Ainsely Walters, Star Writer

SHECKEMA Cuningham's feat of being the first Jamaican female to win a sparring medal at the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) world championships was not by chance.

The 25-year-old is a senior instructor at Future Leaders Eagle Karate, the martial arts school which has produced the most female champions in the country.

Cunningham, along with Jamaica Taekwondo's Alrick Wanliss, both won bronze medals for sparring at last month's ITF world championships in New Zealand.

It was ladies before gentlemen as Cunningham, by virtue of performing before Wanliss, beat her teammate to the historic 'first Jamaican' mark, leaving him to claim the title of first male to win an ITF sparring medal.

A year after joining the female combined martial arts team, Cunningham was competing among the world's best ITF fighters, a fate which Future Leaders helped prepared her for.

Half-WayTree-based Future Leaders Eagle Karate, headed by Sensei Patrick Chang, has a second member on the female combined martial arts team, Danielle Chang, the sensei's daughter, whose sister, Tsitsi, dominated female martial arts locally up to 2006.

aren't afraid to be hit

Cunningham said Future Leaders' girls aren't afraid to be hit, and give as good as they take.

"Martial arts is considered a male sports because of the hitting. Females don't like to be hit. However, the girls at Future Leaders, their minds are blocked against that. It's about giving back, harder than we get," she said, adding that it's all in the mind.

"Once your mind is made up, we girls know it's a rough sport and we will get hit. We train hard and know what we want," she added.

Cunningham, who has been with Future Leaders from 1999 when that school was formed as a breakaway of First Jamaica Zendo, said females make up a half of its complement.

"It's fifty-fifty at the school and when we go to tournaments, Future Leaders has the most females. If a division has 12 females, nine or 11 are from Future Leaders," she pointed out.

Cunningham hopes her historic performance in New Zealand will inspire even more females to get into martial arts.

"Winning that medal, I never realised what it meant until the lady brought the flag to me. I was like, "is this is how Usain and Asafa feel when they're at the Olympics?"

"I felt like crying. It was a really good feeling," she said.

Jason McKay, coach of the female combined team, acknowledged Future Leaders' prowess at churning out top women fighters.

"Apart from Carol Bennett, formerly of World Zendo, there is no other champion female adult fighter of note from another school," he pointed out.

"Taekwondo Jamaica's Tashauna Grannum will fight in the adult division this year and will make some impact, and there are some hopefuls out of World Zendo, plus a barrage from Taekwondo, but Future Leaders are definitely atop things now," he said.