A golden result as research highlights challenges

Two competitions were held in Tahiti in October and because it was during the term break, Andi was able to take some time to acclimatize and relax.

She came away with two gold medals in the President’s Cup and another two at the Oceania Championships.

Alongside her colleague, Bradley Hannigan, Andi is also researching the impact Covid-19 has on teaching and learning martial arts.

“It’s relevant because in martial arts you need to apply your learning, which generally happens in sparring,” said Andi.

She says for many people, martial arts are also more than a sport.

“It’s a community; a social connection and a physical outlet. The impact of lockdowns on this environment was significant once we had to move to alternative methods of education.”

She says all martial arts practices had to abandon traditional teaching methods and focus on technique-based education, which isn’t as engaging and has proved to be a challenge keeping people motivated and engaged.

However, Andi is positive that the community will continue to thrive due to the very nature of the sport.

“When you practice martial arts, you must open yourself up to be vulnerable,” she said.

“There is nowhere to hide when someone is launching themselves at you and once you’ve shared that experience with others, there’s no going back.”