Mother, Educator, Activist, and Unstoppable
Mary's story is about beating the odds from a poor upbringing to having one of the longest successful boxing careers. Starting in 2000 winning her first world champion in 2002 first and her last in 2018. At 37, Mary has qualified for the 2021 Olympics. She is the mother of three boys, twins in 2007, and another boy in 2013.
Mary was born in rural Manipur in India in a poor family of tenant farmers; she dropped out of high school and was inspired by fellow Manipur resident Dingko Singh to pursue boxing after he won gold at Bangkok Asian Games in 1998. Mary left home to study at Sports Academy in the state capital Imphal.
Mary kept her boxing a secret father as he was concerned that boxing would hurt Kom's face and spoil her chances of marriage. However, he learned of it when Kom's photo appeared in a newspaper after she won the state boxing championship in 2000
Mary founded her own academy, the MC Mary Kom Boxing Academy in her home state, to encourage and help thousands of young talented boxers in achieving their dreams in boxing. She gives free training to numerous underprivileged girls since 2007
Mary is a huge supporter of animal rights campaigns.
About her Sport
Mary Kom, six times World Amateur Boxing champion, only female boxer to have won a medal in each of the first seven World Championships. The only boxer (male or female) to win eight World Championship medals. Bronze medal winner 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the flyweight (51 kg) category. Gold medal in the Asian Games in 2014 at Incheon, South Korea. Gold medalist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Ranked number 1 female light-flyweight by the International Boxing Association (amateur).
In her own words
"I do not only rely on my technique or strength but also on my mind."
"In sportsperson's life, pressure is always there; you have to learn to deal with it."
"A country like India has a lot of potential. My life is my message-Nothing is Impossible."
"If I, being a mother of two, can win a medal, so can you all. Take me as an example and don't give up."
"All progress takes place outside the comfort zone"
My Take Away - What We Can Learn From Mary
The key takeaway for me is the balance between physical and mental, and Mary shows us we need to all need to balance both of these things in life to be successful.
Dealing with pressure comes with following your dreams and can increase as you are successful, so learning to deal with pressure is an essential part of success.
As if we do not learn to deal with pressure, we limit our potential; as Mary says, "all progress takes place outside the comfort zone." So the question is, how do you feel good about being outside your comfort zone.
For me, the most significant turning point in dealing with pressure was the book the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. The premise of this work is all about mindfulness and only focusing on the now.
Being fully absorbed in the now, enjoying it, and doing your best. And if we can stop focusing on the past or worrying about the future, we free up our lives to enjoy our lives so much more and, in doing so, can achieve so much more as we lose the limitations of fear and distraction. We become free of pressure, as we live in the now.
Mindfulness is not something you just become great at in one day, as the mind always races, but it is a long-life practice that I believe delivers greater benefits every day.
"Not overconfidence, but confidence is what makes me, it comes from inside you" Mary Kom.
Follow Mary at https://www.facebook.com/MCMaryKomofficial/