Bridie Witton: If you think you can, you can

Reporter Bridie Witton is training for the corporate fight night Christmas with a Punch next month

More than the early starts and aching muscles, self-doubt has been a massive issue recently.

I am not alone in this and we have talked about it at trainings.

I am fitter and stronger and I have had positive feedback from our trainers, who have even suggested, with some work, I could seriously take up amateur boxing.

Despite this, I keep thinking that fighting for entertainment is not a very "me" sort of a thing to do. Which it is not, but the Fight Night is not about me, but supporting the Rotovegas Boxing Gym and all the awesome things it does in the community, so I have had to work out ways to suck it up.

I had a mental breakthrough the other night and came face-to-face with these thoughts.

I had the first spar where I was a bit scared. My opponent was visibly fit and stronger looking than me, and a kick boxer.

I have had a peaceful 22 years of existence and my preferred form of exercise is Bikram yoga. I cry at TV adverts sometimes and I have read Wuthering Heights about four times.

Over the duration of the fight, there was a loud voice in my head saying I was just a wussy little blonde girl and I'm going to lose, for no reason other than she looked tougher than me. I found this quite surprising, as I would describe myself as someone who doesn't buy into stereotypes too much, yet I have internalised stereotypes about myself.

I don't know where this voice came from or how long it has been in there but it was quite an epiphany to know that deep in my psyche I have made my own Achilles heel.

I managed to hold my own throughout the fight and we came out equal - a huge surprise to me.

I began to question all the layers of identity people paint on themselves.

The Henry Ford quote "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right" rings true.