Teenage kicks! 17-year-old Edinburgh College student racking up medals in karate
An Edinburgh College student is making waves in the world of competitive karate following a series of impressive results at events across the globe.
17-year-old Maia Ewing, who is studying Developing Sporting Performance, has been practicing karate nearly her entire life, starting at just 3-years-old doing lessons at the karate club run by her dad in Musselburgh. Already a domestic champion in her age group, that lifelong dedication is now turning into serious success at a series of different global competitions.
Maia’s not long back from Sweden, where she earned a gold medal with the Scottish national team at the European Championships, while she’s also fought in the likes of Dubai, Cyprus and Venice in recent months.
She says it’s a hard job balancing karate and studying, but that she manages to make it work:
“I get as much done online as I can, while I’m sitting in my hotel room or in an airport, so that I’m not falling behind. I need to be quite strict with myself, and I think a lot of the discipline you need to succeed in karate is actually really helpful for doing my College work too. My dad is also always on hand to make sure I’m keeping on top of my homework!
“My lecturers are really supportive too, they understand when I need to travel for a competition, and they do what they can to help me with my studies, they’re really great. I think the College makes it quite easy to do both, and I’d tell anyone thinking about getting into competitive sport that they’ll get the backing they need here.”
While Maia one day dreams of representing her country at the Olympics, she’s making sure to set herself up with her studies too:
“I’d love to go to the Olympics, but I’m keeping focused on my day-to-day as well. After I finish my current course, I’m doing a Sports Therapy course, to hopefully become a sports therapist. Maybe one day I’ll compete in karate full-time though, who knows!”
Jamie Parker, Sport & Fitness lecturer, says Maia deserves her success:
“We are all extremely proud of Maia and her accomplishments, with her dedication to both her sport and her studies serving as a great example of what you can achieve if you put in the hard work. We have no doubts she’ll continue to impress and pick up medals as she competes in events.”