FIGHT OVER
Leading Australian taekwondo master committed to teaching others
ONLY the third non-Korean person in Australia to ever achieve a taekwondo ninth dan back belt ranking has died after an 18-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
Brad Hope, 65, was considered a legend of the sport, locally and internationally, known for his passion for the sport and giving nature.
Life partner and business partner in his Smithfield dojo, Jan Turner, remembered the hapkido and taekwondo master as a man who committed his life to teaching martial arts.
“He shared his knowledge with anyone that wanted to listen and he helped so many children through life,” she said.
“So many people have said without his guidance they wouldn’t have what they have today.
“Brad gave people hope, Brad gave people the strength to carry on.”
One of Mr Hope’s biggest strengths was promoting martial arts and he was internationally respected as a teacher and a fighter, Ms Turner said.
“It wasn’t his work, it was his love in life,” she said.
“He was a legend to so many people.”
It was his goal to fight the disease long enough to enjoy Christmas.
“Yes, he made Christmas and he even made the New Year and he got to be at home for Christmas Day and that was his last wish,” she said.
The late Mr Hope is survived by his three sons BeJay, Luke and Tyler.
Born in the central western New South Wales town of Young in 1953, Mr Hope moved to Port Macquarie when he was six, later enlisting in the army in 1972.
He began taekwondo while in the army and went to his first class with an army buddy.
“And his mate said, ‘I bet you five dollars I do it longer than you’. Well, Brad is still waiting for that five dollars,” Ms Turner said.
Discipline of the mind and meditation was a huge asset to Mr Hope as the debilitating pain of the cancer took hold.
Ms Turner remembers Mr Hope returning from a grading in Canberra when struck down with abdominal pain.
“He was meditating the pain away and he missed his flight. He had to get a new flight but it worked for him,” she said.
There will be a funeral service for Mr Hope at the Generations Church at Kewarra Beach next Wednesday.
“He did go peacefully in the end,” Ms Turner said.