Karate kid Darcey Hawkes fighting to the top

The 11-year-old from Amblecote, Stourbridge, has been training since she was three and has won countless medals both nationally and internationally.

Training with both Dudley Shukokai Karate Club and Great Britain's All-Styles Karate Alliance – both under the tutelage of 6 Dan black belt Mandie Read – Darcey has now added several more gongs to her haul.

In two tournaments in Uxbridge and Wales during March, 2 Dan brown belt Darcey won a mixture of medals and trophies and picked up four golds, three silvers and two bronzes.

She is aiming to grade for her black belt later this year and her mother Julie said: "It doesn't become a chore for her. She never moans, even if she does four or five days training a week.

"I'm always proud as punch of her, the whole family is, regardless of whether she comes back with any medals.

"It will get harder for her as she moves up categories – especially when he's up against black belts. Sometimes they fight in belts rather than the age of the child, so she's always had to keep her foot on the pedal and stay one step ahead.

"She went to the world karate championships aged seven and has been on the world circuit since then.

"She's been to Romania and Malta – we've taken her everywhere to compete at a very young age. She's very good and has won plenty of gold medals in tournaments over the years."

Competing in a martial art that utilises punching, kicking and blocking, Karate – as with other sports – is known to give children a good grounding in life and at school.

Although it can be difficult for parents to watch at times – highlighted by a blow Darcey took in Wales recently – Julie also insists that her daughter has a steely determination to succeed.

"Contact-wise it's semi-contact, but she did get a smack to the face in Wales," she added.

"It was probably the worst smack she had. I was filming at the time and dropped my phone.

"She was losing and up against a bigger girl. Darcey has quite a small frame and she was up against a solid, bigger girl because the category was 12 and under – so theoretically you could have a child competing that is one day off their 13th birthday.

"She took a punch to the head but at that age they have to wear head protection and she did come back from it to get a few more points. We didn't think she'd come back, but she just shook her head and carried on. Nothing phases her."

Darcey relies on travelling costs to tournaments through sponsorship and fundraising, as international events can often cost thousands of pounds.

Any local companies interested in sponsoring Darcey can contact Julie on jools.brown@blueyonder.co.uk.