Can kickboxing be considered as kickboxing or is it excessive simplification?

It's more or less that, although there are many variants. The kickboxing covers all the punches of boxing and then there are three types of kicks: low kick, which are given below the waist; middle kick, which are played on the trunk; and high kick, which go to the head. There are different modalities, each with its own nuances. For example, in the K-1 mode you can also touch the kneeling. Muai thai would be another sport where you can also use elbows. In short, kickboxing is a sport created by the union of disciplines such as boxing and karate.

Since when are you on kickboxing?

I started six or seven years ago. As a kid, I played soccer and karate, and then for several years, I just played soccer. I felt the need for change in college and they talked to me about kickboxing. I decided to run the test, but I had no intention of competing. I thought it was a very active sport. I was surprised. At first I trained a couple of days a week, and gradually the coach started talking to me about the possibility of competing. We now conduct five weekly training sessions, from Monday to Friday.

Competing can awaken passion, but it requires more engagement, right?

Everything: you have to make a great disciplinary effort. It can be silly, but you have to give up a lot of things. The season is all year round, so you must stay pretty stable. It's still a hobby, but it just stops being a hobby. Training, rest, feeding… You have to take many things into account and it is essential to have discipline.

Football, karate, athletics -- the thing is sports.

I've always lived naturally doing sports every day. It's fundamental to me. I have a hard time saying that, but the truth is that I do not imagine myself without sport. I couldn't leave it out of my routine. I have internalized important values in general thanks to sport, and I would say that kickboxing is what has taught me the most. It gives him a lot of humility to fight body to body with another person. I would also refer to energy, needed to start competing.

Play football at Intxaurdi. What memories do you have of that time?

I have very good memories. Football has always loved it. We played in the courtyard of the school and we acted to the limit. Once came the aunt of a friend telling us she was playing on a female team and recommended that we do the test. I always acted as a defense: at first on the left and then on the middle. I would spend about six years playing football.

When the time came, the body started asking for something else.

I felt the need to change and once I left football, I made such a transition. I spent more time running and working in the gym. But I didn't do it myself. I felt the need to do something in the group. That's when I got the opportunity to try kickboxing and I was drawn from day one. The way to train is very fun.

You only go up to the table of fights, but from what you said, kickboxing is also collective.

Absolutely, and that is what I most appreciate. It is an individual sport, as the goal of training is to improve oneself. However, the group dynamics that are created are spectacular. When you travel somewhere comes the whole team and those of us who compete always try to support and help us. The friendly atmosphere created is very nice.

What characteristics do you need to be good at kickboxing?

At first you must work the physical characteristics and technique. But then you realize the importance of the mind. It's not enough to be strong. You have to be prepared to train every day, and that requires being strong mental.

How are workouts usually?

I have guided classes from Monday to Friday with coach Borja Mendioroz, within the Kuraia group. After the warm-up exercises we worked the technique with hands and legs. We also make sparring to get into this stressful fighting situation. On Fridays we fight with people from other gyms or we do physics. Competitions are always held on weekends.

In the fights they release the background, but also mentions the “stress”. For example, it is very important to analyze what the adversary can do at all times and decide what the next movement should be.

Yeah, but for me, the moments before I got up to the ring are the worst. You see, on the contrary, you know it and it starts to turn in your head: “to see how I am”, “to see what day the adversary has”… Emotionally that is the hardest moment. Once you're up in the ring, time stops. You don't even listen to people. Only the voice of the trainer at the corner comes. You enter a very deep concentration situation and the nervousness disappears.

They say there are aggressive people in this kind of sports. It's a widespread belief. Do you really have it?

This vision is changing a lot. I've met very interesting people because of this sport, which doesn't match that aggressive person profile. Classes are increasingly multitudinous and you see fighters of different ages: some start from very young and there are also mature people. In the classes we meet people with different profiles, and that's also pretty.

What is the atmosphere and attitude of the combatants?

I would emphasize humility. There's one thing I really liked from the beginning: we have a very intense physical competition, but then we hugged each other at the end of the fight. Even if you're your competitors, you value people a lot. In class, we learn some techniques and movements, and then we try to put it into practice over the ring. There's competition, but it also creates a kind of connection inside the ring.

Would you consider it a dangerous sport?

Being a contact sport, there is always a risk of pain. I've never had serious injuries, but it can happen. That is what we are all aware of. However, the risk of neurological injury is much lower than that of professional boxing. In the amateurs we have three rounds of two minutes and in the professional battles three rounds of three minutes. In other words, fighting is much shorter than boxing.

Have you had any problems being a woman and fighting?

I would say no. I have never felt excluded or insulted. We have more and more women training. I understand that twenty years ago the situation was going to be completely different, but since I began we have had no obstacle. The number of women has increased considerably. I used to train yes, but many did not participate in competitions. Now, however, more and more women are competing and I think we are improving.

You fight less than 52 kilos. Do you have to look a lot at the weight?

It's a very important variable if you want to compete. My natural weight is there, so I don't need big drops to compete. I take the weight issue well. Yeah, all year round he asks you to watch some details. It's not just a diet, you have to lead a healthy life in general. The key is to find balance. I live it naturally. Sometimes it is more difficult, for example, there are championships that last four days, where we have to weigh each morning to ensure that every day we are going to compete on the same weight.

Globally, there is no joint kick boxing federation. Does that confuse things?

The best known or most official is WAKO (Association of Kickboxing Federations of the World). For example, the Spanish Championship is organised by WACO, and the international championships in which we participate are also included. The good thing is that they do a lot of things. You can compete all year round. On the one hand there are the official championships, the World Championships, the European Championships… and on the other, the so-called “Open” or “Cup”.

Last year he was a Turkish Open champion. You've shown that you're able to compete as the best.

I was very pleased because it was the first international championship to compete inside WAKO. I had four battles for three days: the first two I had Turkish rivals, in semi-finals I fought one Kazakhstan and in the end another Turkish. They were intense struggles and it was hard, but I had very good sensations. It is the best result I have obtained so far. Far from home is harder, you feel more stress, but it was a very enriching experience.

What are the challenges facing the future?

Step by step. At the end of March we will hold a tournament in Amsterdam, and that is where I am looking. Beyond that, I would like to continue to compete with professional standards. So far I have made two fights with these rules, and for me it is a new motivation. It's a big change. I want to see how far I can go. I also like amateur competitions, and my intention is to work both lines.

What is the difference between professional and amateur rules?

The main difference is in the protectors: in the amateurs we use helmet and tibial protection, but there are no in the professionals and the gloves are smaller. Not being protected, the pace is very different. Think better about blows. The struggles are longer and have more strategic accent. In every way, it's harder. But it attracts me a lot.

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DAMBA

Punch or kick?

I really like boxing bumps, but also kicks.

Force or technique?

Balance is the key. I am stronger than technical.

How many fights you won G.C. by And you miss it?

A lot of benefits not, a couple. And for now don't miss any. However, I know the choice is there, it's part of the game.

Preferably with or without protection?

No, I find it thinner.

Better in ring or cage?

The cage has its charm, but the ring has a strong meaning for us.

An idol in the world of sport?

Janet Todd and Rose Namajunas.

An adversary?

Zeliha Dogan, the Turkish who won me at the end of the Turkish Open. It was very strong and had many technical resources.

Listen to a song before you fight?

In my professional fights I've had so far I've come out with the song Ladra from the IRA group.

The best menu for after the fight?

Burger and beer.

If you weren't on kickboxing, what sport would you do?

Some very physical sport like CrossFita.