Fighting for empowerment
A session of “Mindful Boxing” at Knockout Ladies can take many shapes from one to the next, that’s part of the fun. But typically, it consists of a warm up to music that gets bodies moving, followed by one-on-one combo practice, where one lady receives and the other punches. Next, a moment for stillness is provided in the form of meditation or mindfulness exercises. However, the classes always end with a bang in the form of a “burner” drill, where the women get to unleash their pent-up emotions in the form of rapid punches and accompanying yells.
Let’s meet some of the ladies that bring these sessions to life, and find out what they love most about boxing in an all-women’s space.
Greetje - to feel alive
At 60 years old, Greetje is not your average boxer. For the past two years, she’s been throwing punches, building strength, and finding community in the all-women’s boxing gym.
Before discovering boxing, Greetje had already trained in martial arts like Wing Chun and Kung Fu. But over time, her priorities shifted. “Wing Chun is with men, and when you fight, you do it in the face,” she recalls, laughing. “I used to get some blood on my face and kind of liked that—but not anymore. I don’t want to be punched in the face again! The level is too high, and I don’t want to do it with guys anymore.”
Her turn to boxing came at a difficult moment in her life. Greetje had been experiencing severe burnout and was recovering from a brain infection that left her with limited mobility. “They sent me to medical fitness, and they helped me learn to walk again,” she explains. “I could walk a little, but that was it. I was exhausted.”
It was during her rehabilitation that she was introduced to boxing as a form of therapeutic movement. But once she completed the medical fitness program, she needed to find a new space to continue. That’s when a neighbor told her about Knockout Ladies—a women-only boxing club that prioritizes inclusivity, safety, and mutual support. She trusted her because recommendations for this place usually come from friends or people you know, so you also get a safe space and connection with like-minded women out of this experience.
She remembers her first class vividly. “It was in a garage, not in the space we have today. It was with some badass women, and I thought: ‘I want to be like them.’” Since then, she has been going as much as she can.
For Greetje, boxing has been far more than just a sport, it has become a vital part of her mental health journey. After her burnout and brain infection left her unable to function normally, she found herself without hobbies or motivation. “I used to run before all this,” she recalls, “but afterward, I didn’t do anything if I didn’t have to work. I just laid on the couch. That wasn’t good: I became depressed, very depressed. That’s why I think boxing is life-saving. If I don’t go once in a while, it’s not good for me. But when I do, I’m happy. My brain chemistry changes: that’s what happens to me. I feel happy.”
The benefits extended beyond her mental recovery. Wanting to improve her physical condition for boxing, Greetje made the decision to quit smoking after 40 years. “My condition was bad because of smoking, so I stopped. And because boxing made me happy, I didn’t need to smoke anymore.” Being part of an all-women’s boxing club has also been empowering. “It makes me feel more powerful,” she says, adding that the women encourage one another to reach their goals.
Still, Greetje admits that training alongside younger women can be challenging. “Sometimes it’s hard to see girls who can do anything, who have more energy and better physical condition. I have to accept my age and my condition, but that is hard for me.” Despite these moments of self-doubt, she remains a source of inspiration in the gym. “The girls have told me I’m an example for them. I can box with someone who’s twenty and there’s no difference, just a lot of fun!”
Boxing offered her not just movement, but also a renewed sense of energy and purpose. Reflecting on what it has taught her, Greetje doesn’t hold back. “It’s okay to be who you are. Fuck it, and fuck the whole fucking world. And I like that!”
Jodie - releasing stress and finding confidence
Last year, Jodie (27) started boxing at Knockout Ladies and she was immediately obsessed. She had never done any combat sports before, but the vibrant community pulled her in when she walked past the studio. “If you’d have told me a year ago that I would have been boxing, I wouldn’t have believed you,” she laughs.
For her, the fact that it’s an all-women club is exactly what makes it so special. She admits: “I probably wouldn’t have started it, if it wasn’t all women.” She used to consider combat sports as confrontational, aggressive and somewhat scary. Boxing with women changed that. “With all women you feel comfortable to make mistakes and all grow together. It’s really empowering.”
After joining she realised that the benefits were not only physical, but mental and emotional as well. “I feel much more confident in myself and it gives you a space where you can release a lot of stress,” she explains. “Day-to-day stress, but a lot of deep-rooted things as well.”
Through boxing Jodie also found a way to release more underlying emotions, which surprised her. “We’ve done a lot of parts where we would yell or scream as we punch and that was really therapeutic.” Since a lot of boxing is about the connection between the body and mind, she has learned to be more present and more aware of how she’s feeling. “I’ve become more mindful of what I’m holding on to. I’m more in tune.”
Jodie saw how boxing changed her life and now she’s grateful that she can be a part of other women’s journeys too by becoming a coach herself. Although leading training sessions was nerve-wracking at first, boxing helps her to put her self-doubting thoughts aside. “It’s had such a positive impact that I can’t not love it, you know?” She adds: “I feel so much fitter, stronger in myself. I feel like a different person.”
Dieiny - healing trauma and empowering others
Dieiny (37) founded Knockout Ladies after a turbulent and difficult period of her life. Six years ago she had a burnout, which left her bedridden for two years. “I couldn’t move, I couldn’t talk. I didn’t have the energy to get up from the bed to go to the toilet, that was too much effort for me already.”
Having dealt with mental health struggles for most of her life, she felt that ‘talking’ therapy on its own was no longer helping her. So she started looking for different remedies.
That is when she discovered the importance of the nervous system and how the body carries trauma. “In my healing journey I found my purpose: to transform my pain into power and to help women.” And so she decided to found a boxing club, which focused on the mind as well as the body.
According to Dieiny, boxing is a somatic exercise: “If you really do it properly you have to breathe, you have to step, you have to move, you have to punch, you have to receive. You have to be aligned. You have to be centred.”
But it’s not just about the sport: for Dieiny, the all-women component of the club, particularly having only women as coaches, is the crux of why women feel so comfortable in the space. “We understand the things that men don’t understand as coaches. We understand each other.”
Boxing is empowering for women, because it gives you a channel to release your aggression and other pent-up emotions or trauma. Dieiny explains how boxing can make you see that you can do much more than you think. Often new members are unsure whether they will be able to fight, but every time she sees them transform and soon they, too, are throwing punches. “It makes you feel strong, inside and out. You are not a little girl who cannot protect herself.”
For Greetje, Jodie and Dieiny, boxing is not just combat: it’s community. It’s women feeling connected with one another and their own bodies in a space that’s made for them, by them. In the seemingly never ending fight for women’s empowerment, the Knockout Ladies pack quite the punch.
