![]() Meghan Brehon Nonfiction is not a genre I am familiar with. Generally my tastes tend more towards (or rather, completely) to fiction in the teens section. With that being said, I was excited when I unwrapped Ronda Rousey’s autobiography Christmas morning. She has shown how strong and capable women are, as well as how women should be taken seriously in sport. This is an important subject to me, and her story is very interesting. In reading her novel, I could be completely enthralled by the story, while at the same feel the presence of badass girl power (and in nonfiction, nonetheless!). While reading her novel, I decided that I would become an Olympic judo fighter. Once I finished the novel and looked at my 5’0” stature, and assessed my utter lack of any experience or aptitude for fighting, I decided I could be badass without beating up women from all over the world for medals. (Although in my mind, I still kick ass. Every. Time.) Rousey wrote her novel in a way that sounds a bit like an inspirational talk. With chapter titles like, “Someone Has to Be the Best in the World. Why Not You?”, I couldn’t help but feel I could conquer the world. Much of her novel was about the process she went through to get to where she is today, starting from the day she was born. These came together to produce not only an interesting book, but also a more composed understanding of Rousey. She can come across as very self-assured and cocky from time to time, but this a part of her upbringing and personal philosophy. She believes the first person who needs to believe you can accomplish something is yourself, and you can’t rely on encouragement from others. With all of the hardships she has experienced, as well as her experience as a top-tier athlete her novel turned out to be gripping. The reader gets a view of the Olympics and UFC behind the scenes. I think of the Olympics as the be all and end all of an athlete’s career, but Rousey talked about it as though it is only another world-wide competition, no more, no less. Despite the cringeworthy descriptions of what it feel like to dislocate a competitor’s elbow, compete on a foot with bulging stitches, or any of the other physical feats she described, the descriptions of weigh ins, and workouts captivated my attention all the same. Reading the blow-by-blow of her fights was as suspenseful as watching a video (perhaps more so, as a reader who is not well versed in judo or mixed martial arts can better understand what is going on, as well as who has the upper hand). My heart sped up every time I came to one of her fights, until either her elbow was dislocated, or she did the same to her opponent (at which point I cringed and grabbed my own elbow, imagining the pain and grinding sensation). At times it was strange to read the fight, and have the descriptors to be “her” and “she”, as opposed to “him” and “he”. Strange, but a welcome difference to most things that are out there about fighting. It was easier to imagine myself in her shoes this way, as well as have it really sink in that women do this. It is a possibility for me, as well as any other girl. Rousey’s novel was a wonderful insight into the life of an MMA fighter. Rousey’s story captivates, while there is plenty of insider-knowledge to educate the reader. But for me, it was just as much about how Rousey is such a badass woman, carving the path for others in UFC, as it is about the fighting.
0 Comments
|
Find Me!
|