CARLSBAD, CA (KGTV) — There is one thing that attracted 18-year-old David De La Paz to the the sport of kickboxing, and it isn't for the faint of heart.
"Well that is easy, it's the blood," De la Paz says.
10News sports reporter Steve Smith asked him why he picked kickboxing as opposed to traditional boxing. David says at a young age, he was really attracted to the martial arts.
"I've always watched martial art movies like 'Blood Sport,' 'The Kickboxer,' and 'Kickboxer Two' with Jean Claude. It's always been appealing to my eyes to watch the martial arts and stuff like that," De la Paz says.
David has been fighting out of the Carlsbad Kickboxing Club for a little over five years. He's compiled a nice record of 26-4 and is currently ranked number one in the country in his weight division.
"As a junior, I've won the United States title for the International Kickboxing Federation, and I have also won the Freedom Fighter Promotions, which is probably the biggest Muay Thai promotion in all of America," he says.
David just recently took home a gold medal at an international competition in Mexico, as did his teammate, 12-year-old Jazlyn Galindo.
"My mom made me got me into kickboxing, and at first I didn't like it, but after doing it for a while, I started to get the hang of it and like it more," Jazlyn says.
While David and Jazlyn have dreams of turning professional, they both want to represent the United States in the Olympics, if or when kickboxing becomes an Olympic sport.
"If kick boxing or Muay Thai does make it to the Olympics I'll fight my heart out to make it," says De la Paz.
