Megan has been a member of Rothwell MMA for over 5 years! She began in the youth Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing classes and has progressed into all of the adult classes including Kick Fit and Yoga. Read more about her journey below.
Megan’s journey: “My love of martial arts began with Karate and Taekwondo from age 4-9 years old. At the age of 10, I began wrestling for the Stateline Wildcats and felt how great it was to make it to the State finals.
On a beautiful day in August 2012, I walked up to the Rothwell MMA booth at the Kenosha County Fair. I spoke to Jen and immediately knew that this was going to be a great place for me. A week later, I was there trying out the day pass she gave me.
2012 was a year of change, and at the age of 11, I began martial arts at Rothwell MMA. I started with the youth Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class under the instruction of Thiago Veiga. My love for this form of martial arts was rapidly growing. Individual sport is a perfect fit for me, as I like to show my independence and that I am the owner of my own destiny. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu does exactly that.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu took me through 5 different tournaments and I finished 2nd in one of them. It was great for my personal development as an athlete and as a person. It is awesome to see hard work and perseverance pay off- I like this feeling. Eventually I outgrew the youth class and moved on to the adult program, a great stepping-stone in my development.
At 13 years old, I progressed to the adult Jiu-Jitsu class and competed in two tournaments as a yellow belt. I was honored to be able to participate in a special seminar in Schaumburg, IL where I met Rickson Gracie. I rolled with different people and it was an awesome experience. To this day, my autographed Rickson Gracie yellow belt still hangs in my room. It is truly inspirational.
In time, I joined youth Kickboxing classes and quickly improved my kicking and striking skills. It seemed to be a good fit and I was able to move up rapidly.
Mixed Martial Arts is now a family favorite sport in my home. My family and I host small parties to cheer for our favorite fighters on fight nights. Although I still watched MMA on TV, I took some time off of training when I began high school. I needed to get back into MMA and couldn’t stay away long.
2015 gave me the chance to meet Rickson Gracie at another seminar. I also met UFC Fighter and LCCT BJJ student, Juliana Pena. I was honored to have dinner with both Rickson and Juliana. Martial arts has given me so many memorable moments and this is definitely one of my favorites.
Now at age 16, I’ll soon be testing for my blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu under coaches Thiago Veiga and Luiz Claudio. I currently hold a green belt in Kickboxing and study under James Bochnovic and UFC Fighter Big Ben Rothwell. Now that I have an all access pass, I participate in Kick Fit and Yoga classes as well. The workouts help me to challenge myself and to push my athletic abilities even further.
Rothwell MMA is my other family, and we all support one another. I have been able to develop here and I can honestly say that I am mentally and physically stronger than ever. Thanks to my training, I have gained confidence and am better prepared to handle difficult situations.”
Want to learn more about our family? Check out previous Rothwell MMA Member Spotlights HERE.