Torrent TKD's Lucas Feeley, who recently won a national Taekwon-Do title in sparring in Vernon, BC, is now gearing up to take on the best at the Worlds in Finland in September. Feeley is seen performing one of his special techniques in the Dojang last week. Taylor Weaver Meridian Fountain
Lucas Feeley is having a great year on two fronts.
Fresh off his first Taekwon-Do national championship title in combat, the 18-year-old is competing in Winnipeg this week at the Skills Canada nationals in video production, while also preparing for the International Federation World Championships. of Taekwon-Do (ITF) in Finland from September 4-10.
Feeley was in Vernon, BC May 6-7 for the ITF National Championships, where he faced the best 18-35 year olds in the country in three different competitions.
Feeley competed in special techniques, patterns, and sparring. It's also worth noting that this was Feeley's first national competition in the adult 18-35 category, as she turned 18 in December.
โLuckily in sparring I got gold, so I am the national champion in sparring,โ he said humbly.
โIn specialty technique, which is my favoriteโฆ I came up short and got second, but this one is super cool because they put eight-foot boards up in the air and you have to jump and kick them with your feet. It's super amazing."
To win his national title fight, Feeley had to defeat a reigning national champion of 10 years, all while in his first outing in the adult division.
โLegend has it that he was reigning for around 10 years. He was an amazing competitor, super fierce, I love the guy and I think he's amazing,โ Feeley said, noting that this mystery competitor trains out of Lethbridge and is in his early 20s.
With a national title on the books, Feeley is putting everything he's got into preparing for the World Cup in Finland.
"There's still a bump in the road (with) a selection camp in June, so I'm preparing for that," he said.
โNow, there are no days off. Every morning, every night, I'm stretching and training, no matter what, and I work here for about two hours, three or four days a week.
โA world title has been the dream for a while; First it was just a national title, and now that I've gotten there, I've broadened my horizons a bit and it seems like the world is the first thing I'm looking for at the moment.
Feeley started practicing martial arts at a very young age and has been training in Torrent TKD for the past 14 years.
Taekwon-Do runs deep in the Feeley family as they have owned Torrent for over 14 years and Lucas's father Chris is the head Dojang instructor. Chris's wife, Jasmyne, runs the front and books, and all three of her sons, including Lucas, have been instructors at the Dojang.
As well as what may seem like endless days of training ahead, Feeley and the Torrent team are also looking for sponsors to help get Lucas to Finland.
Anyone interested in supporting Feeley on his trip to Finland can contact Torrent TKD at 780-872-9634 or email torrenttkd@gmail.com
