Our family fights A LOT.

No, not that kind of fight. Well, sometimes, but not as much as this kind!

I never said kickboxing was pretty!

Kickboxing, or sparring, as we call it in the dojo, is a big part of my and Courtney’s karate training. While we do get sparring time in our regular karate classes, it’s great to be able to practice at home. Enter my husband, Greg. For me, sparring someone who is bigger and stronger than I am is what is going to make me better. I’m not going to improve if I’m always fighting someone who’s not very aggressive; which is the case sometimes in class. Naturally, when I am sparring guys, they do have to hold back. If they didn’t, I’d go through the wall! When I spar with Greg, he does hold back of course, but not as much as the dudes in karate class. That’s why sparring Greg has been so incredibly helpful for me. When I go back to class, I’m more prepared for what those guys may give me!
Would you believe me if I told you that almost a year ago when I was a green belt and fairly new at sparring, I got kicked in the eye……by a man!!!!!!! THAT SH** HURT!!! (Pardon me!) I saw a bright flash of light, yelled “Oh my God!”, tore off my head-gear and kneeled down on the mat before getting up to check out the damage and get some ice. Needless to say, I was out of commission the rest of class. I didn’t let that incident stop me from getting “back in the ring”, so to speak. It is a fact that when you spar, you’re gonna get hit, sometimes HARD, and you ain’t gonna block all of ‘em. You’ve just gotta suck it up, shake it off and move past it.

Better keep your hands up, she’s ready!

I wish you guys could see Courtney spar! The boys have nothing on her! Having her dad to practice with helps a lot. She is very aggressive and, I swear, she never seems to get tired! How does she do it???????

I told you she was aggressive!

Mini me and me….mixing it up!

Oh, and if you’re wondering who that is that signed her helmet, it’s Joe Lewis. I love this picture of the two of them. She got to meet him when she was a green belt at one of his seminars in 2011….on her 8th birthday!

Courtney with the late Joe Lewis