AFTER less than a year of training, 10 years old Marie Day from North Tawton has become British Muay Thai boxing champion in the 33-35 kg class of her age group.

She trains with the Chaos Muay Thai fitness centre based at Fatherford Farm, Okehampton. She gained the South West champion title in August, then the England and now the British title.

A pupil of North Tawton Primary School, Marie took her kit and the three big belts in to show the rest of the school.

Her coaches are Steve Pender and his partner Christi Brereton, incidentally a former pupil of North Tawton Primary School.

Christi (20) and a Muay Thai and Fitness instructor at the gym, rose back to the top with a unanimous points win against Grace Spicer to take the World Boxing Council Associated Muay Thai National title, and marked Grace's unblemished record of 10 wins 0 losses .

Younger team mate Chantelle Tippett, aged 12, who trains with Christi, is making waves in Europe.

She is already the current junior British and European champion at her weight and age. She recently sealed a sponsorship from Martial Art equipment brand Sandee for her talent. Chantelle won the World Junior title on November 10 with a grudgematch against Lithuanian gold medalist Dominyka Sriubiskyte.

Both girls had already met in Latvia in May this year, Chantelle losing out on the gold medal against Dominyka.

This time Chantelle was determined to win this title with the pressure on home soil and crowd support. After an entertaining fight from both girls, Chantelle fell to her knees with joy when she heard her name called out as the winner!

Winning the British title, Marie defeated the current title holder with a strong performance. A shy girl out of the boxing ring, Marie showed to be the more dominant Thai boxer with her strength. 

To have achieved this level in less than a year of training has made Marie's parents and school unbelievably proud of her .

The achievements of Christi, Marie and Chantelle represents months of dedication and training. This is a ring sport, not to be confused with disciplines such as karate or judo.

For further information on the Chaos Muay Thai fitness and competition training centre, please telephone 07811 552 906 or follow their progress on the Facebook group page.