Her name is Jesse-Jane McParland, she comes from a ‘small Irish town’ and she is one of the best martial arts performers in the world.
McParland, nicknamed JJ Golden Dragon, has more than 300 martial arts titles, including 12 European Championship titles and 21 World Championship titles – and she’s only 16. She’s been called a martial arts prodigy and a video of her battle in the World Kickboxing Championships in 2014 that have resurfaced shows why. People just can’t get enough of her sword skills and her guts at such a young age.
“Absolute ledge,” wrote @Itsweary, captioned the video, which has been viewed more than 9 million times on Twitter and 11 million times on TikTok. “The end…”
The ending they refer to is McParland letting out a primal scream after surprising the audience with her sword routine. It’s obvious she gives her all for her sport and people loved seeing such fierceness and discipline in such a small package.
“This is what I see,” wrote a commenter. “A young girl who will grow up with confidence and inner strength. And no man will dominate or control her. She will not settle for less than equality and respect.”
“Absolutely unbelievable”, wrote another. “You know what I liked the most? With all that skill, talent, dexterity, agility and unbridled rage, she STILL remembered to bow in the end. She’ll do great in life.”
Watch:
McParland is from the small town of Armagh in Northern Ireland and she started studying martial arts when she was 3. In a 2015 interview, she told Ellen DeGeneres that she had done ballet and Irish dance and that her parents had tried to get her into basketball. but when she saw people doing karate, she was hooked. Initially, her father said no because he thought karate was too dangerous, but she was able to convince her parents to let her try karate.
She said that when her mother asked her why she didn’t like ballet and Irish dance, she replied, “Mommy, not every girl dreams of being a little princess.”
McParland entered Britain’s Got Talent in 2015 at the age of 9 and made it to the final as the public’s wildcard choice. Since then, she has starred in films and TV shows, including “Into the Badlands” (2015), “The Martial Arts Kid” (2015) and “Robyn Hoodie” (2017).
According to her Facebook page, McParland is currently recovering from major surgery, but will soon return to her martial arts. “Nothing can keep me away from what I love!” she wrote. She recently started a TikTok page and you can follow her @jessejane_mcparland.
Watch her most recent video share, featuring not one sword, but two:
Go, JJ Golden Dragon, go.