Three years ago, Amy Kolosque walked down the alley off Auburn Street which led to the premises of Mulwaree Muay Thai for the first time.
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The naturally shy mother of two was awash in nerves as she approached the gym, and very nearly turned back.
"When I first walked in, I was quite intimidated," Kolosque said.
"I walked in and it was a heap of big, burly-looking blokes kicking the bags and sparring each other. If they hadn't seen me walking up the lane, I think I would've turned around and left. But they saw me, so I had to be brave and walked in."
Once inside, Kolosque was warmly welcomed by the head instructor, Darcy Sullivan, who encouraged her to try a couple of sessions so she could get a real feel for kickboxing.
If Sullivan was concerned that the male-dominated environment was overwhelming for Kolosque, he need not have worried.
"I loved it from that very first lesson, so I was keen to go back again," Kolosque said.
Since then, the 39-year-old has gone on to defy all expectations and win five gold medals at the Australian National WAKO Kickboxing Championships in 2018 and 2019, along with a bronze medal at the WAKO World Championships in 2019.
For these achievements, Kolosque will be one of the four inductees to the Goulburn Sporting Hall of Fame later this year.
"It's quite humbling and I feel very honoured by it," she said.
"I'm obviously very proud, especially being a woman in a predominantly male sport, and in a small town.
"I feel very empowered, I do have a lot of mums where I work coming up and telling me that their daughters want to start karate and kickboxing because I've been doing it. Whereas before, they thought girls couldn't do that kind of stuff."
Though she is nearing 40, Kolosque does not intend to stop competing anytime soon. The day she retires, she said, will be decided primarily by her body.
"I'm going full steam ahead at this point," Kolosque said.
"When the time comes where I am a bit too old or if I'm getting too many injuries, I don't think I'll ever fully hang my gloves up but I will definitely look into becoming a coach or something like that, and passing on what I've learned to the next generation."
The impact martial arts has had on Kolosque's life has surprised her as much as anybody. But now, with an impending place in the Sporting Hall of Fame, five national gold medals and one world championship bronze medal, she cannot imagine her life without combat sports.
"I often think back on everything I would have missed out on if I didn't choose to be brave and walk into the gym," Kolosque said.
"But like most things in life, you have to be brave and go for what you want, because otherwise you never know what you're missing out on. Nothing worth having in life comes easy, you have to work for it.
"I'm really grateful that I didn't chicken out."
Kolosque made a point to acknowledge the impact of her coaches, Tegan Taylor and Sullivan, whose support and technical expertise were critical to her eventual success.
"Both the coaches were really good at what they were doing, and taking the time with everybody to make sure they had the techniques down, and encouraging and supporting you," she said.
"Tegan and Darcy have become really good friends of mine as well."
Kolosque will be inducted into the Goulburn Sporting Hall of Fame alongside Tom Toparis, Claire Polosak, and David Wright later this year, at a date yet to be specified.
The induction ceremony was originally scheduled for Saturday, July 24, but was postponed by the Goulburn Mulwaree Council due to concerns over the current COVID-19 outbreak.
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