'I want to make other women feel empowered'

At 16 years old, kickboxer Kaifah Imran has won dozens of World Championship gold medals and holds multiple title belts but now wants to share the feeling with other women by launching her own classes.

"I want to build a safe space for young and older women, [the sport] is not about teaching kicks and punches but it teaches them discipline and respect and builds resilience within them as well," she said.

The teen from Castle Bromwich in Solihull started kickboxing at six, influenced by her sisters and mother.

Balancing school and international competitions, she trains daily but credits her discipline in helping her stay across all her commitments.

"It's quite hard, but my mindset and discipline has taken me this far - juggling school, training every day, the early morning runs to late-night sessions

"It has built my character and that this is who I am," she added.

The young sportswoman said she would be in awe of older women training in her gym when she first started kickboxing classes.

"I wanted to be just like them," Imran said.

With 25 World Championship gold medals under her belt she is now paying that feeling forward to other women with her own women-only classes in Bordesley Green, Birmingham.

"Not every child or woman wants to be a world champion, but they deserve to feel confident within themselves.

"When I started when I was six, watching the older women in my classes, and I wanted to be like them, and now I'm like them.

"You see everybody else grow and want to bring them up with you," she said.

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