After proving his skills on the national level earlier this year, Cochranite and third-degree black belt Taekwon-Do martial artist Nathan Peacock will be heading to the international stage to represent Canada at the 2023 ITF Taekwon-Do World Championships from Sept. 4 to 10.
The tournament will take place in Tampere, Finland, where Peacock will compete in the team and individual sparring events for the weight category of 23 to 59 kilograms (kg).
Head coach for Trinity for Taekwon-Do, Cameron Macdonald, explained that after placing gold in the national competition in May, Peacock received an invitation to participate in a three-day national team selection camp in Regina, Sask. In June. As an instructor, he feels very pump and excited to see one of his students representing Canada.
“Nathan will be our first student from Trinity that will go to the world championships,” Macdonald said.
Peacock has been part of Cochrane’s Trinity Taekwon-Do dojang for 17 years.
At the recent national team trials, around 60 of the best practitioners of Taekwon-Do across Canada underwent training at the international level that involved drills with Team Canada coaches and mini-tournaments.
“Between the three days, it was 11 hours of training, which was lovely,” Peacock said. “In which, Trinity Taekwon-Do, on the regular week, it’s an hour-and-a-half of training a week, plus extra if you’re doing extra.”
With the international competition a month away, Peacock said he is getting more and more excited to compete, although he does acknowledge the nerves of representing Canada.
“I’m very honoured to be able to have this position and do that,” Peacock said. “I have been training more than I usually do, purely so that my performance will be one that I will be proud of and that my peers will be proud of.”
Peacock said he never thought he would ever get to this point in his Taekwon-do career. He said it is cool to have gained some notoriety around town for his efforts, but he plans to keep aiming for the top.
“It’s really surreal [and] really awesome to finally have that solidification of the work that I’ve put in, and just how much more I have to put in,” Peacock said.
Regardless of whether or not he wins or loses in Finland next month, Peacock said he will bring the best mentality he has to the competition, use the experience as a learning opportunity, and give it his all.
“I hope my opponents will remember our fight,” Peacock said. “I don’t plan on giving them an easy winner or anything like that – I’m going to go as hard as I can.”
With the competition taking place in Europe, Peacock recently started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the necessary travel expenses required to attend the tournament. He hopes to garner enough to bring his parents along and give them the chance to watch him perform at the highest level.
For those interesting in helping Peacock reach his fundraising goal, please visit: gofundme.com/f/help-nathan-go-to-finland.
“The GoFundMe is up for any of those who are willing, and anything you give is wonderful,” Peacock said. “I appreciate them all.”
Macdonald said with Cochrane seeming to grow in population every day, it won’t be uncommon to see more athletes compete at the international level, and hopes that Peacock inspires every athlete to pursue greatness.
“I think it’s great for our martial arts clubs within town to see people pursuing their dreams and going to the highest level,” the instructor said. “Anytime we can highlight someone’s achievements within the martial arts community such as this, I think that it goes a long way and a lot positive can come from that.”
Macdonald also plans to host a viewing party for Peacock’s first match at the Trinity Taekwon-Do Cochrane dojang.
