The class will be taught by Darrel Sparke, a 4th Dan black belt instructor with the Australian Hwa Rang Do Taekwondo Academy.

It will run as an extension of his Active Kids Martial Arts program at Charlestown community centre The Place.

Since Sparke started the program in 2011, he has taught many children with mental and physical disabilities.

Sparke wanted to provide these children with the opportunity to compete in taekwondo, so he hatched the idea to start a tailored class.

The matter hits home for Sparke, who as a leg amputee, can't compete in the Paralympics.

"In Australia and indeed the world, taekwondo still only allows for people with upper limb handicaps to compete - something I hope we can change in the coming years," Sparke said.

It was Friday 13, 1976, when Sparke lost his right leg.

He was playing in the yard at his primary school in Orange when another student ran over his leg with a ride-on lawnmower.

Sparke was rushed to hospital for surgery.

Soon after, he was fitted with a prosthetic leg.

He took up taekwondo in 1989, the same year he started a bachelor of computer science at the University of Newcastle.

It took Sparke seven years to finish his degree as he became heavily involved with the university's taekwondo club.

He went on to compete, but found the sport provided little opportunity for him to excel as a leg amputee.

Sparke has been working to bridge the gap ever since.

"[Disabled people] are a little bit short in the rest of the world," he said.

"I want to help them understand they're not limited by their bodies, they're limited by the challenges they face in society."

Sparke's Introduction to Para Taekwondo will run as a free trial during term four on Thursdays at The Place, 6pm-7pm.

If it attracts enough members, it will become a permanent program in 2015.

For more information email activekidsmartialarts@hotmail.com.