By John Fullilove, jacksons.tv
Holly Holm currently holds several world welterweight titles and is regarded as the best female welterweight in the world. She has been named Ring Magazine female Fighter of the Year, twice in consecutive years in 2005 and 2006.
jacksons.tv: What type of athletics did you participate in before beginning kickboxing and boxing?
Holly Holm: I always played soccer every year even in high school. I did gymnastics from when I was six to about 13 years old. I did swimming every summer from the age of six to my freshman year in high school. Those were my main sports: soccer, gymnastics and swimming.
jacksons.tv: When you started aerobic kickboxing why did you choose to train with Mr. Winkeljohn?
Holly Holm: One of my friends trained at Winkeljohn’s Kickboxing, she did karate and the aerobics and I told her I really wanted to try it out. I wanted to keep in shape in between soccer seasons so I went with her one night and I was really lucky and blessed to walk into the right gym.
jacksons.tv: What made you want to compete in kickboxing?
Holly Holm: I went to watch some fights that were here in town (Albuquerque). Our teammates were there and I had watched them train but I had never trained in the actual fighting classes, I had just done the aerobics. I thought it was going to be like point sparring but when I realized it was real full contact kick boxing – I thought that looks like fun and I really want to try it. So, I started training and waited until Mr. Winkeljohn decided I was prepared enough for an amateur debut.
jacksons.tv: How different was kickboxing to other sports you had competed in?
Holly Holm: I think the victory is just more exhilarating, it was more a sweet victory. In gymnastics you pretty much compete on your own. There is an overall team score but basically every apparatus your on results in still just you getting your own score. There is self-satisfaction but it still is not the same as getting in there and actually fighting. It’s not just to perform well but there so much more to work on (in fighting). It’s so much more of a mental game. The win is just so much more exhilarating, its addicting.
jacksons.tv: What did if feel like when you won your national amateur kickboxing championship in Kansas City in 2001?
Holly Holm: It was really awesome. It was a re-match of a girl I had to fight in the regionals to get to nationals. We went as 1st and 2nd. I knew she was tough going in. That was also my first re-match that I had ever had. Getting in there was a kind of a mental game. It was definitely a battle. Fighting one night and again the next day was a whole new experience because I had never done that before. It was definitely a payoff to win. That was really awesome.
jacksons.tv: Why did you decide to move to boxing instead of kickboxing?
Holly Holm: We weren’t really getting a lot of fights in kickboxing - no fights at all for amateur kickboxing. Mr. Winkeljohn said we can get you a fight but it’s just going to be boxing and it’s going to be a professional fight. I said, “Once I go professional I have to stay that way, right?” It was kind of nerve racking, but then I thought let’s just do it. If he thinks I’m ready then that’s all I need.
jacksons.tv: Was that a big adjustment for you going straight into boxing?
Holly Holm: No. There were times in practice where he would just have us do boxing to work on our boxing skills or just kicking to work on kickboxing skills. So, it wasn’t like I had never worked on just throwing punches. I needed to work on my boxing anyways because I used to throw way more kicks than punches. I really wasn’t very good at throwing my hands it was only my feet. After a while training boxing, I thought this was good even if I go back to kickboxing. It was good for me just to get in there and fight. That’s really all I wanted to do was just fight. I really didn’t care if it was just boxing or not.
jacksons.tv: You have won multiple world titles and defended those titles – can you describe what it was like when you won your first world title?
Holly Holm: That was awesome. I had never gone more than six rounds. I think I had only gone six rounds twice – no, maybe it was three times. It was right to ten rounds. I had never gone a ten round before so I was actually really nervous. It was for a title. It was against a girl who was a road warrior. She would go everywhere, Terri Blare. She’s tough. I thought, she’s been in there with a lot of these top, top girls, so, I knew she wouldn’t just stop at what I was going to throw at her. I knew it was going to be a really tough fight. The title was really a big deal but it was about the fighter I was facing. Getting over that hump of starting to fight these champions was a big deal.
jacksons.tv: Can you compare boxing and kickboxing – describe the differences and similarities in training and fighting?
