Kickboxing twins, 13, avoid fighting each other

Mimi (left) and Mila Tyler have competed in Thailand and Canada in Muay Thai

A pair of champion 13-year-old kickboxing twins said they compete in different weight categories to avoid fighting each another.

Mimi and Mila Tyler from Lowestoft are trained by their father Bin Tyler at the Muay Thai gym he runs in the Suffolk town.

They have recently returned from winning gold representing England at the World Muay Thai Federation (WMF) championships in Thailand.

Mila said the trip was "scary, but it was fun", while her sister added: "I was so nervous but with most fights I’m nervous."

Mimi Tyler said it could be hard juggling training and school work

The twins have been training with their father at H̄odr̂āy Muay Thai since they were nine years old.

As well as Thailand, the pair have competed in Canada and will fight in Belgium and Italy later this year.

Mimi said: "We used to do gymnastics and then dad opened the gym and we were like 'why not give it a go' and then we just fell in love with it."

"We fell in love with it the more we did it," Mila added.

Mimi said the pair "used to fight each other" but now "go in different weight categories because we don’t like fighting each other".

Mimi (left) and Mila Tyler train against each other but avoid fighting in competitions

They train four days a week and compete on weekends, but Mila said they were increasingly having to find fights abroad as "not a lot of girls in England" practise Muay Thai.

Mimi said the sport "helps you stick up for yourself" and they have made "loads of friends" through their training.

She said being coached by her father was "nice because you can relate to him".

While Mila said it was "good [and] fun" but added her father could sometimes be "annoying".

They said they would eventually like to compete in the ONE Championship, combat sport events based in Singapore and held in venues across Asia.

Bin Tyler said he "loves" Muay Thai and wanted his twin daughters to get involved

Their father Bin Tyler said his daughters competing in Muay Thai has "blossomed in to something big".

He said seeing them fight in Thailand and Canada were "proud moments".

Despite them being his daughters he said he does not get nervous before they fight.

"I know if they’ve trained hard and put 100% in the gym they’ll be fine in there," he said.