Ellis is part of a 36-strong team from New Zealand competing in sparring and patterns on the world stage - and he has an objective in mind.
“I mean, there’s sort of only one goal I think you can go for and that’s to win it. You’ve got to have that mindset.”
The senior division athlete has had a big build-up since his selection for the team at the start of the year.
The 22-year-old has been travelling to Palmerston North each month to train with the national team and coaches, as well as training at his Mosgiel club.
The national camps had been crucial for Ellis - who is the only athlete from Otago heading to the world championships - to spar against athletes of similar ability, as he did competing at the national championships, where he won gold in the patterns earlier this year.
“It was just a good progress checker, really.
“It’s being able to get that in competition experience as well. Just seeing how you compete under a little bit of pressure and making sure you’re able to perform, because it’s as close as you’re going to get to the real thing.”
He was looking forward to competing at the world championships, after being selected as a junior in 2017, but being unable to compete due to health issues. In 2018, he competed as a junior at the world cup in Australia, finishing with fifth and eighth placings.
“That was pretty good. I performed not too bad.”
Ellis became involved in the sport at 10 through a family friend. Mosgiel head instructor Dion Bennett had invested a lot of time in Ellis and taken him under his wing as an “extra son”, he said.
It was the support of people and the challenge taekwondo provided that kept him going.
“Especially in respect to the pattern part I’m competing in - you can never sort of be perfect. It’s like you’ve always got something to continuously improve.
“In general, it’s just a great opportunity to compare my abilities with the best in the world.”
