In preparation for my last fight, my training was pushed up a notch further than it ever had been before. This involved doing a lot more clinching than usual. Clinching is probably my favourite part of training and something I really, really enjoy. I feel as though I learn something Read more
It’s taken me much longer than I’d planned to write this post. I promised to get this one up after a fight I had in June, since that particular fight highlighted some problems for me. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time: “I didn’t seem myself for the Read more
I’ve never seemed to suffer from nerves before a fight. At least, not outwardly. People have often commented on how calm I appear, even moments before going into the ring. Mentally, I don’t usually feel nervous. My body, on the other hand, seems to feel otherwise. Every fight day without Read more
Last week, I wrote a post called ‘Kicking Banana Trees‘, which described how my gym took me to Petchaburi and unexpectedly had me kick some banana trees down. Assaulting plants wasn’t the only thing that we got up to on that day. On our way down to Petchaburi, we stopped Read more
I’m always so happy to get more women into the gym. For a long time, I was the only woman training here long-term, until Katy turned up last year. You can read more about Katy and what her presence in the gym has meant for both of us in The Read more
Last Friday, my gym’s owner approached me at the end of training to ask if I wanted to go to Hua Hin with him that day as it was my day off work. Hua Hin is a beach town a couple of hours away, and since I never get a Read more
Being 5ft 2″ and 50kg, I am almost always the smallest person at the gym and up until quite recently, was the only woman at the gym for the majority of the time. This means that I’m usually sparring with someone bigger than me. This is really great for me Read more
For a long time, I was the only woman who trained regularly at my gym. I love training with guys all the time, but there is something to be said for the value of another female presence. Whenever I see another woman in the gym, I get excited at the Read more
This week, Natasha Sky published an article on her blog about her experiences of training and fighting while on her period. I’m glad that she did, because I’ve often thought that it was an issue that was worth writing about. I also particularly like the way that Natasha was totally up-front Read more
Today, I had one of those sparring sessions where I got so frustrated that I started crying. I wasn’t hurt or upset, and I didn’t have to stop training. Tears just seemed to come out of nowhere as I drew breath in between rounds. This has happened to me several Read more