“USUALLY, I AM SO TIRED FROM TRAINING THE DAY BEFORE THAT I JUST STAND IN THE MIRROR AND TRY TO MOTIVATE MYSELF BY SMILING AND SAYING ‘JIAYOU!’”
land of The Outlaws of the Marsh, and those legends infused my childhood. I was like a boy; I was really naughty and always running around the countryside. Every weekend, I would watch boxing on television with my dad. I noticed that there were very few Chinese faces in the sport, which made me sad.
I left home and my parents to begin training in weightlifting when I was 11 or 12 years old. At first, my mother was really worried; she still believes that I am short because I stunted my growth with the weights. I am 165 centimeters tall, whereas all of my family members are over 180 centimeters and are giants next to me. When I first saw MMA, I thought back to the boxing I used to watch with my dad as a kid. I was intrigued by how MMA fighting required you to use every part of your body. MMA is not just one thing—it is boxing, muay thai, Brazilian jujitsu, and wrestling all thrown into one.
WHAT IS A NORMAL DAY LIKE FOR YOU?
I normally get informed about an upcoming match about two to three months beforehand. Then,
I start preparing to go to training camp abroad in Bali. The training camp is very intense; I only have Sundays off. I wake up around 6 a.m., but normally, I am so tired from training the day before that I just stand in the mirror and try to motivate myself by smiling and saying “Jiayou (加油)!” I have three or four training sessions every day, and each one lasts between one to two hours.
After my sessions in the evening, I always try to practice English a little. Almost all of my coaches are English-speaking and it is really important to be able to communicate with them. Before going to bed, I write about my day in my diary and read a little from a motivational book. I often end up adopting a lot of stray cats and dogs in Bali. I go to and from my training by motorcycle and I keep animal food inside my vehicle. Whenever I see animals, I just stop and feed them. It’s my favorite hobby.
WHEN YOU AREN’T TRAINING FOR A FIGHT, WHAT DOES YOUR LIFE LOOK LIKE?
I have lived in Beijing for about the last six years and my life is actually quite boring. I go on one jog in the morning and one in the evening. If it’s polluted, I just end up running on a treadmill at home. Sometimes, I might go to a gym and do a little training on my own. I like to go hiking and meet up with friends.
FROM YOUR VICTORIES IN THE ONE CHAMPIONSHIP TO ZHANG WEILI’S VICTORIES IN THE ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP (UFC), WHY DO YOU THINK THAT CHINESE WOMEN ARE MAKING SUCH WAVES IN MMA?
In Chinese history, men always took priority and their social status was always much higher. I think that females are doing so great in MMA because Chinese women have waited so long to find the platform for showing our power.