Something happens to Kristie Chaffey when she faces an opponent on a karate mat. The shy woman who struggles through interviews disappears - replaced by a five-time world champion.
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On Sunday in Okinawa, Japan, the Tamworth-based 34-year-old, a lifelong martial artist, will attempt to win her sixth Super Karatedo World Grand Prix - which, if successful, would be her third-straight world championship. The style is Koshiki.
Kristie will fight as a middleweight. She has won all her world crowns in that division.
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Her brother Scott, 37, has also made the national team again. He will attempt to win his fourth world title and atone for the disappointment of losing his gold medal bout at the last world championships, in London, Canada, two years ago. He blamed that loss on his Russian opponent hitting him with a low blow.
In Okinawa, he will compete as a heavyweight (over 82 kilograms) for the first time at the event. His daughter Jayda, 6, will also compete in Okinawa.
I guess it's just a lot of hard work.
- Kristie Chaffey
Kristie said her training had been "pretty full on" in the lead up to the event.
When asked what made her such a good fighter, she replied: "I guess it's just a lot of hard work. That's what it basically amounts to: the effort, training hard."
Scott has been competing for about three decades. "So I suppose I'm getting a bit long in the tooth.
"It's great to have some fresh blood with my daughter coming through ... She's been doing it [karate] since she was three years old. I basically couldn't keep her off the mat.
"She's straight out here [Chaffeys Black Belt Academy] after school. It's something she wants to do. It hasn't been something I've forced her to do."
He also competes on Sunday.
Jayda said making friends was the best aspect of the sport.
Kristie and Scott's father, Clint, who started the academy years ago, is "very proud" to see his children and his granddaughter representing Australia.
