WHITSUNDAY Taekwondo Oh Do Kwan welcomed new black belts to the ranks as the hard work and dedication paid off for five students at a recent Dan Grading.

Jody Van Wyk successfully achieved his 2nd Dan and Anya Jackson achieved her 1st Dan Black Belt.

Junior students Angus Kelly, Ethan Smith and Madison Taylor also achieved their 1st Poom Black Belts.

Fifth Dan Master Instructor Vicky Gillian, who assessed the students for their belts, with the assistance of other 2nd and 1st Dans, said each of the students trained extremely hard to get to this point.

"All of the students and instructors of Whitsunday Taekwondo Oh Do Kwan congratulate Jody, Anya, Angus, Ethan and Madison on a job well done,” Gillian said.

"Jody started training with Whitsunday Taekwondo Oh Do Kwan as a White Belt in 2013 at the age of 12 and has progressed through the ranks during this time.

"He has competed in numerous tournaments with tremendous results, including Best Senior Competitor in 2016.”

Jody, who was awarded Senior Student of the Year in 2015 and passed his 1st Dan grading in December 2016, said his favourite aspect of Taekwondo was sparring.

He said he had gained a tremendous amount of confidence through his training and as a keen student wishes to earn his next Dan and join the Australian Navy at the end of his schooling.

Gillian said Anya Jackson must have martial arts in her blood.

"As a teenager she studied judo and received her brown belt, and then trained in Taekwondo in Victoria before joining our club in June last year as an ITF 1st Degree Black Belt,” she said.

"She has trained very hard to learn the patterns and self-defence techniques in WTF Taekwondo and successfully passed her 1st Dan Black Belt assessment.”

Anya intends to continue training for her next Dan and eventually become an instructor. Her favourite aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence and working with other students to help them achieve their goals.

"She is extremely dedicated and is a great mentor to both junior and senior students alike,” Gillian said.

Anya intends to continue training for her next Dan and eventually become an Instructor.

Angus Kelly began training with the Whitsunday Taekwondo Oh Do Kwan as a "Tiger” at age six in 2014 before being double promoted in rank and receiving many Honours passes in his gradings.

Gillian said Angus had participated extremely well in several tournaments and received Encouragement and Most Improved awards.

Angus, who learnt Taekwondo so he could learn to defend himself, said his training had made him more confident.

Board breaking is Angus's favourite aspect of Taekwondo.

He is undecided as to what he wants to do regarding his training.

Ethan Smith also started his training with the club as a "Tiger” at age five in 2011 and received many Honours passes in his gradings as well as a double promotion and a Best Grading Award.

"Ethan has been the recipient of varying awards over the years including Encouragement, Achievement and Most Improved awards, as well as competing very strongly in several tournaments,” Gillian said.

"His favourite aspect of Taekwondo is also board breaking.”

Ethan said he wants to continue training to eventually become an instructor.

He said learning to defend himself in the real world was one of the most important things he has achieved.

Madison Taylor started her training at Whitsunday Taekwondo Oh Do Kwan as a "Tiger” in 2013 at age five.

She has a wealth of achievements including being double promoted in rank three times, several Honours passes at gradings and won the Best Grading award three times.

Madison has also received numerous awards including Best Attendance, two Outstanding Student awards and Junior Student of the Year award with the club.

She has competed in many tournaments with outstanding results, including Best Junior Competitor in 2016.

Her favourite part of Taekwondo is the technical aspect and how she has learnt to defend herself.

Madison want to continue training to earn her next Dan.