Eight-year-old Jesse Jane McParland gives a forms demo at Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center.
Nine-year-old Nassim Faras Lahrizi gives a forms demo at Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center.
Students at Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center were treated to skills exhibitions they won’t soon forget Wednesday when 8-year-old Jesse Jane McParland (aka “The Golden Dragon”) and 9-year-old Nassim Faras Lahrizi (aka “Young Dragon”) stopped by Blanck’s dojo to perform jaw-dropping forms demonstrations. The two karate world champions are starring in the upcoming action movie “The Martial Arts Kid.”
McParland, from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, was making her first visit to Blanck’s studio and trained with some of Blanck’s students before doing a 60-second extreme forms that had everyone clapping. She started in martial arts at the age of 3 and when she was 7 she became the youngest female World Karate Champion ever. She’s already won well over 100 world titles.
Faras Lahrizi, from Brockton, Massachusetts, is a five-time kickboxing and karate world champion who also has well over 100 world titles. He became a Black Belt when he was 5 and his routine was similar to one he gave when he visited Blanck’s studio in December. In March he wowed the audience with his weapons demo on “The Queen Latifah Show” (the episode aired April 10).
You’ll likely be reading about these two amazing karate kids for years to come.
— Steve Galluzzo
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