FOUR students from Joon No's Taekwondo have made the Australian squad to compete in the 3rd Asian Junior Championships in Kazakhstan in August. Eleni Zafiropoulos, 15 and Christina No, 14, both from Doncaster, Taner Hikmet, 15, from Templestowe and Thomas Torcello, 16, from Dandenong, were all successful at the Australian Junior Taekwondo Open, held at the State Netball and Hockey Centre last month, which helped them gain selection for the Australian squad.

At the Australian Open, Zafiropoulos (68+kg) and Christina No (42-44kg) won gold medals in the female black belt 14-17-year-old class. Torcello (78+kg) won silver, while Hikmet (48-51kg) claimed bronze - both in the male black belt 14-17-year-old class.

Mr No, a seventh-dan black belt from Doncaster, trains hundreds of taekwondo students in the Melbourne metropolitan region.

In January, he took a handful of his finest young students to the home of the ancient martial art, Korea, for a strenuous training camp.

There, his students were given unique insight into the conditions under which Korean athletes - known to be the best in the world - train.

"My Australian students were able to see the kind of mental preparation required for international competition," Mr No said.

"Many competitors would usually view a confrontation with a Korean opponent with apprehension.

"The aim of the trip was to remove this fear and give our Australian competitors an edge over their international opponent."

Zafiropoulos, No, Hikmet and Torcello will attend a training camp at the State Hockey and Netball Centre in June, where the final selections for the Asian Championships will be finalised.

Mr No said the trip to Korea in January, although beneficial for his students, came at a huge financial expense.

With a couple of Korean businesses already on board, Mr No is appealing to Melbourne businesses to get behind his students.

"We would appreciate any support from the Melbourne business community we can get," he said.

Joon No's Taekwondo is one of the world's most successful clubs, producing dozens of international and Australian gold medallists, including Sydney Olympic gold medallist Lauren Burns, who was taught by Mr No.

Written by Lee Crossley