At the beginning of November, Ruth Pilborough-Skinner,a Sixth Form student at The Royal Masonic School for Girls in Rickmansworth , became U18 Full Contact World Champion at the Combined World Kickboxing Championships in Tuscany, Italy. Fighting in the under 70kg division, Ruth secured her Gold medal with a first round ‘technical knock-out’ or TKO. Part of the WKA England team, Ruth is a member of Dunstable kickboxing club Templar Martial Arts and one of 5 young members who went to the World Championships which is the biggest martial arts event in the world. Together, they brought home 7 medals.
The World Kickboxing Championship was Ruth’s first 4-day competition and this brought with it some unique challenges for her.
“It was extremely stressful as I did not know what day I was competing and psyching myself up for the competition was near impossible, as normally I do it right before the fight. However, we didn’t know when this would be. It is vital to be in the right mental state for the competition and this is just as important as preparing physically.”
During the competition, Ruth first competed in the light contact category and injured herself during that fight. Although she did manage to win the full contact competition which followed, it was difficult altering her techniques so she did not further injure her leg.
Ruth’s kickboxing career began when she was just 5 years old and her father’s support has been crucial to her success.
“I started kickboxing when I was 5, as I had quickly discovered ballet wasn’t for me and my dad was a kickboxing instructor. Minus a gap when I broke my leg, I have been kickboxing ever since. Last year I successfully tried out for the England squad and throughout this year have had the challenging task of balancing training with school work. I also train with my dad at my local club and, when I won, he was bursting with pride.”
Her goals for the future?
“Soon I will be competing in the 18-35 category which will be much harder. Unfortunately, you won’t be seeing me at the Olympics as kickboxing is not currently an Olympic sport. However, I am part of a group that is trying to change this.” So who knows? Maybe someday Ruth will be competing for the ultimate reward, an Olympic Gold.
Ruth is applying to study nursing next year after completing her A Levels and hopes to attend Leeds University, who are very active in kickboxing competitions.