By David Kavanagh | posted on December 12, 2019
FOR Albany martial arts instructor Daniel McGrath, taking the top spot at the recent National All Star Championships in Melbourne was an achievement decades in the making.
The 35-year-old beat out more than a dozen fighters from around Australia in the comp’s continuous male black belt division and credited much of his success to a near lifelong commitment to the sport.
“I’ve been doing martial arts since my dad got me into it at the age of eight and haven’t stopped since,” McGrath said.
“I train a good five to six days a week so to pull off first place was really great.”
This year marks the first time McGrath has taken gold at the multi-day tournament, which saw him defeat six out of the nine opponents he went up against.
His success is not the only talking point for the McGrath family, with 11-year-old Angel claiming third place in her division and 5-year-old Thai competing for the first time.
“The man who runs the whole thing said Angel had the best kicks he had seen in 20 years and that just blew us away,” McGrath said of his daughter.
“She’s been training real hard for it and while I was hoping she’d pull of first place as well, to be told that just made everything worth it.”
McGrath said he intended to have another go at the Nationals next year.
