Aylesbury athlete is representing Great Britain in the Kungfu World Championships
The 9th World Kungfu Championships will take place in August in China
Ashleigh Wykes, from Aylesbury, is flying to Chengdu, China, to compete in this year’s international event.
Ashleigh has been training for over 10 years, and she recently qualified for the GB Competition Squad.
She said: “I’m very excited for the competition. I've competed in many national events in the UK, and I've done some European ones, but none in such a high level.
“And I think the fact that it's in China is just so much more special because it’s the birthplace of Shaolin Kung Fu.
“Also, there's 13 athletes going. So, as well as just taking part in the competition, it’s going to be a really great team event and trip. I'm looking forward to both parts!”
This will be Ashleigh’s biggest event to date, and she will be competing in the Imitation Styles and Long Weapons categories.
Ashleigh says that she is very grateful for the opportunity, especially because the last World Championships was in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She added: “These competitions don't come around too often. And as I was approaching the level to compete in this one, the pandemic hit. That put a big kibosh on a lot of competitions.”
“So, I’m so grateful to participate this year. It's always been an aspiration of mine, and it’s just really been great timing of being ready for it.”
Ashleigh has set up a fundraiser to help her meet the competition costs, including travel, equipment, and training costs, as there is rarely any funding available in Kungfu.
She said: “Kungfu is an underrepresented sport in the UK. There are not many athletes and there's not many organisations that offer those pathways. So, there isn't any funding.
“All the athletes involved with this have paid quite a lot of money for their coaching, for their equipment, for travel. And unfortunately, it's just a substantial cost to go to China on top of paying for your training as well.
“And I thought it would be a good idea to ask my friends, family and everyone who is out there, to support me in this competition.”
Ashleigh hopes to raise £2000, but she is happy with any support given.
She added: “It’s been a lifelong dream to do something like this, and any support, however small, would be amazing.”