grade for a project on what she wanted to be when she grew up, Melissa said she wanted to be an Olympian. Melissa is aiming for the 2024 Olympics in Paris and hopefully also the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. She noted it takes a lot of hard work to get to the Olympics, more than other sports as Judo is popular around the world, not just in select countries, and thus she is competing with people from around the world. As an example, Melissa shared that there might be 5-6 other girls in her division in a tournament in the US, but when she went to Paris for a tournament she had 43 other girls to compete against. Melissa is grateful for the women she does get to train with, because they are awesome, but she does end up training with a lot of men, and "fun fact, men and women are different and they fight differently, so a guy who is my same size same weight is not going to be the same as fighting a woman my weight. I learn something every day ... I am still climbing up every time, that's the biggest thing that gets me through practice. Even on hard days I know I've gained something." Melissa shared that, despite being a female in a male-dominated sport, she has not felt singled out too much, but mainly because she's been doing it since she was so little. She acknowledged that other women have struggled, noting for example that getting women in the door is very difficult because they see it as a masculine sport. Melissa does not know if it's society or something that says women can't be fireballs and beating the crap out of each other, and she wishes she had a good answer for women get in the door of Judo as it's hard. Melissa is aggressive at practice, but has never really fought in anger - she fights with a purpose of, "I I want to do the technique, I want to pay tribute to the sport, to what I've been learning, I never want to go out there and just hurt someone." She thinks a lot of women see MMA and assume that's all what "this" is - just be brutal - but at least where she trains, "we teach you how to fall first, we teach you the basics and then you just build from there. I think people get intimidated that they'll be thrown to the wolves to fend for themselves, but no, we start you off small and you work your way on up."
graduated from the University of Iowa in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in human physiology and then moved to New York specifically to train with {lost name}, an Olympic coach in 2019, away from her family, living basically by herself - right at the start of the pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Melissa trained with the same group everyday, in their own bubble, and this practice led her technique through the roof - she was very grateful to have this space to keep practicing, as she would have gone crazy if she couldn't practice or do something.
and massage which is really good for your body and overall wellness without having to take ibuprofen everyday" and feels that she will be very marketable to other athletes. She will not be quitting Judo cold turkey after she competes in the Olympics. Melissa does not see herself trying. togo for the 2032 Olympics, but she loves competing and putting her hands on new people. Melissa noted they have divisions for people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s; when she says Judo is a lifelong sport, she means it is a lifelong sport. She has seen people do it until they cannot do it anymore, and that is who Melissa is - Judo will always be a part of her life, she will definitely continue to train no matter what. Melissa is grateful for her job at the massage therapy clinic, so that once she completes her studies, "I can start attracting the clients I want to work with - I really enjoy working with athletes and also people who are a bit older who want to stay fit but feel like they don't deserve a good massage, I'm like no, it's so important for you, it's not just going to be like a spa day where I just touch you, I'm going to get into the nitty gritty to make sure you can keep competing. That's what I want, I want to keep doing stuff until my body says no."
places before New York, that she'd picked up a lot of bad habits along the way. Now she has to relearn everything, and likens it to relearning how to walk, which has been a point of frustration for her. Melissa shared that the last tournament she competed in, in Ecuador, was not a good tournament for her personally. But she showed up to practice as soon as she got back in the US, "I was like I have things to work on until the next one. I think that's what separates a lot of people who want to be champions from the ones that want to be winners. You are going to lose a lot, I have lost many many times, I have cried in the bathroom many times over my performance because I know I'm better than that. That's what keeps me going back, I know I can improve on this I just have to grind it out. But I've also had amazing tournaments, like getting the gold medal the results should be the end all be all but .... So usually I have to take the losses and learn from them."
has been working to build the Moxxi company and keep expanding it, and notes that Leslie is competitive in that sense." "You're never going to have a perfect workday, you're never going to have a perfect practice, you just have to, those are just the days you have to get through, find positives in other aspects. That's half the battle with everything, the mental part of it. Sometimes that barrier comes up and just hits you."
Moxxi Women's Foundation Quarter 4 grant that paid for a full tournament. When asked about her diet, she noted "I've actually been doing a vegan diet for the last 9 months and I have felt awesome. But I think it kind of evens out, meat is more expensive now. But I have to go to the store more often to get more fruits and vegetables. I'm not perfect, I'll still buy the processed vegan stuff. Sometimes I find time to meal prep and stuff, sometimes I eat at work, a lot of caffeine. Even though my schedule is hectic and crazy and I have to be super disciplined it's what I want to do. So I'm enjoying it. When people say I don't have time for this and that, if you really want it you will make time and effort for it. That's what people have to remember, it's not going to just fall into your lap, you have to put in the work. You just have to remember why you're doing it, because you want to feel good."
huge, because if you go from 0 to 100 you are probably going to fall down, that happened to me a while ago, I was training so hard I went to this really big tournament in Paris that maybe I wasn't really ready for and I lost in the first round and it hurt. But I was like take a step back, and there's nothing wrong with taking a step back to make sure you have a good foundation. If I was to tell people who wanted to progress, follow the progression as it should be." Melissa feels everything can be a learning experience. "We go to these smaller tournaments in CT and Boston and New Jersey, and I try to go to each one treating it like the grand championships, this will be super important to my training process and my learning, because I'll probably fight someone I haven't fought before and I'll learning something. I'm constantly in communication with my coach, here's my game plan for this particular person, here's my performance review for how I think I did, just try to be active in all aspects of the competition experience. As soon as you start treating something small as insignificant that will set you back. Just because it's a smaller tournament and it won't be as big doesn't mean it won't be as important." Melissa was glad to do this interview, and ended by saying "Hopefully it inspires at least one person to say this is a big goal of mine and I hope to get it." WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW If You would like to help the Moxxi Women's Foundation Celebrate Ambitious Women who are the champions of their own story, or are interested in becoming a non profit member, please click the link below. Donate Today!!
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