2013 Review

With January already being nearly over I am well behind with this blog post and pretty much everything on my to do list but Christmas was hectic and things have been a little more difficult for me in the last couple of months combined with the addition of a mischievous puppy into the household...I have got very behind!  I did so much in 2013 that I thought a Facebook status would not be enough for me to sum up the incredible year I had so I thought I'd be better off reviewing it in a blog post.  This was something I wanted to do because although it has all happened and a lot of people know what I have done and achieved I actually have to remind myself sometimes, especially when things are tough, that I am capable of doing great things.  In life it can be so easy to focus in on the negatives and forget to celebrate the positive achievements we make and one of my aims for the rest of 2014 is to remember and be grateful for what I have and what I have achieved rather than what I struggle with.

At the beginning of 2013 I could not have imagined how things would have turned out, all the wonderful experiences I have had, the incredible people I have met and of course all the things I have achieved.  The year as well has not been without its challenges or difficulties but in life you have to expect these things and carry on regardless as much as possible.  

Fighting in the Clash of the Titans

In terms of kickboxing I had a fantastic year.  There were the usual obstacles and barriers including injury and 6 weeks of illness at the beginning of year but in spite of this I started off 2013 well winning WKC National Championships and WAKO British Championships and getting a bronze medal in the Irish Open.  I also participated in the Clash of the Titans fight show in Huddersfield, a full contact event where I fought and defeated a taekwondo world champion.  I love events like this and will always fight when my coach asks me to but if I'm honest I was feeling tired and ready for a break after all the intense training in the run up to Ireland combined with being ill.  However I am glad I pushed through and did it as after I fought I felt incredible.  It was awesome to be part of such an event packed with great fighting and atmosphere.

Winning my third world title in Italy

Other competitions I won later on in 2013 included the BCKA National Championships, my interclub competion.  I also won the FSK British Open and beat another world champion in NWCKB's fight night toward the end of the year.  But the biggest thing was winning my third world title in Italy in October.  Just prior to starting training I had been suffering with retrocalcaneal bursitis and I had to modify training to see if it would heal on its own.  Unfortunately I needed to have an injection and this meant again more modifications to training, it wasn't the ideal start to training but then again I have come to accept that things are never ideal!  The conditions in Italy weren't exactly ideal either and I think a lot of people struggled with them but considering I always have to contend with the competition environment things felt almost impossible in Italy but I got through it and retained my world title.

Disabled Sports Person of the Year

I was lucky to get a lot of help in raising funds to be able to compete and help in my preparations for competitions.  And at the end of the year I won Northants Sports Disabled Sports Person of the Year and was given a Martial Arts Illustrated Hall of Fame award.  Two incredible accolades I was proud to receive.

2013 was also the year in which I began to run my own business.  I qualified at the end of 2012 in sport and remedial massage therapy.  This has been a source of much frustration and a very steep learning curve.  I never expected running a business to be easy and I did know that my additional difficulties would not make this easier but one of the things that I have learnt indefinitely is that I am very good at what I am good at and anything else I'm just terrible at!  The challenge for 2014 is to find a way to be able to concentrate more on just what I am good at with strategy for what I struggle with.  I wouldn't say that I was failing or that things were going slower than expected, I feel that I have achieved a lot more than a lot of people just setting up a business would just not in my business.  Sometimes the frustration has got the better of me but stepping back from the situation and looking at it again I can see that the experience is one that is helping me to grow and develop as a person.  I'm not somebody who just gives up, I am a person who will find a way to succeed.

One of the worst moments of 2013 for me was losing Becks the family dog I grew up with.  Becks was more than a dog to me, he was my best friend and he was so important to me growing up.  I was absolutely crushed and devastated as much as I had been expecting this eventuality.  That dog gave me more than he could ever have possibly known.  He can never be replaced and I will always always miss him.


In November my husband and I gained another nephew, Harvey Jai.  We were a little surprised when my sister in law told us we were to be an uncle and aunt but were pleased to finally meet Harvey on the 13th November.  We now have a niece and nephew to spoil and play with.  We were lucky enough to go on holiday with my brother in law, his girlfriend and our niece to Mablethorpe.  We haven't been on a non-kickboxing related holiday since our honeymoon, so it was really nice to be away and just chill out especially to spend some time with our niece Aimee.

With Anna Kennedy

As I said at the start of this blog post I have been fortunate to meet some amazing people and do some amazing things.  I have spoke several times in London, been to the House of Commons twice and much more.  It all started back in April when I found Anna Kennedy on twitter, we exchanged a few tweets, she put my story on her website and asked me to speak at Autism's Got Talent in May.  I had never spoken to an audience of that size but that didn't put me off.  It was a fantastic experience to be part of and I was truly overwhelmed by the response to my speech.  Not long afterwards Anna Kennedy contacted me again and asked if I could speak as part of Autism's Got Talent at the Autism Show where she asked me to be a patron for her charity Anna Kennedy Online.  It was truly an honour and great responsibility to be asked to fill a position such as this and I was happy to accept.  Becoming a patron for Anna Kennedy Online has been one of the proudest moments of my life.

From there I continued speaking at local schools, I like to speak to the children about their goals and achievements and one of my real highlights of the year was when at a school one little girl who had been having a tough time told me that when she was older she wanted to be like me.  I have had a few people tell me before they would like to fight like me but this was the first time I could remember someone say they wanted to be like me, it was very special and really touched me to have made such an impact on someone.

It wasn't long before Anna Kennedy was calling me again, we had a trip to the House of Commons for an event on women in sport and Positive Image.  Here we met Victoria Pendleton.  Then later on in the year Anna put on her own event at the House of Commons to present the findings of her survey into autism and diagnosis.  I had put together a comic on autism awareness which was also launched here.  At this event I spoke about my own experiences based on a speech I had given at Anna's Autism's Got Talent Roadshow in November.

Speaking at Autism's Got Talent Roadshow

Meeting Victoria Pendleton at the House of Commons

Speaking at the House of Commons

Speaking at House of Commons

With Anna Kennedy at AGT

My 2013 was packed full of some amazing things I never thought I would do as well as some tough times such as losing my dog.  But in spite of the bad things and as fantastic as the good things I did were what I was most important to me was that I ended 2013 certainly richer in good friends.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdMwWAf5alE - Autism's Got Talent Roadshow speech
www.joredman.com/
www.annakennedyonline.com

Some photos by So Shoot Me -
https://www.facebook.com/soshootmeportraitphotography?fref=ts