Mel Bell and her son, Aden, recently made history at the Goulburn Martial Arts Academy, when they became the first mother and son to grade to blackbelt together.
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The pair, who practice taekwondo under the tutelage of head instructor, Craig Harmer, graded early in 2020 but only received their certificates last week.
"We've had a number of women make blackbelt, but Mel is the first mother to reach the rank," Harmer said.
"I've spoken before about how difficult it is for mums to make time for themselves. For her to balance family and training, it was something she wanted to do with her children."
Mel began training in taekwondo only after Aden and her daughter, Hayley, had done so for several years. Both went through the Little Ninjas program, and their mother began when they reached the senior ranks.
Four years later, Mel and Aden achieved their blackbelts, which is something she never thought she would be able to say.
"I didn't think I'd ever get there," Mel said.
"I only got there after a lot of pushing from Craig. Then, for my son, it was a lot of the same thing, trying build his confidence. He really enjoys doing it.
"He didn't think he'd get that far, but the academy has been great and as a big family we help each other to get where we are."
As many parents know, striking a work-life balance is hard enough, and martial arts is a commitment which requires many hours out of the week.
But Mel and her children are eager to train each week, which makes the balancing act much easier to maintain.
"We love doing it, we love going there," Mel said.
"It's the environment that makes you want to keep going. And I enjoy it, it's fun. Especially for the younger kids, helping them with self-defence and trying to get their confidence up.
"It's becomes a routine, I'm lucky that my husband has tea ready for us when we come home. It's at six o'clock, we just have ourselves the routine where the kids do their homework before we go to training.
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"To me, it's not as big a deal as some other mothers who are there, who do night shifts and things like that. If you want to do something you make it fit into your life."
Harmer said one of the most pleasing aspects of the pair's achievements was seeing them grow personally in recent years.
"Mel's very encouraging and assists the senior blackbelts," he said.
"She's a mum and very experienced in dealing with kids, and she even mentors the adults. She takes on that mentorship role in class.
"As a kid you struggle for confidence, and Aden's overcome that. He's now starting to help others do the same thing. It's nice to see the junior blackbelts come through and help others through the same challenges."
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