A brother and sister duo of kickboxers from Westonaria is continuing to make strides in the sport as they dedicate their time to sharpening their martial arts techniques on the way to the top. Their goal is to get into international kickboxing.
Jannie Barnard, 18, and his younger sister, Jo-anne, 15, have already earned recognition for doing what they do best – fighting! Thus far, they have achieved numerous medals in the various championships they have competed in since they were little.
“My highlight so far was in the Massa World Games which was on 13 October 2016,” said Jannie. “My sister took the first place in the same championships and was crowned the world champion in another category.”
Jannie went on to say that he took the gold medal for continuous contact and a bronze medal for semi contact, while Jo-anne took first place in her category.
On 24 March, Jo-anne made her home-town proud by scoring two gold medals at the Great North One Tournament in Pretoria.
“Between 27 and 29 April, we will be fighting at the South African Championships in Pretoria, and on 5 May, we are going to fight in Lephalale. I am going to be doing Mixed Martial Arts, while my sister will be competing in Shidokan.
“Both of us are aiming to get into the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), so we need to work hard. At the moment I am busy training to get into the Extreme Fighting Championships (EFC). After that, I’ll have to fight even harder to get into the UFC.”
Both Jannie and Jo-anne are trained by Shihan Henk Pelser, a former heavyweight champion.
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