Dumbarton kickboxer Maia Bisley enjoyed a dream start to life in older cadets, taking home seven medals from the Austrian Classic World Cup.
The talented 12-year-old, who trains with Edinburgh Wolfpack as well as Braveheart Martial Arts in Glasgow and at Dumbarton’s D-Unit gym, even stunned her parents Kim and Stewart with how she handled the step-up in classes - as one of the youngest competitors.
In an event that saw more than 1300 competitors representing 34 nations, Maia took gold in the teams event as well as in the points, light contact and kick light categories, as well as winning a further silver and two bronzes.
Proud mum Kim told the Lennox: “She’s moved into the older cadets for ages 13-15, even though she’s still only 12.
“Because of where her birthday falls in the year it’s based on her age when the European Championships take place later in the year.
“That means she has to fight now in the older cadets.
“We didn’t have any expectations of her going in. We hoped she’d do well, but we knew it was a fabulous competition she was entering. There were so many countries and hundreds of competitors.
“When she arrived the Greek coach asked her if she would take part in a teams event. She participated in that and won it.
“That set her up for the following day and the points fighting.
“She went in a lot more confident because she’d seen some of the other fighters and they’d done well in the teams event. In one category there were 29 people and in one there were 27. They had to run two mats simultaneously because the entry was so big. And she won it.
Maia’s achievements also saw her emulate that of her coach at Wolfpack Natasha Baldwin, who won the triple back in 2014.
Kim continued: “Natasha wasn’t at the competition because she’s got a seven month old who she was at home with. But Kevin, her husband, is also a coach and had messaged her and she was over the moon.
“She sent me a wee message saying how pleased she was.
“It’s a fantastic result for Maia and for the club. They took a really small team over because of school prelims, but Maia is only in first year. Dumbarton Academy have been brilliant because they know how well she’s doing with her kickboxing.
“I joked with her at the airport that she’d be back in time for training on a Monday night!”
Maia’s focus has now turned to her next major event in June - but not before she enjoyed the reward promised to her by dad Stewart for her showing in Austria.
Kim explained: “The next big event is the Hungarian Open in June, which is a similar standard. That’s where her head is now focused on.
“She’s already back training to give that as good a shot as she can.
“Her dad had promised her a KFC as a reward for the belts she had won.
“She’s very calm and unassuming. She just wants to go on and do her best. She just goes out there and gives it 110 percent.”
