Shorewood’s Makayla Gorka fully intends to compete in taekwondo sparring in the Summer Olympics, either in 2020 or 2024.

While it sounds like a long way off, Gorka is preparing by dedicating most of her free time perfecting her kicks, blocks, checks and moves.

A senior at Joliet West High School, Gorka began martial arts when she was 7, studying under Master Kyung Mun, owner of Mun’s Korean Martial Arts in Shorewood, from the start.

Gorka had taken a couple of sparring classes when she was 12 and Mun urged her to compete in a local tournament. She took second place.

“All I did was check, kick and kick the entire round,” she said.

Mun himself was a sparring champion in Korea during his high school and university years.

Gorka, a second degree black belt in taekwondo, has developed her skills to the point of competing in state and national tournaments. At 14, she took second place in state.

“That’s what started the journey,” she said.

In July of this year, Gorka competed at nationals in Texas and took third place.

In August she won the Gold medal in her weight/age class at the Costa Rica Open, competing with the Illinois State team (Illinois Taekwondo State Association).

Gorka travels all over the globe for the opportunity to compete; she’ been in places such as Trinidad in the Caribbean and Mexico. She’ll next compete in the Toronto Open.

She’s competed against women from all over the world. While the rules are the same for every country, Gorka said, they may be taught different sparring techniques.

“So you have to really pay attention,” she said.

When asked what makes her want to compete, Gorka said it’s exciting.

“I just love being aggressive, using all my power and putting it toward something,” said the petite-framed blonde, who can come across as quiet when she’s not sparring.

“It’s fun thinking about doing something correctly. It’s all on me if I do well,” she said

Each step of the journey takes Gorka closer and closer to the Olympics. Each win gets her points she needs to be on the Olympic team.

“Every time I go to a tournament I am aiming to improve. Each one is leading to state or nationals, it shows what you can do,” she said.

What do her parents Tamara and Chris Gorka think of her choice of sport?

“They are very supportive, they get very excited for me,” she said. “They put me in taekwondo to do an after-school activity. I don’t think anybody realized it would lead up to this.”

• Kris Stadalsky writes about people and issues in areas southwest of Joliet. Reach her at writestuff56@comcast.net.