LIVINGSTON — In a giant garage in Livingston you can find Charlotte Singleton, aka "Lottie", who is 11, and Sophia, who is 14, pushing each other to make their kumite style karate dreams come true.
“Lottie will sometimes make these goofy little faces to make sure if I’m not having the greatest day, make a goofy face and then punch," said Sophia. "I’m like, ‘OK, I’ll train harder.’”
They were donated the big space in order to help them further develop.
“It's actually a really good space and it’s much bigger than the last one we’ve had," said Charlotte. "I’m very glad I got a new place to workout with my sister, my father and my other sisters.”
Both girls are both ranked number one for their age group and are training to be a part of the Junior U.S. National Karate Team this summer. They come from a family of six sisters, but these two are the most competitive.
“We train our other sisters, but me and Lottie, since we’re going for the team, have to train harder and we train every day together just about,” Sophia said."
“It would be very exciting to make the US team with my sister Sophia because we both train really really hard for it," said Charlotte.
Their love for the sport and training together, not only brings out the best in each other on the mat, but also in their relationship.
“Sometimes we can like argue if we’re frustrated, like we’re not doing a drill right or something, we can argue a little a bit," said Charlotte. "Most of the time, we get a long pretty well and it has definitely brought us closer together as sisters."
The sisters are self taught and are now they have started to train other kids their age.
“I’m very hard on them and well, I’m very strict," Charlotte said. "I don’t really like when they goof off and whatever, it kind of gets me a little bit frustrated when they’re not listening. I also really like teaching them new things and I love training kids with my sister Sophia."
Recently, Charlotte has been recognized for her talent, she was in a Puma commercial and now she is set to star in a documentary called Montana Grit, which focuses on her and young Billings Boxing star JoJo Martinez.
“When I found I was going to be in Montana Grit, I was really excited," said Charlotte. "I love training with Jojo Martinez, she’s a really good boxer and training partner.”
Sophia was offered to be in the film, but she likes to go about her business quietly, letting her work in the dojo speak the loudest.
“(Charlotte) likes to show everyone what she’s doing and how much she’s improved, I like to hold back until you just see me there and then,” she said.
Both girls are proud to represent Montana and show that athletes can come from anywhere -- from towns big and small.
“I really try when I go to dojos or when I go to a tournament to really show that I’m from Montana," Sophia said. "I train hard, I work hard and I want to show everyone, just because your from a small place doesn’t mean you can’t work hard.”
