Then, when he was 13-years-old, he helped a friend prepare for their black belt, and for six months he held boards and pads while also learning a thing or two about Tae Kwon Do.

He was interested and he decided to give it a crack. That was 24- years-ago and he’s never looked back.

Now at 37, Harmer has just been graded to a sixth degree black belt, one rank below the level of master.

He becomes only the second student, out of thousands taught by Grand Master Robert Lai of Malaysia to reach the prestigious level.

He is also Lai’s first Australian student to do so.

It’s a great honour for the Aussie bloke who will celebrate 20 years of teaching Tae Kwon Do in Goulburn next year. “It’s a big thing in my life,” Harmer told the Post.

“My family members do it. Two of my brothers are black belts, my son does it, cousins and stuff have also been involved. It’s not only a big thing in my life but also in my family life.“

Harmer first became a black belt at 18. He tells the Post that Grand Master Lai has graded him since he was a novice white belt.

He’s had to earn his sixth degree black belt over five years. It’ll be a minimum of six years until he reaches Master.

“The further you go up, the more it’s about community. It’s your involvement,” Harmer explains.

“It’s easy to study for a test, physically get ready, but the idea is that you have to maintain that.

“It’s important that we’re not only judged on our technical level, it’s more about giving back to the community, martial arts as a lifestyle choice.”

In his long career, he’s represented Australia at World Championships and even coached at World Championships. He’s also run tournaments, self defence courses, and has been an active part in the community, teaching countless students of all ages the sport of Tae Kwon Do out of the PCYC.

He says the camaraderie is what he likes the best. “It’s probably a team sport more than most team sports,” he said.

“What I mean by that is with most other team sports, you’re pitted off trying to vie for a position, where as this, you might have a fight or a competition coming up and the entire team is engaged in getting you ready, if that makes sense.”