Alicia
‘I teach girls that they can be role models too’. Alicia (20) is studying to become a pedagogical assistant. Her hobby is kickboxing and she trains other girls in the sport. After a traffic accident, too impatient to wait for the ambulance to arrive, she popped her kneecap back into place herself!
From the interview:
'For the past five years, I have worked full shifts at McDonald's on Saturdays and Sundays. On Mondays and Tuesdays, I do an internship at a childcare centre and on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays I go to vocational college. We are all girls in the class and there is just one boy.
I am an only child and I used to play street football a lot. We have some playgrounds around my house. When I was seven, I joined a football club, but after two years I was fed up with playing in the rain.
Later, I saw kickboxing on streaming service Videoland. Here in the neighbourhood I had noticed a kickboxing school. That's how, when I was 15, I started kickboxing. They advertised a girls' class, which won me over. But in the end, I was the only girl. I am trying to get all my girlfriends to kickbox, but I haven't had any luck so far.
It doesn't matter. The boys are tougher, so no need to hold back when I dish out a kick or a blow. You'll get that back, but they do take into account that I am a girl, you know.
A few months ago I was on my scooter when I was hit by a motorist. He didn't stop so I had to call 112 myself. My knee was dislocated, I pushed back the kneecap myself. The ambulance took me to the hospital, where it became clear that my ankle was broken. I walked with a knee brace for three months. I am doing better but the ankle continues to hurt. I can only box now, the low and high kicks will have to wait.'
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