"Take the plunge and just go for it"

Saturday 01 February 2020

A 27-year-old islander who “caught the martial art bug” when she joined a 12-week MMA camp to push herself out of her comfort zone is encouraging others to get involved.

Sport science practitioner Jo Cabot had no experience of martial arts when she signed up for the Rumble on the Rock White Collar MMA training camp early last year.

Having only ever played team sports before, she wanted to “push her comfort and try something new”, while raising funds for Jersey Alzheimer’s association.

Pictured: "It’s such a high" Jo said of being in the cage.

Jo describes the 12-week camp as an “incredible” experience and a bit of “an emotional rollercoaster.”

“The coaches were fantastic and are clearly the best in the island at what they do,” she said.

“It was a really great atmosphere training with the rumble team as there are no egos and just lots of encouragement and jokes. I made new friends and learnt things about myself I never thought I would.”

Pictured: Jo caught the "martial art bug" early on in her training.

When asked what the best part of the experience was, she jokingly answered “getting a boyfriend”, before quickly adding: “The best part of it was stepping in the cage and feeling unbelieving pumped and fierce. I’ve never felt anything like it, it’s such a high being in there!” 

Jo says she caught the “martial art bug” early on in the camp and it soon started occupying her every thought. “It helped discipline my lifestyle with my training, nutrition and rest,” she explained.

Having enjoyed her training and made some good progress, she refused to leave the mat. A year later, she still trains regularly with Brazilian Power Team and has even competed in three Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. 

Pictured: Jo has taken part in three Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments.

So far, she has scored one bronze medal, four silvers and one gold and with competitions lined up in Paris and Rome in February, she is hoping to add to the collection soon.

“I had put in 12 weeks of hard work and had so much fun I didn’t want to lose it,” Jo explained. “I also had started learning skills and realising that if I wanted to master them and keep improving, I couldn’t stop after my first fight.” 

As Rumble on the Rock is still looking for some new White-Collar MMA fighters ahead of their next camp starting on Tuesday, Jo is encouraging any islanders considering to join to take the plunge, especially women.

Pictured: “I think all women should do some sort of combat sport," Jo said.

“The empowerment and self-belief that comes with doing a martial art is incredible,” she said. “I think all women should do some sort of combat sport. It’s amazing for improving confidence as well as the obvious fitness and health benefits.

“If someone had told me a year and a half ago that I would have stepped in a cage to fight and been doing tournaments since I would have thought they were mad. Take the plunge and just go for it! You will not regret it!”