And since he was big enough to hold an axe, 14-year-old Chevalier College student David Reumer has been learning these skills from his father.

“I got a tomahawk for my second birthday,” David said.

“When I was eight Dad made it into an axe for me and I’ve been practising with him ever since.”

According to the NSW Axemens Association, cutting through a log with a razor sharp axe while you’re standing on top of it is actually a whole lot safer than it looks.

But that doesn’t stop David’s mother from stressing every time she sees him cut.

Of all the woodchopping contests in New South Wales, the Royal Easter Show is the pinnacle.

And while you don’t have to qualify to compete, the committee does send invitations to those in the junior section based on how well they do at other events.

David was invited the first year he was old enough.

“The first time I chopped at the Royal it was overwhelming,” he said.

“At local shows the most you’ll get in a crowd is about 200. But at Sydney you’re in the middle of arena surrounded by thousands of people.”

A win at Sunday’s competition at the Chevalier College Fair will certainly earn him an invitation to the 2010 Royal Easter Show.

David trains regularly with his father John, who also competed in the woodchop at Chevalier when he was a student there.

“Woodchop is actually one of Australia’s oldest sports,” Mr Reumer said.

“It began from a bet between two men in a Tasmanian bar back in 1870 over who could cut through a tree the fastest and it’s just grown from there.”

Mr Reumer, who is the organiser of Sunday’s chop, said he expected to have 35 cutters at the event, a dozen of who would be locals.

He and his son are part of the South Coast and Tablelands Club, which has about 50 axemen.

They follow the show circuit, competing across the state, and each event leads up to the Royal Easter Show.

The Woodchop Competition will be one of many events at Sunday’s Chevalier College Fair, which runs from 9am-3pm. Admission costs $2 for adults. For more information phone 4861 1488.