This model turned MMA fighter is fitspo and a half

December 8, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

“Slim.”

For Mia Kang, who grew up in Hong Kong, this was the one celebrated body type for ladies.

There was no love for the Tess Holiday body types. There was no using euphemisms like “thick” or “curvy” for larger skeletal structures, lots’ve muscle, or an excess of adipose tissue. The ideal for beauty was the tiny framed, slender, doll bodied pixie chick. And, as a girl with a more American body – taller with broader bones – Mia Kang was a far cry from that. What she was no stranger too, however, was the bullying from kids about it. And this, ultimately would lead her to an eating disorder. Now, while this landed her modeling work almost immediately (and sudden acceptance), Mia found herself instantly disgusted. “All that had changed was a number on a scale,” she said. Despite the compendium of pretty pictures you’ll see from her time as a model, Mia wasn’t happy. Not in the least. Between the starvation and forced regurgitation, she was unhealthy and at the end’ve her tether.

That’s when she made a trip to Thailand… and discovered my favorite hobby.

Muay Thai.

(I dunno if #FighterCrushFriday is a thing, but she’s totes mine, if so.)

Now, this is a chick after my own heart. Because, before I took up MMA, I’d obsessively checked the scale as well. I was only after a number, every morning. What would it say? Was there a number on the square in the loo that rendered me lovable yet? When your weight loss efforts are operating on that mindset, it’s coming from a place of lack. A place of self loathing. But when I found Muay Thai, I found a means that made the ends happen effortlessly. But then, something interesting happened. I went down a dress size, but the scale numbers went up.

It was around that time that I started letting my scale collect cobwebs and dust. And, while it was partly because I knew it couldn’t detect which was fat and which was muscle, there was a bigger reason at play. I didn’t need it anymore. I knew I was fit. I felt like my flesh was titanium fortified. And that mattered more – because my beauty barometer had morphed into something more. Something all encompassing. Sure, I was getting my end goal of fitness. But, suddenly the means to my end was my new end goal. Training was priority. I felt beautiful in that flow state of technically executed fury and rage. My food was fuel to shape my body. And my body was shaped in a way that served the moves I needed to do.

Similarly, through Muay Thai, Mia Kang came to note the same thing.

All the previously perceived “flaws” are more than accepted in her adored sport. They’re celebrated.

They give her a literal leg up on the competition.

“Now, my thick thighs contribute to really strong kicks,” she says.

So, whether it’s Muay Thai or marathoning, find that one form of exercise you love so much, that you love your body for being able to do it. Then, as you progress, get stronger, and improve further, you’ll love your body even more. And, while Kang is now the perfect balance of “slim” and “strong”, she doesn’t care so much about the weight loss. Because she’s lost the only thing she ever needed to: a poor and programmed self image.

So, with that, I’ll ask you:

What’s your sport, gorgeous?