Interview with Bodog Fighter Rosie Sexton

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By Pete Mills, on 16-03-2008 15:56

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Interview with Bodog Fighter Rosie Sexton
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Training Food and Family

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Training, Food and Family

What form does your training take? What do you do to prepare for a competition?

If I’ve got a fight coming up, I’ll be in the gym twice a day so I’ll train at lunchtime and then again in the evening and I’ll do a mixture of conditioning, for example weight training, cardio and also technical work. You have to cover all of the different areas such as, stand up striking, wrestling and ground fighting, and any variations like isolation sparring. You might spend one session just working around a take-down descent so you can take me down against a strike or it might be working on the ground such as getting up some guard; then of course you’ve got your sparring pad work. There’s a lot of work it’s a very technically and physically demanding sport. For example; boxing, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are all on their own a life time’s study but in Mixed Martial Arts you have to be able to do all three of those and put them together, which means there’s an immense amount of technical information.

Then you’ve got the physical side of the conditioning and at the same time trying to make sure you are going in there fresh and not over-trained. That is one of the things that appeals to me really, it’s a huge challenge and so demanding both mentally, physically and emotionally. I’m also lucky as I’ve got an excellent team behind me; Karl’s my trainer at SBG gym in Manchester and I’ve got some excellent sparring partners there and the technical input is fantastic. Having someone who can really coach each of the areas and also understand the physical side, conditioning and sports psychology makes a big difference. As a fighter you know the coaching team you work with is massively important as is your sparring partner, there’s no substitute for a good sparring partner that will push you.

Do you follow a special diet or nutritional programme, linked to your martial arts training?

Well obviously I have to watch my weight as you would in any weight category sport. There’s an art to getting your weight just right for the weigh in and so that is something that we do pay some attention to. In between fights I try to eat healthily but I don’t follow any particularly strict nutritional programme, I basically keep an eye on what I eat and for me when I am in pre-fight training it is actually a question of getting enough calories in because sometimes the weight starts to drop off too fast. When you are doing two intense training sessions a day, that burns up a lot of calories and sometimes it can affect your appetite as well. I’m also very lucky because I’ve got some great sponsors called PHD nutrition and they help me out on the supplement side of things by providing protein powders and other supplements and that’s very helpful to me.

	Core Training for MMA Excellence Much of an MMA fighter’s power originates from his waist, hips and lower back: areas collectively known as the core. A strong core is an essential requirement for any fighter who uses their legs and arms as main weapons, as without strength in this area a fighter’s game will be weakened in several ways:

As well as training and being a mother, you also have a PhD in maths and technology, as well as studying osteopathy at Oxford. How do you manage your time?

The best I can! It’s really about prioritisation, I try and make sure the important things get done and don’t stress too much about the less important things, like cleaning! You can’t do everything and it’s about recognising what’s important and what is less important. If I’ve got a fight coming up I tend to concentrate more on that and in the gaps between fights I’ll do of my coursework for University. I also make sure I get enough time with my son Lewis, I always make sure I spend my mornings with him. There’s no magic answer to finding a balance for everything and I don’t always get it right but on the whole, things seem to work out in the end.

What do your family and friends think of you practising a martial art, and in particular, Mixed Martial Arts?

That’s an interesting one because until quite recently I didn’t tell my family too much about it, I kind of kept it to myself a bit; I told them that I did martial arts but I didn’t go into any detail. Then they looked me up on the internet, they did a google search on my name so that probably wasn’t the best introduction! They actually took it remarkably well, they’ve been very supportive on the whole and they look after my son Lewis when I go away to competitions. I think they’re quite proud really, when I did a newspaper interview last year my dad was busy telling everyone about it. I’m not sure that’s what they expected their little girl to end up doing but I think they’ve adjusted remarkably well!

Thank you very much from Martial Edge; it has been absolutely fascinating talking to you.

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