KINGSTON WOMAN FIRST CANADIAN TO ACCEPT
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHALLENGE
Kingston woman first Canadian to accept ultimate fight challenge
To battle New Mexico fighter at match in Calgary during weekend
Stephen Petrick - Friday, April 21, 2006 - 08:00
Local Sports -Rebecca Sweeney gets the question all the time: Who would win a fight between her and her husband and fellow martial arts instructor, Mike?
“Well, me of course,” she says without a shred of doubt.
Mike confirms it’s true.
In fact, “It happens every day,” he says. “I’ve learned my place.”
But, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Not many people can beat Rebecca, a dedicated mixed martial arts athlete over the past nine years.
After several successful jiu-jitso and kickboxing tournaments, the
37-year-old Kingstonian will make her debut in the extreme sport of
Ultimate Fighting this weekend.
She’s travelling to Calgary for an event titled King of the Cage and will compete against a fighter from New Mexico as part of the women’s bill.
Mike believes it’s the first ever women’s ultimate fighting event in Canada and Rebecca’s proud to take part.
“I’m hoping this will help woman say, Well if she can do it, why can't I?’ ”
It’s not as crazy a quote as you might think.
Ultimate Fighting has a reputation as a violent sport in which muscle-clad men duke it out inside a steel cage until one’s opponent can’t go on.
But martial artists describe it as a sport that simply challenges a highly-trained athlete’s fitness level and dedication.
“To the average Joe it seems brutal, but this is what we do and we train for it,” says Rebecca. “It not any more brutal than a sport like boxing.”
The sport provides pardon the pun here an ultimate challenge for Rebecca who’s seen her fitness level skyrocket ever since she first stepped foot into Martial Arts Planet nine years ago.
Her daughter had signed up for a class being taught by Mike.
Soon she became interested in doing some kickboxing classes and in no time she was a dedicated athlete practically living there.
“It got to a point where Mike said, Okay, you might as well work in the store,’ ” she says.
Now they’re both instructors in the school and they’ve been married for nearly three years.
And Mike isn’t worried the slightest about how she’ll do in her fighting debut.
She’s as intense and dedicated as any athlete he’s ever seen, so she’ll do fine.
“People ask me all the time if I’m nervous about her fighting and I say, no,’ ” he says.
“This is just another day at the office for her.”
spetrick@kingstonthisweek.com
Printed from www.ktw.ca web site Saturday, April 22, 2006 - © 2006 Osprey Media