Watch the video of the beauty queen below.
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From being the UK’s youngest karate black belt and someone who broke up bar fights, 20-year-old Tasmin Grainger has swapped out her gi to don a pageant slash instead.
Tasmin, from Winchcombe, Gloucs, said she started learning karate at age four and became a black belt at 10 becoming the youngest female in the UK to achieve that rank. The second-year university student said that her skills were useful against school bullies and rowdy customers when she worked as a barmaid.
However, she has set all that behind her as she prepares to compete for the title of Miss England.
She said: “So many times when I’ve been working in bars, I’ve had to use my karate skills when I’ve felt like I’ve needed to – mainly to dodge punches or use pressure points if someone has grabbed me.
“It makes me feel more confident and I think my dad had that in mind when he got me into it as a kid.
“When I was at school I was bullied for being dyslexic and having really bad eczema – they used to call me ‘ugly,’ ‘diseased’ and ‘stupid.’
“My trainers would say I couldn’t use my karate skills because I wasn’t allowed to outside of training, but I’d be like ‘actually, I can.’
“People were forever telling me I would never be able to reach my black belt but that’s only egged me on because I wanted to prove them wrong.
“It changed my life, you learn discipline, Japanese culture, and the language.”
Tasmin and her dad, Ashley, actually have a karate club and she’s been teaching people aged six to over 60 ever since she was 10.
The 2019 Miss Gloucester winner is set to compete for the Miss England title a second time. The first time, she did it after going through a breakup.
Despite the negative perception of beauty pageants, she defends the contest, saying it changed her life.
Tasmin also owns her skin condition, saying it’s part of her beauty. Her condition affects 80 percent of her body and even caused her to be hospitalized several times.
She said: “I thought I probably wouldn’t get anywhere with the contest but I’d give it a go anyway, it looked like a challenge.
“I never thought I’d be confident enough to get pictured in a bikini and get up on stage and talk to people.
“I would never say I’m beautiful – I had a lot of stick when I became Miss Gloucester, people saying I’m not beautiful and I’m not a size six but that isn’t what it’s about.
“It’s life-changing but you do get the stigma. Whatever you do in life you’re going to get hate for it, so I think it’s prepared me for that.”