Monash Taekwondo star gears up for international competition

If any Business or Marketing students are looking to pick a fight with one of their group project members, we would certainly recommend steering clear of Monash student and Taekwondo star Tyla Lockwood, who is gearing up to compete at the Dutch and Belgian Open Taekwondo Championships in March.

The competitions are qualifiers for the Australian World Championship team, and Tyla has ramped up her training schedule in her efforts to impress.

Coming back from 3 months of rehab after a foot injury last year, Tyla said returning to training in December was a “culture shock”, but her recovery was hastened by an invitation to train with 25 of Australia’s top Taekwondo athletes at a High Performance Hub opened last year in partnership with the AIS.

“I was in so much pain, but you’re in an environment where you push through those barriers. There were a lot of ice baths,” said Tyla.

“My foot hated me, but it was a lot of fun.”

Tyla (right) started learning Taekwondo when she was 10 years old, but said she "got really into the fighting side of things" when she finished high school. 

Tyla is now back to doing four to five Taekwondo and two strength and conditioning sessions every week. Like many of the athletes in Monash’s Elite Student Performance Scheme, balancing her sporting career with University commitments is an ongoing struggle.

“It’s really tough, I’m taking off two and a half weeks off Uni to do this competition. I will arrive back [in Australia] on a Wednesday at 6.30am and start back at Uni at 10am,” she said.

“In Taekwondo there’s a lot of sitting around at competitions, so at least I can do a bit while I’m waiting.”

Tyla said receiving a scholarship grant from Team MONASH helps take some of the pressure off financially, and she has been able to continue her studies by deferring units and doing some Summer semester study.

Hundreds of athletes are registered to compete in the Dutch and Belgian competitions, and the most successful of the Australian team may get the chance to represent the country at the World Taekwondo Championships in Manchester this May.

Written by: Nell O’Shea Carre, Media Coordinator