Islander named 'Queen of the Ring' in kickboxing World Series

Thursday 28 December 2017

A 38-year-old accountant who leads a double life as a kickboxing fighter was one of three women named 'Queen of the Ring' in an international contest - and now she wants more women to take up the sport.

Monika Markowska took part in this year's World Series of Kickboxing International Events, ranking number two in the world in K1 division and number three in the World ranking in Full Contact, both in the under 52kg categories.

She started her kickboxing training in 2004 when she moved to Jersey and has had many successes since 2011, but 2017 was definitely her biggest year yet.

It all started when she was only 12 and stepped onto a tatami for the first time for a taekwondo lesson. When she moved to Jersey, she struggled to find taekwondo so a colleague encouraged her to try kickboxing. It was love at first hit for Monika, who says: "I loved it. In taekwondo, you are on a tatami but in kickboxing you are fighting on a ring. The first fight I had I thought 'That's it, I'm never going back.'

"I love the atmosphere, the robes and the fact that being on a ring you are much more aware of the space. Stepping on the ring is magical and there is all this adrenaline, you don't see anything around, just your opponent!"

Since then, she has harvested a number of medals and titles. In 2011, she was the first British female fighter to ever win the World title in the WAKO World Championships. She also was the first female K1 fighter to represent Great Britain in the K1 division in the World and Europeans Championships. 

To achieve these results, Monika follows a strict routine and trains twice a day - before and after work - with the help of Rob Staples from Gracie Barra, as well as John Scriven and Nathan Fisher for strength and conditioning training. An accountant during the day and a fighter the rest of the time, Monika says she lives a double life. "I am very active when I train but then I have a very boring job as an accountant. I do have long days from 06:00 to 21:00 but I have been doing it since I was very small so I don't mind."

Pictured: Monika trains twice a day, every day, before and after work.

2017 was by far Monika's busiest year to date and she even admits it was "a true rollercoaster for my career." After winning the bronze medal in the K1 division of the   European Championship in Slovenia at the end of 2016, Monika qualified to the biggest event kickboxers can face, and a prestigious event for non-Olympic games, the World Games in Poland. Her first professional fight for the World title was also confirmed at the same time for the end of February.

"Deadly training began," says Monika. "Unfortunately, my opponent pulled out of the fight just a week before due to broken ribs."

Monika's training didn't go to waste, as just a few weeks after she fought in the British Championships and won Gold both in the Full Contact and K1 divisions. "A couple weeks later, I competed in the first World Series World Cup in Ireland and won Gold in Full Contact and K1 division. The next competition on the way to the World Games was the K1 World cup in Hungary, where I won a Bronze medal. K1 is still pretty new for me as I am mainly a full contact fighter, so I just had a few months to adjust to 'World Level' in this style of fighting."

Pictured: Monika and her coaches at the World Games, an event for all non-olympic sports, in Poland.

After Hungary, Monika flew to Italy for the 'World Cup - Best Fighter' where she says she had to settle for another Bronze medal, but managed to bag a lot of ring time in the K1 division. She later won her fight against the Italian champion in a Full Contact international match. A month later, she was representing Great Britain and Jersey, as the first ever and only British kickboxer to qualify to the World Games 2017.

"Unfortunately I got defeated in the quarter finals by a Russian Fighter, who went on to winning the whole Games. I got placed just behind the podium, as I rank fifth in the world in K-1. Not as high as my dreams was, but as K1 is still pretty new for me, I think I've done myself and my coaches proud," she explained.

Monika's last event of the year was the World Championships in November, in which she was to fight in the Full Contact division. Unfortunately, Monika was involved in a car crash few days before she was due to travel and she had to give up on the fight. This hiccup didn't prevent Monika from finishing in the top three females across all ring disciplines and weight classes or to be named the 'Queen of the Ring' title. 

Pictured: Monika would like to see more women try kickboxing (John Liot).

After such a successful year, what exactly is Monika wishing for in the New Year? Mainly, to be able to continue fighting. "At the moment I am still recovering from the injuries, and hoping that the accident won't force me to retire completely from high level competition in my loved sport.

"I am still heavily involved in this sport, as I am running a taekwondo and kickboxing club as a coach and I have a great group of young fighters under my wings, so if that was to be the finish line for my competitive career, then being one of three kickboxing Queens across the World is pretty cool and an impressive way to retire. But fingers crossed as my recovery is going pretty well. It's hard for me to decide to stop, it's such a big part of my life."

Whether she is fighting or not, in 2018, Monika will trying to convince more women to try kickboxing. There are only a handful in the island competing, but Monika says it's fun whether you fight or not. "It's an amazing sport. It keeps you fit and it's an all-body workout. It's not a boys sport contrary to what people think and you can get a lot of enjoyment. Any girls can do it, even if it's not competitive, you can do it for your health and fitness." 

Lead picture by John Liot.