On Saturday evening, Isabella Plains public servant and mum-of-two Sacha Stokes will walk through a cheering crowd at the Hellenic Club in Woden, to the euphoric sound of her own hand-picked track, Boom! Shake the Room by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and into the cauldron of a public cage fight.
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It's the combination of a bit of Hollywood and public acclaim for 20 weeks of hard work, as she officially finishes the Wimp2Warrior mixed martial arts program with Synergy Self-Defence and Fitness in Hume. And in the process, Sacha lost more than 22 kilograms. All while caring for her two children, Phoenix, 2, and Marceline, nine months, and with the support of her husband Ian Downs.
The quietly-spoken mum is the most unlikely cage fighter but the Wimp2Warrior program, for her, was about wanting to improve her health. She was always a fan of watching mixed martial arts but hesitant about ever wanting to try it.
Her weight had crept up over 10 years and was refusing to budge.
"My health was not great for me. I had gestational diabetes for both pregnancies. I was just so unfit," she said.
"I remember when I first came to the try-outs, I could do one sit-up and as we were running, I was hyperventilating up the back. I thought, 'This can't go on'. I have two children I need to look after and be a good role model for."
She started the program at 103.8kg and will step into the cage on Saturday night at 81.5kg, a loss of 22.3kg. The cage fight is the finale of the fitness program which saw her turn up five mornings a week at 6am to the Hume HQ of Synergy for work-outs and martial arts training.
"I can't believe it's happening. I felt like it was such a far-away thing when I was training. I'm nervous, but I'm pumped," she said.
"I feel the fittest I've ever been. I'm the kind of person who would go to the gym a few times and then drop out. So I'm super-proud of myself that I've stuck with this.
"In every other situation, I'm someone's mum. It was great to me here just for me."
Husband and wife team Bronnie and Craig Bath have run Synergy for 10 years in September. It's a family affair. Their daughters Emma, 16, and Georgia, 14, are both junior black belts while son Oscar 12, is a red belt, the highest grade for his age.
Craig said Sacha epitomised how people could change when they put their mind to it.
"I think it is the ultimate human transformation," he said. "When she walked through the door, her bub was only four-months-old. She came in five mornings a week and she always had a smile on her face."
Bronnie said the program wasn't about training professional cage fighters, but about creating fit, confident people. There was two mornings of strength and conditioning and three of martial arts, starting with the basics of how to punch, kick and block.
Bronnie said the finale at the Hellenic Club was reward for all that hard work and the fights were as evenly matched as possible, with coaches also working on their client's mental preparation.
"For the finale, they pick their favourite music and they walk out and there's smoke and all their family and friends are cheering and it's just fantastic," Bronnie said.
Doors open at 5.30pm on Saturday at the Hellenic Club Woden for the Wimp2Warrior finale.
Megan Doherty
I like telling local stories and celebrating Canberra. Email: megan.doherty@canberratimes.com.au
I like telling local stories and celebrating Canberra. Email: megan.doherty@canberratimes.com.au
