huge achievement for a small nine-year-old boy as C.J. had to step up, learn and perform 10 Taekwondo Patterns, demonstrate effective free sparring and self-defence techniques and also break all the single timber boards that children older and physically bigger than him also have to break to achieve Junior Black Belt level,” Master Quayle said.
