Schoolgirls to represent GB in Kendo championships

Keira and Chloe will represent the senior women's team aged just 16

Two 16-year-old girls who train in Bath have been selected to represent Great Britain at the World Kendo Championships this summer.

Wiltshire student Chloe Leigh and Bath student Keira Dunbar-Whittaker will head to Milan in Italy in July to take part in the Japanese martial art competition.

Both girls train several times a week at a dojo led by husband-and-wife sensei team Yukie Williams and Graham Williams.

Mr Williams told BBC Radio Somerset both girls "had massive potential".

There are currently more than 100 Kendo dojos around the UK, focussing on the ancient Japanese art of sword fighting practised by samurai warriors.

Chloe, who goes to school at Matravers in Westbury and has been training since the age of 11, said she had been drawn to the sport by "the large sticks which were quite amusing to watch".

The ancient art of Kendo is rooted in the practice of samurai warriors

Keira, who has been practising for around two-and-a-half years, said when she started she was "a bit confused because I had no idea what I was doing".

"But then it slowly just fell into place bit by bit and it's definitely something that's really a staple in my life," the Hayesfield Girls School student added.

The pair will be joined at the competition by Bath University student Riku Biscombe, who will represent Great Britain's senior men's team.

"The Bath club is quite strict, very similar to the Japanese way," Mr Williams said.

"We train hard here. People have come and gone, and most of the people here now are very committed to what they do," he added.

Describing the moment she found out she was selected for the team, Keira said she was "so nervous" but it was "an amazing feeling" to be chosen.

Team GB has selected three of its members from a Bath dojo

"It definitely feels like a lot of responsibilities to hold on to because if you're representing your country you obviously don't want to look bad.

"As a team, having that responsibility together is really something that holds us together," she added.

While Chloe and Keira are training hard to win, they both emphasised Kendo's principle of practising for self-improvement.

Describing how his life had been changed by the practice, sensei Mr Williams said: "As an individual I was never fulfilled and I was very faddy - I got quite good at lots of things but Kendo focussed my mind.

"Now I'm content, I'm very respectful, very open-minded, very honest, which wasn't always the case. It's changed me beyond all recognition."