A boy from Chadderton is on a mission to raise enough funds to fulfil his dream of competing at the WKU (World Kickboxing Union) World Championships.
Dacre Bilton, who is a pupil at Yew Tree Community School, qualified for the world championships after finishing first place in Points Fighting and Continuous Fighting at the British WKU championships in May.
The nine-year-old started training at the BMMA (British Military Martial Arts) centre in Middleton aged six and has now been invited to compete with the England squad alongside his friend Dylan Kershaw.
Both boys have set up GoFundMe pages to help raise enough money to pay for kit, travel, and entry costs for the championships that start on October 23 in Cardiff.
Dacre is hoping to raise £1,000 to help make his ‘dream come true and show England what he can do’.
Dacre won gold twice at the British WKU championships.
The duo is set to compete in Points Fighting and Light Contact in the nine-to-12-year-old categories at the championships.
Back when the Covid pandemic hit, Dacre was determined to keep training and attended Zoom sessions ran by the BMMA and also followed YouTube videos.
On his return, once the centre was able to reopen Dacre’s coach Jake Hughes said he had to compete.
Since then, Dacre has won gold in a string of competitions including at the WKKC (World Karate and Kickboxing) championships in England and Scotland.
Dacre with his dad Kyle Bilton after winning gold twice at the Scottish WKKC championships.
In May, he passed his purple stripe belt, which is three away from black belt, with an A* grade.
Discussing Dacre his maternal grandmother Angela Mckenna said: “I’m very proud. Dacre has gone from very shy to so determined.
“His mum took him to the BMMA centre and he just took to it like a duck to water. I don’t know where he gets the strength from. It’s taken over his life, but he still loves football”.
To help Dacre get to the championships visit his GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-fight-for-england
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