Rebecca tells Awakening, “I first started Muay Thai at the age of 18 (now 26) with the aim of losing weight and ‘toning up’ for my first girls’ holiday. My partner at the time used to do Muay Thai and had trained since he was a junior; he asked me to let him help me (by training with him)… I have been training ever since!
When I first started training, I wasn’t consistent. Some days I would train, others I wouldn’t. I didn’t have much discipline. Then, in 2018, when I graduated from university (before starting to teach), we decided to book a trip to Thailand so training became more regular! We stayed and trained at Superpro Samui and I was obsessed. We’d attend two sessions per day (morning and evening) and do some cross fit in between. This was when I realised how much I loved Muay Thai and exercise ❤️.
Post Thailand, we trained at a couple of different gyms but I never really trained with the intention of fighting; to be honest, I struggled with time, etc. due to work just starting out as a primary school teacher… And then I found Muay Thai Academy BT in Hartlepool. It was funny really, we were at a fight show and Boo walked out with one of his fighters, and my partner at the time pointed out that they were from Hartlepool and said ‘why don’t you message them and give it a go?’ given that it was closer to work. So, I did. And I have never looked back.
I started training with Boo consistently around August time (2019 I think!) and had my first Thai fight in March 2020, winning by unanimous decision. I was absolutely over the moon; it was huge for me as I never thought I’d ever be where I was physically and mentally let alone win! I was set to fight the following weekend and then covid hit and of course, lockdown.
Lockdown had a massive impact on my training/health. I found it really difficult to get back into training, particularly given all of the changes to the rules and being in a professional occupation; I was afraid that if I was ‘caught’ training I’d lose my job! So, I’d say I was in and out for a couple of years until 2022 when I put my all back into Muay Thai and decided to step back into the ring in August. It was the best thing I ever did.
For me, Muay Thai was the one thing I never knew I needed in life. I highly recommend it to everyone who asks.”