So something happened! I took part in, and won, a boxing match recently.

Let’s rewind.. back to March.

Life got pretty shit! There was loads happening and when I say it got shit, it really did. I had no idea what was going on. I tried everything to escape how I was feeling and what I was going through; went on a trip to Rhodes (which you can read about here: Rhodes Refresh) as well as going on late night drives everyday, going out, staying in bed, seeing friends, avoiding friends, you name it, I tried it, and it didn’t make me feel that much better. Anyway back to boxing, I saw an ad whilst scrolling on Facebook about ten weeks of boxing training and thought hmm, I could actually quite do with punching some stuff right now, and that it might make me feel better.. what’s the worst that could happen? I went along to the signup session and sat quietly listening to the information and without much hesitiation, filled out the form and started training two days later.

The rest is history! The training was intense, I had lots of ups and downs, and there were times when I wasn’t sure if I’d made the right or wrong decision. The first time I got punched in the face I was ready to run a mile! I picked up more training and before I knew it was up to four training sessions a week. They were gruelling, I would be dripping wet by the end of session and absolutely knackered, but loved how I felt at the same time. It was different, it was painful but I had released so much emotion and energy into the sessions that I came out feeling on top of the world most of the time!

Before I knew it, it was matchup day and I met my opponent, we had some photos taken and had a quick high-five just to let eachother know we were all good. Secretly, deep down. I was even more worried after meeting her and thought I didn’t stand a chance. That’s when my coach said to me that it’s all about what’s in my head. He and I both knew I was physically strong enough to do 3x 2min rounds in the ring, but it was going to be my head that got in the way. The next three days weren’t about shadow boxing or keeping my fitness up or going running or anything else, it was about telling myself that I can do it. So I did.

Fight Day came quicker than expected! Ten weeks on, it was the 15th June and I was getting ready to leave to prepare for my first fight. I had never been more nervous in my life. I was so rady to go, I arrived at the venue for around 3pm, looked at the fight card and I was fighting at around 8pm. So I now had about five hours to kill, with my coach telling me to stay off my feet as much as possible (what!!). I was pacing and walking up and down stairs and in and outside, I was all over the places just trying to calm my nerves. He told me that I’d burn all my energy and I needed to conserve it, so I eventually listened until my family and friends arrived and I started wandering around again. I was buzzing by this time.

Walkout time had finally arrived and this is where it got real. I spent some time in the training room doing a warmup before hand which got me a bit more excited and got the adrenaline pumping but before I could even imagine what was going to happen, my ringwalk song had started and I was on my way to the ring. Let me tell you, that it felt like the longest walk in the world! First round opened up and about 30 seconds in I knocked my opponent to the floor, I was exhausted after the first round and everyone had told me that no matter how much training and sparring you do, the 2minutes in the ring feels like forever, they were not wrong. I had a minute rest in between and then it was round two. Another knockdown to my opponent about 10 seconds to go. By the end of round two I had finally found a second wind but the referee had called it as my opponent was deemed unfit to continue. It was here when I first realised I’d won. What on earth!! I had won! I genuinely still to this day can’t relive it properly as it still feels like such an insane blur, but having my hand held up winner was something else.

Genuinely, hand on heart, never thought I had this much courage. And never thought I’d find something I’m so passionate about too. I haven’t stopped boxing since my fight. I took a few weeks off and went on holiday and ate loads of rubbish food as a bit of a reward, but got back to three sessions a week pretty swiftly as I knew how much it calmed my brain and how much it helped me regulate my emotions. Even though I took a break that I chose, I really missed how it made me feel for the two weeks I was away. My coach is asking when I’m going to be fighting again and I said it definitely wouldn’t be anytime soon but that I would love to get back in the ring again one day. I’ll bring you all along for the ride.. Mads x