Three of a kind!

Daughters Caitlin (left) and Mia O’Connor strike a pose alongside their father, Pat.

Martial Arts: IN sporting families, it’s usually sons and daughters who follow in their parents’ footsteps.

The O’Connor clan, from Hathershaw, is different. While Mia and younger sibling Caitlin were being put through their paces at Karma Ju-Jitsu Club, dad Pat was left on the sidelines, watching their every move. It was the classic Dad Taxi scenario played out in many households throughout the country.

“I was just sitting there twiddling my thumbs,” said Pat. “It was always my intention for the girls to do martial arts and they soon got into it. But after a while I thought I might as well give it a go, and they love it that dad gets involved.”

Five years have gone by since Mia (14) and Caitlin (12) made their first move into martial arts.

Having risen through the ranks, they clinched their junior black belt grading at the World Ju-Jitsu Federation headquarters in Liverpool. Not be outdone, dad Pat was awarded his first-dan black belt — all three achieving their marks in the space of seven days.

The club, under the guidance of seventh dan black belt Mike Widdall, has two bases in Oldham.

Alongside dad, the sisters train on Wednesdays and Fridays at the Hebron Street venue in Heyside alongside up to 40 other youngsters, while Pat attends a class on Mondays.

Pat added: “Mia only weighs about eight and a half stone, but she is strong and has good technique. She can throw me and I’m 17 stones! They think it’s great when I’m teaching the youngsters and I ask one of them to come over to do a demonstration.”

With the junior black belts safely tied up, Pat, Mia and Caitlin have switched their attention to weapons training. Pat is now working towards second-dan level.