All the hard work came down to one afternoon in Dublin's Citywest hotel.
48-year-old Liam Dale had put in a life's time of training and was competing in the finals of the WAKO World Championships in his home town.
Dale, who we've followed in this original SportsJOE documentary series, was pitted against Hungary's Istvan Toth in the final which took place in late November.
He won handsomely and was crowned the 94 kg champion, a deserved reward for one of the longest serving martial artists in Ireland.
If you needed any extra motivation coming into the new year, just take Liam Dale's words on board -
"The potential is massive in us. It's massive. If we just give ourselves a chance, there's nothing that can't be achieved. We are amazing creatures."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6QurgNX8pY
