I met Yasmin Nazary October 2022 on our Willpower Bands Training Tour of Northeast England. We wanted to demo our training methods to as many different fighters as we could. I’d asked our local guide Alex Wright, owner of FightStore Pro to make sure we worked with a female Muay Thai fighter.
I’ve worked with a few strikers. But I hadn’t had a chance to test our methods with a female Muay Thai fighter. Alex knew Yasmin through her fight promotion work. So he set up a demo at Aiki Kickboxing in Ryton.
The morning I met Yasmin, we were waiting in the coffee shop below the gym when she texted us that she was running late. Still recovering from her fight the night before. Her first fight since giving birth to her 15 month old son. Needless to say, an understandable delay.
You’d think perhaps that a new mom after her first fight since having a baby might not be too eager to jump into a hard training session with a new product. That’s not Yasmin. We spent two hours training. She used Willpower Bands to demo a bunch of Muay Thai drills for us that she’d learned training in Thailand. We introduced her to a few new things from our methods that she quickly picked up, including a couple movements that let her feel out the nagging hip imbalances from pregnancy.
Afterwards we sat down with Yasmin to get to know more about her career and ambitions.
Can you tell us about your fighting career?
I’ve been competing for 9 years now. I have fought on promotions such as MTGP (UK), Roar Combat League, Super Champ (Thailand), Muay Hardcore (Thailand), Rebellion (UK). I have won the British ICO title, Patong Stadium International title, and the Choke Chai Stadium title. Now I also run my own gym, Nazary Nak Muay Thai in Hartlepool, a seaside town about 30 miles south of Newcastle.
How’d you bounce back to fighting so fast from pregnancy?
Throughout my pregnancy I kept up my training because I knew I was going to be coming back to fight after he was born. I had mixed reviews on my training but my best advice for moms coming back from pregnancy is to listen to your body.
I did pad work, strength work and I even continued to coach holding pads for my students that I had worked with for a while and trusted. I was kicking pads on the day of my due date! With no sign of the little one arriving although he showed up two days later.
3 weeks post pregnancy I began my training. I started only with boxing drills then a week or so later added kicks but very lightly. My main focus was strength and getting my muscles and body back into the condition it was pre pregnancy. I agreed to a fight in October on MTGP. So I had a target. I was extremely happy with how my training and body felt just before my fight.
You mentioned before how important “community” is to growing fight sports. How has this come to life for you?
Currently I am organizing my second promotion of the all female event called Petchying Muay Thai League. This will be held on February 4th in Hartlepool. We will again be holding a world title fight between two top UK female fighters, some amazing ladies coming up through the rankings and a few who are just starting their journey.
Is it break time from competition for you then?
Of course not. I have a few big fights lined up for next year but yet to be announced.
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"Of course not."
She's nails.
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April 12, 2023 Update
Yasmin has a fight this weekend in the Hitman Fight League. She's been training hard with Willpower Bands. So we caught up with her to see how her bands have been helping her during fight camp.
How's fight camp going?
Fight Camp has been going great. I feel empowered right now. I have mainly been training with Craig Jose who runs Northern Kings. He's an ex fighter with a lot of experience.
Where do you feel like you've made the most gains since last we trained together?
I'm in so much better shape. My legs are just shredded now. I've been using Willpower Bands for strength and conditioning throughout fight camp. They've made a dramatic difference in my kick strength and punching power. They've honestly helped my game so much. I've used them to get stronger, to improve my stamina, sharpen my movements and improve my quickness. I honestly love working out with them.
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Enough said. Good luck this weekend Yasmin.
Make sure to show Yasmin your support on Instagram
In the meantime, checkout Yasmin’s favorite Willpower Band
