MBA's Boxing Supermums
"A mother first at the end of the day."
They are an incredible group of high achievers who are also mothers to young children and teens. We asked MBA's boxing supermums about their journey in masters boxing and how they manage to commit to competition boxing while juggling work and motherhood.
Margot Smith
October 2023
Cruz (1 year old) Xavier ( 9 )
She is known as 'The Hybrid Phoenix' and appears in a separate article in the 2023 Annual dedicated to her sporting achievements. But Margot Smith, who says she is "a mother first at the end of the day", is also a mother of two boys.
Having trained right up to the birth of now 1 year old Cruz, and won both her bouts at August's Oceania Titles, Margot Smith understandably declares, "this will be it for the year". While saying that she wants to be "more present with the kids" she adds that she will "always turn up to the gym" and keep training.
"I'm very task orientated."
Being task orientated helps Margot juggle it all. She wakes up, feeds the kids, goes to training (with Cruz in tow until recently when he became more mobile!), goes to work and is in her own words "always ahead of myself, what my next move is", noting that "during the week it's full on but I can relax on the weekend."
With thanks to Margot Smith for sharing her insights into life as a a boxing supermum.
Betina Daniels
December 2023
Finn (16) Luca (14) Daisy (8) Freddie (5)
Growing up, combat sport was never a part of my life. When I signed up to boxing fitness classes 3 years ago, I never dreamt of being in the ring. But over time, I somehow fell in love with the sport, the fitness and strength required, and the intricate art of moving every part of your body at a high pace. Once I started sparring (which took a lot of encouragement by my coach), the sport ignited a passion and fire in me I didn’t know I had. I have been training in the boxing squad for 2 years now and can’t imagine my life without boxing.
I’m very lucky to have a family who support me on my journey 100% as the many training sessions are often at times that make working as a midwife and running a household quite challenging. It is so easy for a working mother to lose herself in the relentless tasks of raising children, but I want my kids to know that it’s important to also make time to pursue your passion, especially when it can bring so many positive benefits. Boxing has given me so much clarity and peace, which allows me to function better in all aspects of my life.
When you box, you can’t focus on anything but what’s in front of you - no distractions, no thinking, just you and your opponent, the bag or some days your own self.
I am incredibly lucky to have coaches who have supported me from day one and never stopped providing me encouragement throughout this journey, even though a middle-aged mother of 4 may not be the most desirable athlete for a boxing gym!
I initially had very little hope of being able to have a fight, given my age and lack of experience, until I found MBA.
Thanks to everyone who is a part of this organisation, people like me get to achieve their dreams. Whether it’s your second chance at boxing or you’ve never stepped in the ring before, thank you for giving people like me a reason to keep training.
I will be back next year to compete at an MBA event and hope to see more mums like me have a go :)
With thanks to Betina Daniels for writing and sharing this heart-warming story.
Yuki Lindley
November 2023
Having recently retired from the sport after sustaining a bad concussion 10 weeks out from a world title fight (which she understandably says was "very disappointing"), Yuki Lindley gave us an insight into her journey in masters boxing while raising a very young family.
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"I've always trained in martial arts from my mid-twenties."
Yuki found her way into boxing after a bad knee injury but landed on her feet at the Palm Beach Currumbin Boxing Club "under legendary coach Jack Boote" before she took 6 years off. By the time she came back to boxing, she was old enough to join the masters.
Fitness and fight preparation.
When training, Yuki fell into the self-motivated category. She has a gym under her house and said she would do hill sprints (in lieu of jogging) and train 5-6 days a week either at the gym or at home, with sparring most weeks.
Juggling work, fitness, and boxing.
"I won't lie, it put a big strain on my family. We don't have any grandparents around to help with the kids, and my husband is also a fighter and needs to train himself. It means the kids have grown up in boxing gyms and it is tiring for them as they're still so young." She adds though that the family understood the joy she got out of the challenge and were always supportive.
Nothing beats a dedicated coach.
"I always loved sparring and getting in the ring, but it took me a long time to truly understand the art of boxing. Nothing beats a dedicated coach, who will give you the time needed to really understand, footwork, balance, timing, and where the power comes from. As much fun as hitting a bag can be, I found shadow boxing to be the best use of my limited training time, and if done properly with intensity, thought and speed, you can get a massive work out just doing rounds of shadow sparring. I also videoed myself often to see what I needed to fix."
When asked about her experience of boxing with Masters Boxing Australia, Yuki says it was a "short but amazing experience", citing that she mostly trained with and competed against women who were younger than herself, and it was wonderful not to have to "deal with that! lol."
Where to from here? What’s the next challenge?
"To be honest, I have decided to retire from boxing as the strain on the family was too much. If I was going to compete, I'd want to train as hard as I can, and that just became too difficult. Also, I really felt that I've taken enough hits to the head and was happy to retire and spend more time enjoying my kids while they're young and giving more time to all the other areas of my busy life. Uni, work, growing food, raising kids and building community is where my energy is going now."
With thanks to Yuki Lindley for sharing her story, and gratitude for gracing the MBA ring with the skill and boxing prowess that led to her being named "Female Boxer of the Tournament" at the November 2022 Pan Pacific Masters Games Boxing.
Sophia Michaelis
November 2023
Erik (17) Maxwell (15) Jana (13)
Sophia Michaelis is a mother of three and one of MBA's most accomplished fighters, having had a stellar year of masters boxing, culminating in not one but two MBA Championship belts and being named MBA's female Fighter of the Year.
As an addendum to that interview which also appears in the 2023 Annual, we asked Sophia about her role as part of the MBA supermums group. Having always done sport, she says the children are used to it and are supportive. She adds that Max "thinks it's funny that I do boxing and crochet". (After deciding to learn how to crochet, Sophia says she finds it relaxing and has since knitted a blanket, coasters, face washers, chickens, and an egg ...)
And, when her kids were little, Sophia had them respond to her requests with "Yessir, Captain Mum!", but "now they are older they don't want to to say it."
With thanks to Sophia Michaelis for sharing these delightful insights into life as an MBA supermum!
