A fighting pro training the next generation in martial arts said it is "inspiring" to see such talent in Liverpool.
Jason Tan has been training martial arts since around 1996 and is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. But for almost two decades, he has been passing on his skills to the next generation at his MMA Academy in Liverpool alongside partner Peter Davies.
Teaching both adults and children, Jason has seen hundreds of champions and titles pass through over the years, but the children's programme now is "really taking off". From winning popular tournaments in America to Abu Dhabi, the club includes national titles and pro fighters.
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More recently, around seven children aged between seven and 13 competed at the European IBJJF in Dublin, the biggest European tournament. After a successful feat, the group came home with four gold medals and a silver.
Jason told the ECHO: "They are all doing really well. This event in Ireland, it's the biggest tournament in Europe to win for these kids, it's prestige and they fight according to age, weight and belt and they were incredible."
Jason, who himself has had a successful career, added: "Even while I was fighting, I was always coaching and it was a natural progression to open a full time gym. Teaching kids is a real big passion of mine.
"Seeing them progress and gain confidence. My daughter competes and for a lot of the kids, it's so easy to see how passionate they are about competing. At the end of the day, win or lose, it's good character building no matter the result. The kids train so hard most days straight after school and it's pretty intense.
"There's a big commitment from parents and the kids and it's inspiring to see. A lot of the kids will be there for two hours straight from school and it's a good activity to be involved in.
"When I was a kid, we didn't have anything like that, we used to play football and hang about in the street, now, these kids have a chance to compete and learn about themselves, learn new skills and build confidence.
"I've been teaching for 12 years at the academy but in the last 10 years, the kid's programme has really taken off. We see kids from across Liverpool and from all over, we often have kids travelling from Manchester to visit us."
Dad Paul McDonald said his son Logan, seven, has been training at the academy for around 18 months and competing since May last year. Having won many tournaments in this country, and even abroad, Logan found himself with a gold medal at the IBJJF in Dublin.
Paul said: "The biggest thing is his confidence has gone up, he went in a little timid boy and he's come out of himself being in that environment, they come on so much. Forget the competing side it's just a great club."
Paul added: "It's a fantastic atmosphere in the gym, he's there every night straight from school, it's great for these kids to have somewhere to go instead of hanging round the streets."
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