ALLOA man Michael Wiseman is on a high after winning double gold at the ITF Taekwon-Do world championships this month.

The 43-year-old conquered the event on Friday, November 1, at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility in Wishaw.

Michael stormed the veteran category blackbelt division, which is set for athletes over 35 years old.

He also won the gold medal in the male's pattern division.

As a result of winning these two gold medals, he was awarded the overall veteran blackbelt male champion.

Michael began practicing taekwon-do with a friend when he was a teenager and has been teaching the sport for more than 20 years.

He said: "I haven't fought professionally for about five years. I'm always in pretty good shape because of teaching classes.

"Around two months before the championships I started training pretty intensely – six days a week including double sessions."

Michael was encouraged to compete because of a long-standing belief he has in his teaching.

"I wanted to prove to my students that age is just a number," he said.

"I teach 400 kids a week who look up to me so I'm trying to lead by example.

"I don't want to tell them what to do if I can't do it myself. I love getting involved and I've always been really competitive."

More than 600 competitors were involved from 32 countries across the three-day event.

Michael went into the competition in good shape and was confident he would win a medal, despite not fighting competitively for years.

As a result of teaching multiple classes a day, he knew he was still physically fit and sharp. He also made the decision to drop down in weight category.

He said: "Dropping down in weight gave me a really good advantage. I started training at uGym in Tillicoultry and managed to drop nine kilos.

"There was a few previous world champions involved so I knew it would be tough but I always felt I had a chance."

Michael, who teaches at the UK Taekwon-Do Council centre in Alloa, is unsure if he will compete again, although he won't rule it out.

He added: "The reason I stopped competing was because I was getting older.

"I'll be 44 soon, but I still feel sharp."