I did it!!! Despite the fear and anxiety I stepped into that ring and fought. It was an extremely intense experience.

my opponent had previous fight experience so that was a very intimidating prospect. But I did well and got a draw!

A couple of short videos of the fight:

https://youtu.be/_bnFQIBMpmQ

https://youtu.be/vz-bK7jOEVM

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First of all I want to thank everyone who has donated. Your support has been absolutely tremendous.

Amazingly you all have all helped my fundraiser page become one of the most successful JustGiving pages in June. Out of thousands of fundraisers, it’s in the top 5%!

I’m deeply grateful to my husband who has supported me throughout this journey, without him I would not been able to put in the hours of training needed.

training over the last 5 weeks has been very challenging

Blood, Sweat and Tears- it may sound cliche but it’s a very accurate description of my experience of training camp

There were moments I questioned why I’m doing this.

Then I reminded myself of where I was when I first started boxing. 

When I started boxing I hated my body. My own body didn’t belong to me. It had been defiled. But also it had betrayed me; why hadn’t it run away from the abusers? It was my body that remembered the trauma, this is where the pain and the terror had been stored. Because my body wasn’t able to escape, like my mind had through dissociating.

When boxing and training in the gym, I would be triggered time after time. The amygdala (the part of the brain responsible for the fight, flight, freeze response) was unable to tell the difference between the normal pain you feel when exercising and the pain I suffered during the trauma. But slowly, week after week, month after month, my brain started to learn that this pain was different, that I was safe. And slowly I started to feel like my body was my body again. And slowly the feeling of powerlessness started to give way, and I started to feel powerful in my body. Boxing and training has been absolutely instrumental to my recovery. 

Here’s a little clip of work on the pads:

https://youtube.com/shorts/NYmplz_EAbU?feature=share

The statistics on sexual violence and child sexual abuse are staggering and there is still not enough support available to both child and adult survivors.

The decision to fundraise for The Survivors Trust is also deeply personal.

The Survivors Trust is the only UK and Ireland-wide umbrella agency for specialist organisations supporting all survivors of rape, sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse. Its core aim is to ensure that society supports all survivors effectively and takes responsibility for ending sexual violence. You can help the Survivors Trust to achieve this.

I have set a very ambitious target, but I hope that with your help we can reach that as it is sorely needed: the charity sector that supports survivors is massively underfunded.

To maximise the amount I'd raise I knew I had to do something REALLY challenging. That is why I signed up for the White Collar Boxing Fight. Twelve months ago I had never touched a pair of boxing gloves, and I was desperately unfit after two babies and long Covid.

Fight camp - the training for the big event - is ten weeks. I am now on week five. It has been gruelling. I often question my own sanity for signing up – surely I will end up with a broken nose or rib! But then I remember why I am doing it, and it makes it all worthwhile.

Thank you so much for your time and your support!