By Emma Oxley
If you had told me a year ago that I would be doing MMA now, I would have laughed in your face. But here I am.
When I started training with Matt I didn’t know what to expect and, in all honesty, I felt I wasn’t ready. It seemed like a momentous task ahead. I was self-conscious and completely unhappy in my own skin after years of comfort eating. I had suffered a lot of trauma in the family (3 bereavements in a matter of months) and my head was in a bad place.
So what motivated me? My brother had booked his wedding and asked me to be his ‘best (wo)man’ and I didn’t want to let him down. Family is important to me so they gave me my motivation. I searched online for private PT sessions so that I wouldn’t have to train in front of anyone else and I found Matt.
When I started I expected to fail … I wanted to do well but I just figured that if I could stick it out for a few months then I could quit as I had done many times before. I just needed to look a bit better for the wedding so I wasn’t an embarrassment to my family.
That’s how I felt, an embarrassment. On top of my weight, I suffer with hypothyroidism which means I have a very slow metabolism, hyper mobility which means I am more susceptible to joint injuries PLUS I have had previous fractures (foot and neck) which have caused me further mobility issues. My quest to look better seemed impossible to achieve.
As I got ready to go to my first session I put on a pair of leggings and a sports bra then stood in front of the mirror and took some photos … then I cried and almost cancelled my session.
I gave my face a wash, put on my t-shirt and left the house. I walked into Matt’s gym and felt out of breath after just the warm up but I kept a brave face on to hide what was going on inside …. Matt passed me a pair of boxing gloves and told me to put them on and I struggled to hide the look of utter shock from my face.
Panic set in as Matt held up the pads and gave me clear instructions what to do, I just expected to be bad at it. Once I started I actually did well and, perhaps more importantly, it was fun. When I finished the session I was quietly confident for the first time in a long time.
In the second session everything ramped up a notch. It was HARD work but I was encouraged by Matt every step of the way, he seemed to know my ability more than I knew my own. By the end of the session I was laid on the floor in what would affectionately come to be known as the post-workout starfish position. I couldn’t wait for the next session. Could this be that I was finally enjoying exercise?! Surely not.
Not even 3 months later (training 2-3 times a week) and I felt I still had a long way to go. My friends and family told me I had lost so much weight but I thought they were just being nice. THEN I took some pictures. I was shocked. The difference was HUGE. In the mirror all I saw was the same fat person, I didn’t see the change. But that was not the person in these pictures. I was actually starting to look (and feel) good!
A few months later I lost my job. I was unemployed for a period of 4 months but I had to keep training.
It kept me sane (my family knew how important training was to me and paid for me to have a session a week to keep me going).
During this time I was feeling down. Matt was not only my trainer but a therapist and a friend too! He would ask me every session how my week had been and listened while I just got it all out, verbally and physically (by striking the pads). This is a time that I can look back on and say I am really proud of myself because, no matter what happened, I just kept going.
I’ve struggled with injuries (tennis elbow) yet Matt has worked the sessions around this and stopped me from doing certain exercises that would aggravate my injury. I have had a few ‘Veruca Salt’ spoiled brat moments where I wanted to just hit the pads hard but Matt knows his stuff and I could not argue with his expertise … I hate to admit it but he is ALWAYS right.
I am now a year down the line and Matt and I have just celebrated our 1 year training anniversary in the best way we know how, with some burpees, striking and roundhouse kicks! It’s amazing how when you find something you love to do, you start to actually NEED it.
I started a new job a few months ago and I work away from Monday to Friday. To bridge the gap I have also been to a few sessions at an MMA training school near my workplace. I went despite being the only woman! Matt looked at the training schools available in the area and helped me narrow down which ones would be most beneficial for me.
I can say in all honesty that there is NO judgement from Matt. If you want to do classes or training elsewhere he actively encourages it. He genuinely wants you to be the best you can be. I now find myself e-mailing him about all sorts of random classes I want to try! Next one?... Kung Fu!
The biggest change has been my attitude towards myself. Matt has such a positive training style, is NEVER critical and that has, in turn, made me a more positive person too. He will always give advice on diet and nutrition and doesn’t berate you when you ‘fall off the wagon’ with your eating habits.
I now find myself actively trying to encourage others to give martial arts a go hoping it will be as beneficial for them as it has been for me and I have got that attitude from an AMAZING trainer.
Am I where I want to be? No way. But as I keep setting myself new goals there’s no way I will stop! Now I train for ME, not for anyone else. Plus, bumping into other clients as you start/leave your sessions, I’ve made some great new friends!
I know I’m not the best at writing things like this, I’m certainly not the next Enid Blyton, but I’ve laid bare some of the struggles I have faced for all to read and if this helps one person then it is worth it. Try the sessions, do your best and don’t cancel … I promise you won’t regret it!
well done
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