Empowered by Ronda Rousey
How I was empowered by Ronda rousey. It is impossible to deny that our lives are shaped by a multitude of influences and people in our lives. Some are people we are lucky enough to interact with everyday and others are someone we have admired from a distance.
When I think about all the people who have inspired me in my life and especially as I have embarked on my martial arts journey. The first name that comes to mind is Ronda Rousey. She is known as one of best female fighters in the world and was the first U.S. woman to win a medal for Judo in the 2008 Olympic Games. She later became a top Women’s Bantamweight fighter (which refers to UFC’s female fighters 135 lbs and under). Also going on to dominate the WWE and on multiple occasions has won the ESPY’s Award for Best Female Athlete. Throughout her illustrious career. Ronda has consistently been an inspiration for everybody, both inside and outside the ring.
WHO IS RONDA ROUSEY?
Ronda began her life as a fighter, she was born on the 1st February in 1987 and was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Causing her to suffer from a condition called apraxia (making her unable to talk for 6 years). Then when she was 8, her father took his life from constant pain due to a spinal injury from a sledding accident. Later on in her teenage years, she endured a lot of bullying at school. No matter what she went through, she remained strong and confident. But due all this her mum took action and started to train her in judo. Where she had instant success, leading the way to empower the people and the world around her.
One of the things I admire about Ronda is today we live in a world that is full of judgment and body shaming. This is so evident in the media industry. I can relate to this as I had deal with body shaming from a young age from one of my own family members and barely ate because of this growing up. This is a horrible idealism of telling young girls they’re not skinny enough and all that matters is how they look on the outside, but not who they are on the inside. Ronda once revealed she suffered from bulimia, and for years, she would hide it from her friends and family. Rousey explained that she ended her bulimic ways, because of help from her boyfriend, her fighting and her desire to be an inspiration to female athletes worldwide.
HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE STARTING IN THE UFC
One of the biggest challenges she faced when training for the UFC was she had to overcome her body issues. And learn to embrace her body type, instead of hating it. She went on to say in an interview. “I grew up as an athlete doing judo, so I didn’t really have a conventional, feminine body type. I grew up thinking that because my body type was uncommon (athletic) it was a bad thing. “Now that I’m older, I’ve really begun to realise that I’m really proud that my body has developed for a purpose and not just to be looked at.”
This is an extremely powerful mindset to have, showing future athletes, younger generations. And anyone who has experienced an eating disorder. The importance of having a positive body image, eating healthy and showing they can be their own hero. They didn’t need to be a certain weight to be classified as beautiful. Who could not be empowered by Ronda Rousey.
Let’s Dive Into The Powerful Traits That Make Ronda Rousey My True Inspiration
UNDENIABLE WORK ETHICS
As a world-class martial artist , Rhonda trains anywhere from 2 to 3 training sessions per day. She discussed her motivation behind her training regime with Training Magazine. No matter the weather or how she feels she knows that consistency in your training is key. This is something I wholeheartedly agree with and I like to bring this mentality into my training as well. She once stated the following:
“There’s no point in training if you’re not having fun. I think I need to be mentally engaged and that’s what makes me want to train longer. And it keeps it interesting. The trick is to make it an enjoyable experience and then motivation is easy to come by. And I really mean that. Embrace the training, because it hurts and don’t make excuses. I’ve done some great workouts in a hotel room, at the beach, in the gym. You can always do something. Come at it like, ‘What am I doing today?–I’m pumped!’ There’s no routine really.”
SHE DOES NOT LET NAYSAYERS WIN ( Empowered by Ronda Rousey)
Due to the fact that Ronda Rousey has been technically training since she was a young girl. She’s had to endure her fair share of rivals and critics over the years. She has quoted saying. “When I was in school, martial arts made you a dork, and I became self-conscious that I was too masculine. I was a 16-year-old girl with ringworm and cauliflower ears. People made fun of my arms and called me “Miss Man.” It wasn’t until I got older that I realised: These people are idiots. I’m fabulous.”
As she got older and became more and more successful in her martial arts pursuits. She appears to have a new, refreshing view towards her critics. She said, in one of her pre-fight interviews with UFC.
“I’m not out to go and make 20,000-50,000 new friends. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to further my career. And if that involves accumulating some critics, they don’t know me. They take a few fragments of information that they get about me. They make some sort of judgment about my character without even knowing me. And if someone that I’ll never meet is making a wrong judgment about me from very little information. That’s not really my problem at all. So I don’t really feel that bad about it.”
