Taiwan's first female mixed martial artist makes her ONE Championship debut
By Chris Zahar
This Saturday, the world will witness the first Taiwanese female pro mixed
martial artist make her debut in ONE Championship, Asia’s largest MMA
organization.
The 24-year-old Taipei native will be fighting Russian atomweight Elena
Pashnina at ONE: KINGDOM OF WARRIORS in Yangon, Myanmar.
Considering the Republic of China is home to well over 23 million people, not
including those living abroad, this is a spectacular feat, but not one the
soft-spoken parkour enthusiast is eager to flaunt.
“I don’t want to brag about it,” Huang said. "I don’t want to think just
because I am the first I don’t have to keep practicing. Because I am the
first, I want to work harder and be the best. I always remind myself that if
I get famous in the future, I don’t want to be a proud person.“
A natural athlete
In her own words, Huang was "born to be an athlete.” Though shy growing up,
she took to sports immediately and used what little free time she had to
indulge in her athletic pursuits.
“I only had a 10-minute break during school,” she recalled. "Every break I
had, I’d bring a basketball or a volleyball and practice sports or play with
my friends as much as possible.“
Huang got her first taste of martial arts at eight years old when her parents
enrolled her in a taekwondo academy.
Unfortunately, they took her out only a few months later to put her in an
English cram school.
Sitting still was not exactly the girl’s forte and at the age of 12, judo
piqued her interest. Much like one of her heroes – former Olympian and
current MMA powerhouse, Ronda Rousey – Jenny embraced the Japanese "soft way
” and earned her black belt four years later.
Her love of combat sports did not stop there, though.
Since the beginning of this decade, MMA has been creeping into Asia, and
Huang could not help but embrace the new sport.
After graduating from Taipei Physical Education College (台北市立體育學院)
with a major in health, Huang began training at one of Taiwan’s top mixed
martial arts academies, TOUGH MMA.
She put herself under the tutelage of TOUGH’s owner, ONE bantamweight, “Sam
” Ming Yen Sung, himself a revolutionary in the Taiwanese MMA scene and a
man who was instrumental in ONE making its debut in Taiwan last year.
“Sam has helped me a lot with my game plan,” Huang added. "He keeps me in
peak physical condition and gives me strategies to help me beat my opponents.
“
Pro MMA debut
On 31 May this year, Jenny Huang made history - as well as her MMA debut -
when she competed at Taiwan’s Pro FC: Invincible.
Facing off against India’s Daizy Singh, Huang used her superior grappling
game to earn herself a unanimous decision win.
"My judo and jiu-jitsu gave me an advantage,” she said. "I was able to
control her well on the ground.“
Huang will have to do the same again this Saturday on the biggest Asian MMA
stage.
Her opponent Pashnina is a high-level Sanda exponent, thus be prepared for a
clash of styles between these two ladies.
"She is better than my previous opponent. This is my biggest fight yet.”