He wants to avoid the "killer" countries involved in the tournament - those from Russia, Iran and the host nation in particular - for as long as possible.

But he also knows it's the luck of the draw with every athlete to have their name pulled out of a hat meaning you can't manipulate who you are matched up against.

"The top three countries are Russia, Iran and China ... they're killers and are pretty hectic so you try to steer clear of them as best you can," he said.

"At the end of the day they've got two arms and two legs so you've got to look at it like that.

"They're not superhuman so you've got to go in there, compete to the best of your ability and whatever happens will happen."

Cobourn has earmarked a potential quarter-final berth as an achievable result after making the third round at the last world title event in 2017.

"I went two years ago to Russia and ended up being the first Australian to win a fight over there so I feel like now I've got my foot in the door," he said.

"I know what the competition's like because I've experienced it before and the atmosphere too."

He will compete in the under-70 kilogram division in good form having won his last fight - a national title in Sydney in July.

But he has had to juggle a university degree in physiotherapy and training for the world championships along the way.

"It has been hard to find a line and not go so far over the line where I take away from my study but not going the other way where I take away from my training either," he said.

Port Macquarie will also be represented in the under-80 kilogram division with Michael Woodward set to compete in his first world championship event.

"I started SANDA back in 2016 and have won an Australian title at 80 kilograms which is the weight division that I'm in and this was the next progression," Woodward said.

"I feel like I've done really well, put in a lot of training over the years and have worked my life around it for the most part to get to this top level."

Woodward said he had a background in rugby union and having an interest in contact sport meant taking up martial arts was the next step.

"I played rugby for about five years so I always had that pull towards contact sport, gave (martial arts) a crack and really enjoyed it," he said.

"Regardless of the result it recognises all the effort I've put in to get to this level and I'm honoured to be able to compete against some of the best athletes in the world."

He admitted wearing the Australian colours was going to be a proud moment.

"It's incredible to represent your country in anything, but especially in a sport that's so old and has such traditional ties as this one."

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