Holly Holm: As far as mitt work I’m not throwing any kicks when I’m training just for boxing. It’s actually a lot more tiring throwing kicks, however, just doing boxing mitt work, you arms just get fatigued. They get fatigued because you are just using your arms the whole time. Training in kickboxing you’re using your arms and your legs. I think you might breathe a little harder but you don’t get that same muscle fatigue you do like with just boxing. I think it’s very, very different. Even in training – how far you stand away from your opponent is different. You’re a little closer in boxing because you don’t have to worry about the legs. When I do put on my shin pads just to spar with kickboxing here and there, I find myself remembering – oh yeah, I need a little more space here. I need to start watching out for more, it’s just different.
jacksons.tv: You use movement very effectively in your fights – did that come naturally or have you developed that movement?
Holly Holm: I used just go straight in. Mr. Winkeljohn has definitely worked with me on that. I think moving is natural and I have always liked to move – I don’t like just standing there. I like to be in the fight, move around and really work the best that I can. Definitely, my movement in the ring has all been taught to me by Mr. Winkeljohn.
jacksons.tv: How has your preparation, from a technical perspective, changed for your fights from when you first begin fighting up until now?
Holly Holm: I didn’t even run when I first started training. I started running just before I turned pro. I did do a lot of aerobics. It was kickboxing aerobics but it wasn’t like running. It was different. I found once I started running it was easier to keep my weight down so I didn’t have to diet as much. I got to eat more of what I wanted to eat. I definitely learned how to eat what I wanted but still healthy. I still eat a lot of carbs, I need it for energy. I’ve learned how to run and do a lot of sprints. Even during technical sparring here in the gym when I’m training sometimes I would over train and during sparring I was getting hit more than really working on things. I’ve learned that when I’m really fatigued to take an easy day and work on skills and come back the next day fresh and push a little harder. I’ve learned how to listen to my body and be able to train according to how I feel.
jacksons.tv: How do you prepare for your fights from a conditioning perspective?
Holly Holm: I always run five days a week even when I’m not trying. Sometimes maybe 3 or 4 day but on average five days a week is what I run. I run six days a week when it comes to a fight and one of those days is a sprint run. Those sprint runs are not little sprints on a track. People don’t understand those runs until they do it. We have one run we call the “Hell Hill” or the “Wink Hill”. It’s the never ending horrible run. I think mentally it helps prepare us for fights when we go run that hill. I do aerobics, that and just the mitt work and try to do some strength training here and there.
jacksons.tv: How important is your diet and nutrition for your training and fights?
Holly Holm: I don’t really “diet”. I don’t eat french fries and sweets. I will still have a sweet when I’m training but I won’t have a full piece of cheesecake late at night or something like that. I really try not to eat the foods that slow me down which is grease and things like that. I try to eat clean but I will still eat a huge sandwich and have chips on the side, they’re not the best for you. I try to eat more side salads and things like that instead of fries if I go out to eat. It just basic modifications to meals that I would normally eat anyway and everything is in moderation. Not totally pigging out but eating enough to be energized and not over eating.
jacksons.tv: What advice do you have for young fighters?
Holly Holm: To be patient. A lot people want to fight but when they think about fighting, they think of money. They want to fight the main events. That does not come overnight. Just be patient. You don’t want to jump in there just for money because you’re taking too many steps forward. It will just set you back. If you start with a bad roll of losses on your pro fights then you’re not going to be getting paid as much. You’re not going to be getting that respect. You’re not being good to yourself by going in there against people who have been training really hard. You are getting punched at. So, just be patient. Basics are always the key. We still work on basics in here all the time. You’re going to have your amateur fights and then you’re going to turn pro. You’re going to have your four rounders, six rounders. People have the image of fighting for a title when they think of becoming a fighter. They just think of titles. They don’t think of the steps that it takes to get there. Just self-dedication and motivation. You have to get up in the morning and run whether it’s cold or hot, whether you’re sore or you just don’t feel like it. It’s not like a regular job where you can go drink your coffee and kind of wake up and walk around your office. You have to wake up and make your body work.
jacksons.tv: Who is your team that prepares you for fights?
