MY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP JOURNEY

ARRIVAL

After two months of rigorous training, I felt mentally prepared, I was on weight, and felt good. In fact I would say I felt the best I had felt for any competition. However, my excitement took a hit when, the day after I landed in Fort Worth Texas for the World Championships, my chest started hurting, and I developed a runny nose.

Despite the onset of symptoms, I pushed through. I was here to compete, and nothing was going to deter me. Ignoring the encroaching illness, I continued gearing up for my first fight. For the most part this involved, staying relaxed (both physically and mentally) this meant lots of leisurely walks and long naps, there are some perks to being a competitive athlete.

FIGHT PREPARATION

My first match was scheduled for November 17th against the Czech Republic. A few days prior, we had a training session on the Lei Tai, the raised platform for all Sanda matches. Although my chest felt like it was on fire during the session and worsened the next day, I soldiered on, focusing on mental preparation and rest. I knew I was sick and pushed this from my mind. Apart from having a cold I genuinely felt fantastic, a mean lean fighting machine, ready for action. Fighting is 90percent a mental battle. Even before stepping onto the Lei Tai you have to be mentally prepared, this is not an aggressive state but more of a relaxed one. After years of training my body knows what to do, my battle was staying calm so I could save all my energy and be able adjust to the ever changing nature of a fight.

DAY OF THE FIGHT

Luckily, on the day of the fight, I felt good. Weighing in at 79.8kg for the under 80kg category, I was mentally engaged and physically loose. My sole goal was to showcase my skills without fixating on a specific outcome.

I remember walking up to the Lei Tai for the fight, feeling the usual butterflies getting mentally prepared for what was to come, then I remember looking at my opponent and smiling. This wasn’t meant to be intimidating, I just felt comfortable, ready to go… it felt good to step on the platform.

THE FIGHT

Fighting is an unparalleled experience. Stepping into the ring against another highly trained martial artist, testing skills, feeling the nerves, and experiencing the exhilaration – it's incomparable. Despite my cold-induced fatigue in the last 30 seconds leading to some mistakes, I was very happy with my performance. I demonstrated years of training against a formidable opponent and showcased my Sanda skills. I am one of the very few Sanda athletes to win an international bout let alone showcase all the skills involved in Sanda, so overall I was chuffed with my performance.

Here's the link to watch the fight

Watch my fight here! (you will notice when my cold kicks in it’s when the announcer kindly announces ‘he’s gassed’ and then when I collapse on the floor ha ha)

BLESSING IN DISGUISE

The next morning, I was properly unwell, my chest on fire. Disregarding my condition once again, I rested in preparation for my next fight against Turkmenistan in the afternoon. Despite feeling worse as the day progressed, I made weight, had breakfast, and rested in my room.

At around 10 am, my teammate received a text notifying us of my imminent fight; we had the timing wrong. Realizing I had only about 10 minutes to get ready, warm up, and fight, coupled with my deteriorating health, I made the tough decision to forfeit my place in the competition. It was disappointing not to compete, especially since I believed I could have medaled, but such is life. Despite the setback, my first World Championships provided invaluable experiences and learning opportunities which have both enhanced my martial skills and my coaching

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!

I would like to thank everyone who helped me both with financing the trip and training me! This includes everyone who gave money to my go fund me page, parents and students that helped Kitty with classes when I was away, my coach Meysam for putting me through hell and getting me ready for the match and Nick for running the team GB workshops and being in my corner for the fight.

I am very grateful for everyones support and I am excited to see what the future holds for Sanda Kickboxing in the UK!

I look forward to seeing you all in class!