The Courier Mail - Lifestyle Article by Graham Readfearn

ON FIRST appearances, Yasmin Grimmer looks to be anything but a boxer.

She is slim and softly spoken, with dark shiny straight hair.

Her 23-year-old frame is tiny and one suspects she may get blown over on gusty days.

But then she pulls on the gloves to practise her left hook, keeping the elbow high and the forearm
straight to block any incoming shots.

Her partner holds tight on to a red punch pad, but rocks backwards slightly as Grimmer’s fist connects
with a thud.

She is transformed from timid public servant to a tiny titan.

“I’m small and maybe people think they can take advantage of me,” she says, hands on hips.

“But they’re wrong.”
Grimmer, from Jimboomba, southwest of Brisbane, is one of more than 50 women signed up to a new
personal development course that mixes sound boxing techniques with life coaching.

Classes are run beside the lily-covered water and preened gardens of Underwood Park at Springwood
and there are plans to run others in Brisbane.

On this balmy late afternoon, these dozen women are among the first to try butterfly boxing.

Teaching them how to throw a quick jab, followed by a hip-driven left hook, is coach Gareth Williams,
who also trains Australian welterweight champ Chris McCullen.

“Most of the women are not here because they actually want to fight,” says Williams, 31, who developed
the course with his partner.

“Many of the women talk about this feeling of power they get from the boxing – they become confident
with their bodies.”

Williams wanted to design a course that taught women genuine defensive and attacking boxing skills,
rather than the popular boxacise classes which focus on fitness.

“This is all about giving the women some self-confidence,” Williams says. “But as well, if ever anyone
did try anything, they would have a way of looking after themselves. Victims only become victims if
they act like one.

“Standing strong puts doubt in an attacker’s mind.”

“We start by teaching the women the right stance and how to block punches.

“By the end we want them to be able to defend themselves, but also have the instinct to throw one back.”

The women say they take part for all sorts of reasons, from learning self-defence techniques to staying
fit and having fun outdoors.

Anne-Maree Newbery, 47, from central Brisbane, is another butterfly boxer but a polar opposite in
stature to the petite Grimmer.

She admits she’s overweight and, in normal circumstances, would never line up for physical activity.

“It’s just nice for someone like me who hates exercise to find something like this that feels so bloody
good,” she says, unfurling a pink boxing wrap from her reddened knuckles.

“I know that after a session I feel very strong and powerful.

“Some of the girls here are fit, some aren’t.

“There are fat and skinny girls and old and young, but we are all real people,” she says.

There are three levels of course that last from four to six weeks and start from $69, including lifecoaching
sessions. Butterfly boxers who pass through all three levels can choose to take each other on in
a sparring match, complete with 16 ounce gloves and head and breast protectors.

Williams’s partner Huia Hikaiti, 29, is a formidable athlete and has represented the state at netball.

She is preparing for her first fight and delivers training as well as delivering the life coaching.

“There are so many people who want to learn boxing without the pressure of having to jump in the ring,”

Hikaiti says.

“I know what it is like to walk into a boxing gym with my high-heels and make-up – it can be
intimidating.”

Hikaiti holds the life-coaching sessions when the gloves are off, usually in a local coffee house.

“We are focused on the boxing but the life coaching adds real value,” she says.

“We work through issues in their lives and talk about ways they can move forward personally.

“The girls really open up and we build a rapport very quickly.”