Holly Holm: There is always Mr. Winkeljohn and of course Greg Jackson. He’s not the stand up coach but he still does a lot of coaching. I’ve considered him my coach for years and years. My friend Nohime, she also fights here. Jodie is a team mate of mine. My boyfriend, Joey Villasenor, he fights. Keith Jardine – I’ve known him since he first came down here. He’s been here a long time. I’ve always known Keith since we’ve been cross training. All of the fighters that have come in, I spar with everybody. I’m not saying I’m Keith main sparring partner (laughing) – I’m not trying to say that but they all help with little things. If they are watching us spar they will say, “Hey, your dropping your hand when you’re throwing this or you’re kind of lunging or don’t lose focus – keep your eye on your target and don’t look down on the ground.” We are constantly helping each other out all the time. I can’t name all the people who help out on our team. Julie Kedzie and Michelle Waterson help – I actually have girls to train with here, its kind or weird! It’s been a long time waiting but we have a good group of girls to train with now.
jacksons.tv:Can you describe what it’s meant to have Mr. Winkeljohn as your coach?
Holly Holm: My career. I wouldn’t be fighting if it wasn’t for him. I think he has the right kind of focus and the right kind of goals set for his fighters. The biggest thing I can say is that he cares what is best for the fighter. A lot of trainers out there look for their own glory or for money or try to promote as many as they can but don’t really care about being in the corner. Half-way train them and send them off to a fight. Mr. Winkeljohn really cares about what is best for his fighters. He trains your right. He wants you to push yourself. He wants you to win. He hates to lose but when you do he says, “Hey, now we know what we need to work on”. He’s honest. If he feels you didn’t win the fight he will tell you. If he feels you should have won he will tell you. That way you are not being misled. If you are constantly not doing something right and being told you are doing great then you are never going to get better. He’s honest. He’s teaches us how to train hard. A lot coaches can’t do that. They can tell you what to do but he’s been on the mountain pushing us. Showing us the runs we need to go on. Always keeping us level headed and grounded.
jacksons.tv: Would you like to coach someday?
Holly Holm: I will always be involved with the sport and I would love to coach. I admire our coaches because I know it takes a lot of dedication and a lot of hours at the gym just to build a fighter to just be a pro in the first place. There have been a lot of times that Mr. Winkeljohn took us on amateur fight trips and that’s a lot of time and a lot of money out of his pocket. He has to pay for food, gas and a hotel and stuff like that. We pay our own way but it still takes money for him to travel. I just look back now and think how much he really has sacrificed. I would love to do that and I think it’s definitely rewarding when you see someone who really enjoys what they do. You see the success after a fight and all the hard work is worth it. I don’t know if I ever will have my own gym but I think I will always be involved with and assist around here.
jacksons.tv: What do you enjoy most about being a professional fighter?
Holly Holm: I don’t know there are a lot of things. I love being able to make my own schedule. I think that is huge. Of course I have to be here (at the gym) for training with other fighters and work with others with their schedules but I don’t really have a boss. I do not have a boss. I work well with Mr. Winkeljohn. I have never not gotten along with my coaches around here. It’s hard for me to understand how other gyms have a manager or coach problem. We’ve never had to worry about that around here. The coaches are great. It’s because these coaches care about our well being. I think that is huge.
jacksons.tv: Did you ever think as kid growing up you would want to be a professional athlete or is it pretty amazing that you are a professional athlete?
Holly Holm: I think it’s awesome that I am and I never really thought I would be. It’s one of those things when you think that it would be really cool if I could do that for a living. I never really thought about fighting but if I could just play a sport for a living – I always thought that would be really cool. I would see people in the Olympics and say they get to do that for a living. I always thought it was really awesome but I never thought that I am going to do that. I definitely took advantage of the opportunity once it started to become a reality that I could.
jacksons.tv: What are you future plans?
Holly Holm: I would really like to open my own business here in town. It would be kind of health spa-ish, have pedicures, massage and tanning. Maybe an aerobics room, an all in one type place. Not too big but something like that would be fun to run.