Brother and sister Georgia, 11, and Thomas Bonser, 10, took fifth and eighth placings respectively poomse.

Ryan Brooker, 10, returned with a bronze medal in the difficult black belt sparring division.

Beau Field was another standout for the Coffs Harbour team.

Beau joined DMA in May 2007 when his grandmother thought it might be beneficial for his autism.

He was 10 at the time and when Beau joined DMA with an IQ of 54 points and attended school as part of the special needs classes.

Under Master Phil’s training regime, in which Beau is part of the mainstream DMA classes and treated no differently to the other students, Beau has blossomed.

Patterns were particularly difficult for Beau as they require independent movement of limbs on both left and right sides of the body – this may seem simple enough, but when you don’t know left from right it can prove to be a challenge.

But Beau has persevered, training in up to six classes a week and has made great improvement.

Beau is learning at a 70-point IQ level, has now transferred into mainstream classes at school, has earned his third red belt (with no exceptions made) at DMA and most recently travelled to Brisbane to compete in the special needs poomse at national titles and returned home with two gold medals.

Since enrolling in martial arts nothing else in Beau’s schedule has changed – both his grandma and his specialist credit his training with his improvements.

Beau is an inspiration and a shining example that through adversity and challenge, dedication from loved ones and friends can make all the difference.

n Submitted by Diamond Martial Arts