A little girl from Barrow has proved her skills as a martial artist and secured a place on the team that will represent England.

At just eight years old, Brook-Li Yung has been selected as part of the squad who will compete in Karate at a national level.

The Japanese martial art has over a hundred years of history, and sees students train in two different aspects, the set routines known as ‘Kata’ as well as the fighting and sparring which is called ‘Kumite’.

The Year Three student from Chetwynde Primary School attended a trial where she demonstrated her abilities in front of three times Karate World Champion Christine Pullan.

On Friday June 14, the school said a ‘huge congratulations’ to Brook-Li, for making it into the Kanzen Karate England Squad.

At her first grading she skipped over an Orange belt and went straight to Red belt. She has since graded two more times, first achieving a Green belt and now a Purple.

Over the course of her weekly training sessions at Barrow Budokan, Brook-Li’s Senseis noticed the promise in her abilities.

After seeing Brook-Li progress, her teacher Sensei Derek Shields and his daughter Sensei Natalie Woodburn asked if she would like to attend trials for the England squad.

At the trial, Brook-Li successfully won herself a position of both the Kata and Kumite karate squads and will enter her first national competition in September.

Selections were ‘tough’ but Brook-Li will continue to train hard and work towards her goal of scoring an invitation to the World Championships in Sweden in 2025.