But through hard work, training and commitment that is exactly what Hayden Williams has achieved with Andrew Welsh’s Kaishin tae kwon do club.

Under instructor Kym Porrelli, Hayden recently completed a gruelling five-hour grading to achieve the belt, becoming the first member of the 60-strong club to do so.

Normally training two nights per week, Hayden hit the mats for five to six nights per week for more than 12 months to train for the grading, which he passed with flying colours.

Club principal Andrew Welsh travelled back from his base in Queensland for the grading, which Hayden’s father David Williams said was emotional for everyone involved.

“He had put so much effort into getting the black belt, training for more than a year, and went through a really tough grading which took most of the day,” he said.

“Whether he got it or not we couldn’t have been prouder but when we knew he had passed we were all so happy.

“There were quite a few people watching and seeing what he had done when he got the black belt there wasn’t a dry eye in the room, everyone was pretty emotional.”

David and his family were so pleased with Hayden’s efforts they bought him a special present for passing, a traditional samurai sword called a Katana.

Hayden started tae kwon do when he was only six years of age with the Kaishin club, when it had just started under Welsh. He is now the only original member of the junior club remaining.

Hayden did his first grading under original instructor Veronica Carter, but for the majority of his time has trained with Kym Porrelli, who is a second-degree black belt.

Kym’s husband Mark is also a second-degree black belt, and helped Hayden a great deal in preparing for his black belt grading.

David Williams said martial arts was something Hayden had always wanted to do, and something he would recommend other parents encourage their children to become involved in.

He believes it has helped Hayden develop not only dedication and discipline, but also a great deal of confidence.