By Michelle Pickles
Jo Gibson is a wife, a mother and now a kickboxer.
The 39-year-old from Te Awamutu took up the unlikely sport around three years ago and it has completely changed her life.
She's tough, she's determined and this physical, sometimes brutal sport has become a big part of Jo Gibson's life.
At first though she was a little hesitant.
“I just thought far out, there's no way I'm going to get into the ring and fight. So I came along for the fitness but it just wasn't what I expected, I got hooked,” she says.
But when the 39-year-old mother of two first entered the ring, she looked very different.
Three years ago she weighed in at more than 130 kilograms.
She's shed a whopping 55 kgs and says it's all thanks to kickboxing.
“I started for the weight loss then got into the fighting. What kept me motivated was because we do a lot of the grading . So every time your fitness would improve you'd go for a belt, you've got a goal,” she says.
“[I got into kickboxing] when my children couldn't hug me, they couldn't get their arms around me. I can remember being unhappy and wanting to do something about it,” she says.
But the weight loss was just the beginning of Gibson's success.
She's now a national champion and later this month will proudly wear the silver fern at the world championships in Wales.
“It's a bit surreal in a way, going to the World’s now is probably just the cherry on top. Had you asked me 3 years ago would I be going to Wales to represent New Zealand I would have laughed and said no!” she says.
What she's lost in size, Gibson has gained in confidence.
She now takes her own fitness class and is in the process of becoming a qualified ref. She hopes her story will inspire other Kiwi women.
After three years of hard work, Jo Gibson is now punching way above her weight.
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