ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Eleven-year-old Albuquerque athlete Jayla Perkins is getting ready to take her talents to the international stage, as she will represent Team USA at the ICO World Combat Martial Arts Championships in France this October.
For Jayla, the trip is the latest chapter in a journey that started with some tough circumstances, as she was just six weeks old when her family became homeless. For nearly two years, they lived out of their car. “It was cold at night, and we were hungry, and all the things she had to overcome just even as a baby,” Jayla’s mother, Tiani Perkins, said. “I wonder how much of that fight is why she doesn’t quit now.”
Jayla says her past has made her stronger. “Some people might think since I was homeless before and stuff, I might not be strong,” she said. “But I want to show them that I am very strong and I can do anything that I want.”…