Michelle Wilson makes a splash at national martial arts championships

MICHELLE Wilson has gone from karate kid to martial arts master as the first South Australian woman to win three consecutive national titles.

FROM karate kid to martial arts master, she's the first SA woman to win three consecutive national titles.

Michelle Wilson will travel to Germany in September to compete further and is eyeing off the Karate World Championships in Paris late next year.

Starting out in the sport at the age of eight, Ms Wilson began competing aged 12 and first represented Australia when she was 14.

"I was playing a lot of other sports and my mum got me into karate for self-defence," she said after her win at the 37th Australian Karate Federation National Titles on the Sunshine Coast earlier this month.

Her coach, Matt Johnson, says she's a leader for women in karate, inspiring a new generation of young charges as the sport's national and state team captain.

"We don't have any senior females in SA but we've got a good group of females coming up," Ms Wilson said.

"There wasn't anyone (female) for me at their age. It was a male-dominated sport."

Ms Wilson is nearing the end of her career and plans to coach. But her next goal is the 2012 World Championships.