My involvement in martial arts came across by chance. I was recovering from a knee reconstruction and needed something to motivate me to get fit and strong again. A martial arts gym 200m from my house is where I began.



Training in mixed fitness classes for a year or so, my interest started to grow at a rapid pace and I started to take a real interest in learning the more technical side of boxing and eventually trying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), it became a healthy addiction. I was never too interested in changing my body – I became much more concerned with working out ways to strengthen, challenge and better myself and in turn, this led me to a swift return to full contact sports and a new sense of self-belief.

For me personally, the benefits of training martial arts go well and truly beyond anything that can be seen physically, and by that I mean how your body responds (i.e. losing fat, gaining muscle) to the stress you choose to place on it. I have always been a very outspoken, confident person but funnily enough, training in martial arts has created a version of myself I would have once thought was impossible.

Not caring about how I look in any sense – my wavy hair usually looks like a bird's nest after (and possibly before) training – very recently I had 3 people at the hairdresser trying to untangle a huge knot encompassing half the hair on my head and I thought I was going to have to cut it off. I rarely wear make-up and sometimes people ask me, “Are you sick?” “Did you sleep last night?” – I am almost always healthy and well-rested, thank you.



Even a close school friend was trying to set me up on a date a few weeks ago and politely said “You do know you’ve got to like, make a bit of an effort” *insert her palm circling motion at me to reflect the embodiment of giving no fucks*. Despite giving you the impression that martial arts has made me filthy in appearance, some of the only things I take pride in is eating, having lots of showers, having an infinite supply of clean washing and deciding what gym outfit I am going to wear (ain’t no staph risk here!).