Ronda Rousey
- Allan Tsai
- Feb 9, 2017
- 3 min read
Today, I will talk about another inspirational individual - Ronda Rousey.
Ronda Rousey is one of my favorite female athletes ever and most people know her as the UFC fighter who can submit her opponents in seconds. She has only lost two matches, in her whole career, but there is more to her story.
When Ronda was little, she had a speech impediment called apraxia. Apraxia is a motor speech disorder and people who have apraxia have problems saying sounds, syllables and words. Here's the full definition by asha.org:
It took Ronda until around age 6 until she could finally "speak". She started fighting and overcoming obstacles the minute she was born.
At age 8, her father committed suicide and, for any kid, its hard to lose a parent at such a young age. This was also around the time when Ronda started her passion for judo, which later turned into a passion for mixed martial arts.
At a young age, she started entering tournaments and it progressed to competing in the Olympics. She was a rising star in her childhood.
Fast forward to around 2011 and her story gets more inspiring.
She wanted to be a UFC fighter. However, back then, the UFC consisted of male fighters only.
Ronda Rousey went to Dana White, president of the UFC, to talk about women fighting in the octagon. White said no because he didn't want to see women fight.
Dana White continued to see Ronda Rousey training, along with her hard work ethic and determination. He changed his mind and decided to give women the chance to fight in the UFC.
2 years later, women were able to compete in the UFC and it all started with Ronda Rousey. Ronda Rousey opened the doors for women in the UFC. It's a great reminder to women everywhere that you can be who you want to be - even something in a male-dominated field. It's 2017 and we need to continue to break the gender norms that society has because everyone should be given the chance to be who they want to be, male or female.
Rousey's career in the UFC is, arguably, unmatched. She only lost 2 matches. I'll be honest; the matches where she lost were the most heartbreaking to watch but it was a valuable reminder to everyone, including me, that we are all human. We have good days, bad days and imperfections. That's the reality of being human. Being imperfect and/or having a bad day can happen to anyone including the world's greatest.
After the fight, she was reasonably upset. I mean I would too if I was in her shoes. It wasn't long after until she appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show to talk about her loss. Here's the interview down below:
Credit to theEllenShow
I think the most standout part of the interview was towards the end when she revealed having suicidal thoughts (due to her loss). Mental health is no joke and it can happen to anyone. For Ronda to open up herself and her story to so many people dealing with the same struggle, it is just truly inspirational. I commend her for doing that.
All in all, Ronda Rousey is not just a great athlete but a truly inspiring person. Her story and journey is one of my favorites to revisit all the time. If you haven't yet, you should consider buying her book My Fight, Your Fight and read up on her life.
I want to end this post with one of Ronda Rousey's best quotes:“I never would have been able to do any of those things without hope. The kind of hope I’m talking about is the belief that something good will come. That everything you’re going through and everything you’ve gone through will be worth the struggles and frustrations. The kind of hope I’m talking about is a deep belief that the world can be changed, that the impossible is possible.”
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[ Note: This story is taken from my list of inspirational people. If you are new to my blog, please see the post Copyright and Fair Use to learn more about the policies and opportunities Origins has.]