By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Just three years after taking up the sport, a feisty Lyndhurst family has collected a fist-full of national judo medals.
Will and Priscilla Tai Tin, and children Ethan and Lily, grabbed five medals at the finals at Gold Coast on 8-10 June.
Ethan (under-15s) and Priscilla were crowned national champtions, Lily struck bronze in the under-12s and Will won two silver medals.
Will has also been selected to represent Samoa in the Pacific Games in July 7-20. He withdrew from one of the Gold Coast finals on medical advice to rest an injury ahead of the Games.
“The last couple of weeks have been all about doing the right thing in training, and getting the body in peak condition.”
He paid tribute to the coaches at their home club, the Taketani Judo Academy in Huntingdale.
At the recent Gold Coast titles, the club yielded six Australian champions, five silver medals and seven bronze.
“The academy continues to perform,” Will said.
“Our junior teams are the ones to look out for.”
It’s only been three years since Will and Priscilla followed their kids into the sport. Will, who comes from a rugby background, trained instead of working long overtime.
Under the diet and training regimen, he shed a dramatic 50 kilos.
Since then, fighting-good health and better work-life balance have followed.
The family now spends long hours together – on the training mat and preparing for their events.
Training and competing six days a week, the children have similarly high aspirations to represent Australia in the Olympics at some stage.
“It’s a highly competitive sport,” Will says.
“It can be a matter of inches or a split-second between being on the winning end and the losing end.
“It’s something we can share – with our ups and downs.
“We also enjoy the company the judo community brings and the friends we’ve made along the way.”
