Kirsty Hitchens set-up The Mortal Mouse ©The Mortal Mouse

A project in Australia aimed at getting more women into taekwondo has received a cash boost.

Australian Taekwondo joined forces with martial arts blog The Mortal Mouse last month to offer one year "pink belt" scholarships.

The blog is run by Australian taekwondo athlete Kirsty Hitchens and the initiative will be funded by donations made via the crowdfunding platform Chuffed.org.

An AUD$2,000 (£1,100/$1,400/€1,300) grant has now been awarded by West Australian-based company Cristal Mining.

"This takes our current fundraising total to more than AUD$4,000 (£2,200/$2,900/€2,500) and with matched scholarships from our supporting clubs, we now have an unbelievable eight scholarships to deliver," a post said on Facebook.

Australian Taekwondo joined forces with martial arts blog The Mortal Mouse last month to offer one year
Australian Taekwondo joined forces with martial arts blog The Mortal Mouse last month to offer one year "pink belt" scholarships ©Mortal Mouse

Scholarship recipients will be selected by a panel convened by The Mortal Mouse and Australian Taekwondo and assessed on a basis of need.

The Mortal Mouse was created by Hitchens to encourage more people into taekwondo and to inspire people to take up something new.

She took up the sport shortly after turning 40, after watching her son train for five years.