Kickboxer Dylan misses out on world title by the finest of margins

A young kickbox from Middleton just missed out on gold when he made it to the final of the World Kickboxing Union Championships in Cardiff – only a year after taking up the sport.

Ten-year-old Dylan Kershaw and his American opponent were neck-and-neck at the end of the technique-testing points fighting final, prompting a minute’s overtime that saw a distraught Dylan miss out by a hair’s breadth.

The Elmwood Primary School pupil launched a £1,000 fundraising quest earlier this year so he could compete at the championships, eventually collecting £1,030, including several donations from his school community.

Dylan’s dad Gaz said: “I’m very proud of him. The final was two, 2-minute rounds and at the end they were pegged at 11 points all.

“Dylan just lost out by a couple of points in that last minute. It was very intense to watch, and he was heartbroken, he really wanted to win it.”

Competitors of all ages from 30 countries descended on the championships and Dylan, who competes in the minus-25 kilo, under-11s category - the sport’s lightest division - used the money he raised to pay for his training regime, travel, kit, and entry costs.

He competed in two categories – points fighting and continuous fighting, finishing in third place for the latter. Points fighting focuses on technique and sees the referee stop the contest and re-set the fighters with each point that is scored, while in continuous fighting points are awarded as the duel is ongoing in the same way as boxers are scored.

 

 

The youngster qualified for the world championships after finishing second in his points fighting and continuous fighting categories at the WKU British Open Championships in May.

Blue-belt Dylan trains at the British Military Martial Arts (BMMA) centre in Altrincham four times-a-week, following in the footsteps of his older brother Harley, 13.

He’s now gearing up for the English Open Championships in Birmingham next month, when he’ll be taking part in the minus-25 kilo, under-11s continuous fighting and points fighting categories, and moving up a weight division to minus-28 kilos for the kickboxing in a ring category.

Dad Gaz adds: “At minus-28 kilos and just turned 10, he’s going to be the youngest, smallest, lightest contestant, so it will be a real toughening up exercise, but we’ll see how he gets on, it will be good experience.”

In the meantime, Dylan will continue his training under the watchful eye of his coach and dad Gaz, and he’ll be cheered on in his exploits by mum Donna, brother Harley and younger sister Scarlet, seven, who has taken up gymnastics after deciding kickboxing wasn’t for her.