Video of 8-year-old's fierce martial arts skill with a sword is wowing people all over again
Jesse-Jane McParland, now 16, has been wowing audiences since she was tiny.

Jesse-Jane McParland wowed everyone at the 2014 World Kickboxing Championships.
Her name is Jesse-Jane McParland, she's from a "wee small Irish town," and she's one of the best martial arts performers in the world.
McParland, who is nicknamed JJ Golden Dragon, holds more than 300 martial arts titles, including 12 European Champion titles and 21 World Champion titles—and she's only 16. She's been called a martial arts prodigy, and a video of her competing in the World Kickboxing Championships in 2014 that has resurfaced shows why. People simply can't get enough of her sword skills and her gumption at such a young age.
"Absolute ledge," wrote @Itsweary, captioning the video, which has been viewed more than 9 million times on Twitter and 11 million times on TikTok. "The ending…"
The ending they're refering to is McParland letting out a primal scream after wowing the audience with her sword routine. It's clear that she gives her all to her sport and people loved seeing such fierceness and discipline in such a small package.
"Here's what I see," wrote one commenter. "A young girl who will grow up with confidence and inner strength. And no man will dominate or control her. She won't settle for anything less than equality and respect."
"Absolutely unbelievable," wrote another. "You know what I liked the most? With all that skill, talent agility dexterity and unbridled fury, she STILL remembered to bow at the end. She will do great in life."
Watch:
\u201cAbsolutely Ledge. The ending...\u201d— N\u0336o\u0336t\u0336 Weary (@N\u0336o\u0336t\u0336 Weary) 1666309623
McParland is from the small town of Armagh in Northern Ireland and she began studying martial arts at age 3. In a 2015 interview, she told Ellen DeGeneres that she had done ballet and Irish dance, and her parents had tried to get her into basketball, but when she saw people doing karate she was hooked. At first, her father said no as he thought karate was too dangerous, but she was able to convince her parents to let her try karate.
She said when her mom asked her why she didn't like ballet and Irish dance, she replied, "Mommy, not every girl dreams of being a little princess."
McParland became a contestant on Britain's Got Talent in 2015 at 9 years old and made it into the finals as the audience's wild card choice. She has since acted in movies and television shows including "Into the Badlands" (2015), "The Martial Arts Kid" (2015) and "Robyn Hoodie" (2017).
According to her Facebook page, McParland is currently recovering from major surgery but will be back to her martial arts moves soon. "Nothing gonna keep me away from what I love!" she wrote. She recently started a TikTok page, and you can follow her @jessejane_mcparland.
Check out her most recent video share, with not one sword, but two:
@jessejane_mcparland #fyp #bluepeter #bluepeterbadge #foryoupage #jessejanemcparland
Go, JJ Golden Dragon, go.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."