She may be tough on the mat, but kickboxing professional Rebecca Bhola also has a soft heart, at least for animals.

At 35, Bhola is the founder and president of the Trinbago Muaythai Association (TMA), a senior instructor at Tazmanian Bulldogs School of Martial Arts and Kickboxing in Freeport, and founder of Dragongirl’s Animal Sanctuary in Waterloo, Central Trinidad.

She first got into martial arts at age 16 as a form of self-defence. Around that time there were a lot of kidnappings, and she wanted to feel she could keep herself safe.

“I wanted to be able to defend myself in any instance, because I was coming of age, and then with schooling and travelling and whatnot, I wanted to be at least confident enough to be out on the streets.”

Bhola began with kung fu, which she did for a year. But then she attended a kickboxing event in which the Tazmanian Bulldogs dominated the competition. She knew that was what she wanted to do and started classes at the school.

Although she started with kickboxing, she moved on to karate and jujitsu, and finally branched off into muaythai (or Muay Thai), which translates to Thai boxing. The fighting style is called the Art of Eight Limbs, as it uses fists, feet, elbows, and knees.

She said it was originally developed for the Thai army because, at that time, they could not fully equip themselves with weapons. With this style, their bodies became weapons and it was eventually developed into a sport with rules, regulations and safety procedures.

“I’ve stuck to muaythai because of the history behind it. The sport itself is deeply rooted in the Thai culture and the history of Thailand as well.

"To me, it's holistic, because we are using all limbs. And, even though I am coaching, you never stop learning. You always learn something new every single day.

“And even though it is a combat sport, all muaythai practitioners are extremely humble. They are extremely down to earth. They are always willing to contribute to your growth and development.”

Bhola explained that the TMA came about because, as the years passed, she would see international events, but there was no local representation. She realised the national kickboxing organisation at the time was not doing anything to advance the sport or develop the athletes, even though TT had many athletes and the potential to succeed.

So she sent numerous e-mails and messages to the International Federation of Muaythai Associations complaining about the lack of representation. She finally got a response and was invited to Thailand to meet with them. She told them she had a team willing to start working, and the TMA was accepted.

The international federation and the Ministry of Sport tried to get the old and new kickboxing organisations to work together, but it was not to be. The old organisation reluctantly stepped aside and TMA became an official organisation, as well as the national representative to the federation, in 2019.

By that time, because of the lack of competing opportunities and the potential she saw, Bhola had