On almost a daily occurrence, Mariam Farid lives her dream – it comes in the form of a closed fist pounding her jaw or a foot jolting her hamstring.

But for the 23-year-old kickboxer from Stanhope Gardens, stepping into the ring brings no pain.

Instead, welts on her shins or bruises on her face are merely a by-product of her adrenaline-fuelled passion… the real pain and emotional heartache endured happens outside the ring.

At first, Farid’s diminutive stature and softly-spoken voice give little indication as to what compels her to sustain (and inflict) nightly torture following her more conservative day job as a social worker.

But when asked about her former life in Herat, Afghanistan, she reveals how the battles she has faced in her two official fights (she has won both) and countless sparring sessions pale in comparison to the struggles she faced as a youngster back home.

“Herat is a town where the Taliban were…I saw some terrible things there when I was younger,’’ she said.

“When I was nine or 10, I was on my to drop a video off at the shop with my dad when a bomb went off next to us. My father got shrapnel in him and I got blood on me, but we survived.’’

“I also saw women beaten in the middle of the street for wearing nail-polish and I lived near a stadium were people were murdered by the Taliban… it was normal to hear people talk
in the street about what happened the night before.’’

But don’t be mistaken, Farid’s isn’t a hard-luck story where she finds salvation in overcoming her demons each time she throws a jab/kick combination.

First and foremost kickboxing has been about the enjoyment of competition Farid gets from going toe-to-toe with another female thrill-seeker.

But encouraging women to get involved in kickboxing (and ignore the stereotype that kickboxing is only a sport for males) is also something that the Bulldog Gym Parramatta fighter is passionate about.

“A lot see it is as a male-dominated sport and don’t see it is as something the girls can do also… it’s just ignorance,’’ she said.

“When I tell people I do kickboxing they are shocked and don’t understand why I do it, they think I must be an angry person. I’m not angry at all, it’s just something I love to do and over time I’ve been doing it there have been other girls come up to me who have been interested about how to get into it.’’

While Farid has the full support of the male kickboxers she trains alongside at the Parramatta gym, it’s been a little harder gaining the support of her parents.

“Back in Afghanistan girls hardly do sport, there are a few but the majority are men. Doing kickboxing is something my parents have struggled with, they won’t come to my fights,’’ she said.

“They tell me `go and join a normal gym with treadmills,’ they’re just not big fans of kickboxing.

“But it has become a part of my life. I can’t imagine leaving it, I’ve been doing it for three years and I’m going to stick to it, it’s an obsession.’’

Farid hopes to become a world champion one day, but in the meantime you can support her in her next bout: Revolution Fight Club, March 13 at Parramatta RSL.