Melissa Lucashenko

There was no skipping school when I was a kid.

You know, the idea of not going to school every day was just unthinkable.

Oh...

I was good at the academic side of things.

I wasn't good at the social side of things.

So yeah, I had mixed feelings about school.

Actually, I hated high school.

I didn't really pay much attention to high school.

I was obsessed with karate from the age of 14.

How did you first get introduced to karate?

Well, I was very fortunate that there was a karate school about three kilometers from home.

Yeah, close enough to walk if I was feeling enthusiastic and close enough to get dropped off.

And I was starting to get a bit, just a bit silly when I was 13 and just starting to kind of push the boundaries and look like I might get into trouble.

And

A friend of the family said, oh, you want to get that girl into martial arts.

And so again, mum took me along to karate and it was a perfect fit for me.

Oh, because I got to punch and yell and feel strong, feel powerful and belong.

Belong in a way that I hadn't belonged before.

Yeah, yeah.

And I've never been afraid of hard work, and it was very hard work.