Holly and Martial Arts

My name is Holly and I am part of the receptionist team at Tunbridge Wells Underground Gym!

I have always been very active and involved in many different sports from a young age. The main sport I fell in love with was Taekwondo where, over the years, I was able to achieve my black belt and competed as part of the England Team.

I started Taekwondo at the age of 6 years old as a simple fun hobby to do after school. At 8 years old my coach entered me into my first local competition; I placed first in my category. Immediately after my first competition younger me decided it was very satisfying to punch and kick someone and my love for competing was born!

As I got older, I increased my training and started to take Taekwondo seriously. I started to compete both nationally and internationally where I held the title of #1 British Junior Female fighter for two years. I was fortunate enough to be able to travel many countries across Europe including Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Holland and Bulgaria, competing at all different levels against people from all over the world.

When I gained my Black belt at the age of 16 after 10 years of committed training, I had the opportunity to be put forward for the Taekwondo England trials. Two weeks later, I got the long-awaited email congratulating me on successfully securing a place on the England team as their -59kg Junior Female fighter as well part of both the pattern and power breaking junior female England team, which was a bonus.

I trained up to 16 hours a week in preparation for both the European and World championships whilst studying for both my GCSE’s and A Levels. Although at times it was not smooth sailing and picked a handful of injuries along the way, it was all worth it. To be able to train and compete alongside some very respected fighters and to be trained by world class coaches was an incredible experience. I had achieved my ultimate goal of being able to compete against others who were at the height of their game.

My love of martial arts and fitness is still very relevant to my life and just another reason why I love being part of the Underground Family – both working and working out!

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