Regardless if you going through your martial arts or life’s journey there is always going to be someone out there. Telling you that you’re not going to make it. I have come across this many times. But I have learnt to use this as motivation to prove them wrong and not let them hold me back. As I like to say “Never let someone who is too afraid of chasing their own dreams, talk you out of chasing yours”.
SHE IS PASSIONATE MARTIAL ARTIST
Due to the fact that she’s been training nearly her whole life. She always continues to improve, adjusting her techniques and learning new skills. In order to stay on top. I myself feel the same that I continuously want to keep improving and learn new skills. In order to become a more well rounded martial arts practitioner.
This is another statement she has made over the years.
“I want to be the undisputed, best pound-for-pound woman in the world in MMA, and I want to do it while looking good and being entertaining. I want to bring women’s MMA up to be just as respected as the men’s. And I feel that if there’s something you want to get done, you gotta do it yourself. I can’t trust anybody else to do it for me, and I’m willing to put the work in and be that person.”
SHE ACCEPTS HER WEAKNESSES (Empowered by Ronda Rousey)
A lot of people either love her or hate her, Ronda has never shied away from being straightforward and bluntly honest with everything she has gone through. I feel she is judged so quickly just because of the media speculation.. You will find she has spoken openly about her struggles with bulimia, being homeless, and fear of losing fights. One of her quotes states:
“People say to me all the time, ‘You have no fear,’” she told Esquire in a 2012 interview, “I tell them, ‘No, that’s not true. I’m scared all the time. You have to have fear in order to have courage. I’m a courageous person because I’m a scared person.’”
CONFIDENT AND TRUE TO HERSELF
As the decades have gone by, more and more people are just now starting to take ownership of their self-confidence. And as the saying goes “confidence is key to your success”. Ronda has been known to have a somewhat polarising viewpoint. She makes no apologies for her confidence, and has never been afraid to let her true self shine through. She once said, in an article in Fox Sports, “everything I’ve learned from fighting, I’ve been able to apply to my life outside of it. The main lesson I get from it: it taught me to be brave, and it taught me to value myself.”
Also in another interview when asks what she thought when people were saying she was arrogant. She responded in the most beautiful way saying “Why is self confidence arrogant? Why is self-depreciation considered modesty? I worked my ass off to be able to have a high opinion of myself,” Ronda said. “It took a long time and many, many years, and I’m never going to let anyone tell me that I should think less of myself.”
MORE THAN JUST A FIGHTER (Empowered by Ronda Rousey)
Rhonda rousey loves spending time, raising awareness and donating to charities that mean a lot to her. One of her favourite charities is called “Don’t throw up, Throw down” and donated $5,000 to this great cause and also has been raising awareness in mental health. Rousey is the true essence of what it means to fight “like a girl.” Showing that no matter what obstacles get in your way, as long as you don’t give up then you will succeed.
Rousey has even co-wrote her autobiography my fight/your fight with her sports journalist sister Maria Burns-Ortiz. Which delves into her journey from early childhood and entering in the UFC arena. And I have just finished her incredible 2nd autobiography called Our Fight which is about overcoming obstacles, challenges, defeat and how she rebuilt her life into something better in the aftermath. This clearly is a true inspiration of how not to give up even when giving up is all you want to do.
Also she is mum to her daughter La’akea Makalapuaokalanipo Browne. As a mother myself it is important to teach your kids to have that never give up attitude and if they put the work in. They will capable of achieving anything they put their heart and mind into. Never letting anyone to stop you from being who you are meant to be. I have loved training in martial arts with my sons and watching them transform into these incredible men.
EMPOWERED BY RONDA ROUSEY A TRUE HERO
So when I look at a true hero and inspiration not only in my life but also in my martial arts journey. Ronda Rousey to me is empowerment, a symbol of strength, determination, and resilience for millions of women around the world . Despite relentless criticism and the obstacles she encountered, her determination inspires not only athletes but also all those who fight against adversity, who refuse to be defined by the limitations imposed by society today.
To me Ronda has shown incredible courage and strength. Making her in my eyes a true pioneer, a visionary who paves the way for a next generation of strong and confident women. She shows the world that nothing is impossible for those who dare to chase their dreams. And reminding us that we all have the power to overcome obstacles and become the heroes of our own stories, even when others’ gazes are filled with judgment.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/sports/ronda-rousey-womens-inspiration-role-model