A nine-year-old kickboxer from Armadale has been tipped for national success after winning two gold medals at a tournament in England.
Junior Bryce, a member of Pro Edge Martial Arts in Armadale, bagged the double at the South Tyneside Open in South Shields.
But the youngster’s victories are just the latest in a long line of success stories for the young prodigy this year.
The dedicated star, who trains five times a week, has scooped gold medals at several events already, which has prompted his coach, Master Robin Blair, to predict a bright future in the sport.
Blair, who owns Pro Edge Martial Arts, told the Courier: “He’s only nine years old and he trains five nights a week doing both taekwondo and kickboxing and he’s got all the skills to really be special.
“He’s had a hugely successful year already and won tournaments. He took a gold medal at the WKO Kickboxing competition, he entered his first ever taekwondo tournament and won the gold medal there.
“We took part in the WKC Kickboxing competition and won two gold medals there and then he’s travelled to Tyneside last weekend and took two gold medals there as well.
“He’s gone down to Tyneside, outside of his comfort zone, fighting different folk and it’s been a completely new experience, but he just took it in his stride and thrived on it.”
The proud coach added: “He’s a hot prospect, that’s for sure. You could see it early doors and he’s just been getting better and better.
“I’m sure that he will go on to end up in national teams and maybe even get success further afield than just the UK. He’s dedicated and has that real desire to keep improving and testing himself in these competitions.
“To be training five nights a week at his age shows how much he enjoys it. It’s unusual to get that sort of commitment at his age – it really is few and far between.
“His family also have got to take huge credit as well because they obviously have to taxi him about and sacrifice plenty of hours for him to be at this level, but if he keeps going on this track, he has got a very, very bright future in the sport.”
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