Today we’d like to introduce you to Kia Lola
Kia Lola is a female fighter, participating in Mixed Martial Arts, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu. Ranked a blue belt under UFC’s, Roan Jucao Carneiro, at American Top Team Atlanta, she trains six days a week up to four hours a day depending on how close to a competition she is. Her record is 3-1 in Muay Thai, she’s the 2016 IKF World Champion at lightweight, she has a shelf lined with grappling competition medals and on July 22nd, 2017, she looks forward to making her MMA debut. In a recent interview, we got the opportunity to discuss the psychology of a female fighter as it relates to her unique journey.
Kia – we’d love to hear a bit of your story and how you go involved with MMA.
In humans, aggression has historically served the purpose of survival and social order. On an intrinsic level, I believe this to be the root of my attraction to combat sports as there was once a time where this body and mind were quite feeble. The more I carved each muscle, the stronger I became mentally and the more my confidence flourished.
If we take a look at who I was not but six years ago, we’d see a young college student weighing over 200lbs, socially drinking often to deal with anxiety and so afraid of failure that I avoided trying much of anything new, let alone in the spotlight. A huge part of these issues, I believe, were founded in dealing with domestic violence in youth. I withdrew a great deal by the latter parts of high school and it took a real toll on me throughout.
I feel like I hit a real low point in body image and depression and had to eventually make the decision to completely wither away or pick myself up by the bootstraps. The first step towards healing was by signing up for a judo course at my college. To my sincere surprise, I took to it immediately and the next thing I knew, I was the president of the judo club, cycling to judo practice, weight lifting consistently, cross training at the MPD Boxing Center and, within two years, at my first MMA gym.
If I’m being honest, I wasn’t a prodigy by any means, but the pounds were falling right off of me, muscles were developing, my grades were rising, I rarely ever drank and the sense of isolation had all but disappeared. I was in love with the craft and how deeply it affected me.
In combat sports, you have to commit to the study and the intricacies or you get submitted. You have to put yourself out on a limb in order to truly progress and that analytical mindset infected my day to day life in the best ways possible. No longer was I afraid to speak up to ask a question and no longer was I stuck in being afraid of getting through the learning process. My photography business profited, school benefited, my grades were better than ever and I finally had a body I could feel proud of.
Any sense of victimization I had been carrying prior to shed with the sweat. I felt strength in the face of challenge and conflict, past wounds healed naturally and the less I allowed those around me take advantage of my insecurities.
Nowadays I keep the company of only those of positive moral character who push me intellectually and physically. I train up to six days a week for four hours, spend a great deal of time analyzing any holes in my game, seeking constant growth, all while running my own business and somehow make time for a solid relationship. I rarely find myself sunken in negativity and I truly attribute that to the growth experienced in combat sports as a female fighter. This has been an amazing journey so far and I look forward to where it takes me in the coming years.
Kia Lola is fighting at The Infinite Energy Center on July 22nd and tickets can be purchased at Thundertix under the fighter name Kia Lola.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.KiaLola.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KiaLolaOfficial/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kialola/?hl=en
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