MORE than a dozen youngsters are ready to unleash their own brand of hip hop and karate on the world.

Members of Oxford School of Martial Arts' Team Taurus have been combining attack moves with spectacular dancing in a bid to become world class performance artistes.

The squad of 15 four to 13-year-olds have trained behind closed doors for two-and-a-half years at venues across the area.

They have recently added hip hop dance moves to a repertoire that includes tae kwon do, kung fu, breakdancing and gym- nastics.

Now organisers feel the team is ready to perform at its first public event at Aviators Health Club, Kidlington, on Saturday, December 8.

Martial arts instructor Mary Stevens said: "It isn't perfect yet but it is good - the start of something amazing. As a martial arts school you can have children standing in a row punching or you can have something funkier.

"We've always felt there's a strong link between martial arts and dance. They do some spectacular work with weaponry, some very cool gymnastics and there is a diving section where they all dive over each other. It is split-second timing.

"The eventual aim is to have a world class performance team."

The team train at the health club for seven hours a week and at home to perfect their moves.

"The idea is to pick kids with talent and work with them so that in a few years we have got something fantastic," Ms Stevens said. "The kids love it and they're so disciplined with their training.

"It's great for their confidence. They are really developing some good performance skills. It isn't just about kicking and punching; it's a lot more than that.

"We've had such fantastic feedback. We've had people walking past and coming in and saying: 'That is fantastic'.

"These kids are all very special but we want them to be world renowned."