Tom Burns (second from left)
Photo: Supplied, Tom Burns
Inspired by action movies, 19 year old Burns took up taekwondo when he was a young boy with the dream of becoming a Ninja.
Receiving his taekwondo black belt at the tender age of 10, it's fair to say he has been honing his craft for some time now.
Last year the Christchurch native sealed his Olympic qualification by winning gold in the men's under 68 kg division at the Oceania Olympic Qualifying tournament in Queensland.
After finishing secondary school, he moved to South Korea to further pursue taekwondo at Nazarene University in Cheonan, which is considered one of the top taekwondo institutes in the world.