Olga Laskova interview

Summary

Olga Laskova is a Muay Thai fighter, fighting out of Waterford Muay Thai she recently competed at the Evolution fight show and was victorious she had many issues going into the fight but made it there with her mentality. At 47 years of age and only starting at 40 we discuss her…

Transcript (youtube_captions)

Perfect. So, I was at Evolution Fight Show last week. It was a fantastic show and I came across this lady, Olga Lascoa. Um, and it was actually Mel had sent me a profile before I seen her fight. She fought Joanna and then I looked a bit more into story. So, I really really wanted to talk to her. Um, thank you very much for joining me, especially on a Saturday as well. How are you? Talk to me about your story because obviously you won the other night. So start with we'll start with the fight you tonight and then we'll take a d a deep dive back into when you started. >> Yeah. Hi. Um I fought weekend last weekend. Yeah. Last weekend. I fought last weekend. Um I really was looking forward for the fights. Enjoy every moment. Um I don't know. I felt relaxed. I think first time ever I felt really relaxed even when it's um a guy who's running um orders for the fighters he's come up and said to me that seven fights left and then you go to so we can start forming off. So I actually went lay down on the chairs and I fall asleep in the full room of people who was training. out [laughter] that's when they say seven fights left I'm like yeah plenty time having so it's time for having a little nap so it just shows that I was calm and relaxed like it's like every fighter we having nerves and it's normal thing to having nerves but um in couple years I think I learned how to control and actually enjoy what is coming instead of the stressing and panicky before the fight. Like it's normal things that little bit more when you're stepping into the ring or before you even stepping in the ring. But I learn controlling actually my own emotions. >> Yeah, like you said, every I would be concerned if people said there was no nerves because if you're not a little bit nervous going into a fight, I think it either doesn't mean anything to you or there's or maybe you're just too calm. But the fact you were able to go to sleep I find fascinating. But maybe that's the thing because I've heard a couple of fighters say that. So it could be because if your energy go your adrenaline you might get a dump and you you don't want to go uh expend all your energy. But there was something you did in because that was my first kind of Mai show I've been to and you did like a little dance in the corner. H can you explain to the people who don't maybe don't watch Mai or don't understand what was that about and what does it mean in the sport and to you personally? Yeah, it's it's a cold white crew is coming from the Thailand. I really um having now over Christmas more time. So I really want to learn full dance full pro to do is just was a ceiling room ceiling ring and then doing a tree bows that is just to showing respect to your gym to respect to your coaches like you know and also put you in the zone uh of the of the fight. So that is like from the calm straight away to the storm like you know so you can't transfer yourself from one to another straight away like you know so I'm looking forward to learn more about that myself still >> yeah I'm looking forward to learning more because I I'm going to do more of a deep dive into my I find it a fascinating sport you can use elbows knees everything I know there is different classes but for the art of striking I think it's the purest form that you can do because you can basically use everything at your dispos disposal and I really liked it. But one of the main things about you that really caught my attention and I was really interested. Someone said to me when I was there, you're 47 and I was like 47 and then I realized you started at 40. Talk to us about why did you start my tie at 40 and what made you start? Um it's a funny story actually with the Mai when I started uh my friend uh she was doing my type of fitness in the ladies class in um Bray um and she's come to me because I was doing boxer exercises. It's just something I always like something to do but I'm boring in the gyms so I have to do something in the groups. and she came to me and she said they're doing promotion. So if I bring someone with me to the Mai class, they give her free training. >> Okay. >> So that's the funny story how I started my time. >> So >> and and just end up just being in there. [snorts] >> So So you had no intention of like that was never you never looked at my tie went I'm going to go and train my Thai. you went with a friend so she could get free training and then you're 47 now with loads of fights under your belt. >> Like >> yeah, [laughter] >> it's that is that's not how I thought the story was going to go, but I like surprises. Um we when you went into the class at first, uh what was it like? Were you kind of hesitant going in? Were you nervous? Were you go like when you're with a friend it's obviously easier, but what were you expecting? And then what was it actually like when you got there? Was it a lot different than you thought it'd be going into a Mai gym? When I went to my Thai um I never even done research what it is my tie actually I went I didn't know what actually they even doing in the I didn't know anything and they start doing knees and elbows and kicks and I was like a robot I couldn't even I kick I think like it's everyone beginner like you know thinking and um I enjoy first class I enjoy um I think it's more for me was it's a group training and something new. I'm always love to learning something new and challenging myself a little bit to see can I do something or learn something new. Um I really enjoy after first class I didn't say I'm going to go to fight after first class. [laughter] I didn't have that attention but but I really enjoy after a while um [clears throat] I was just going keeping going I think instead of the one class a week I starting to do two classes and then three classes come up to the ladies class and then mixing up with beginners and then mix them up with the fighters I just really enjoy I think I just um found you know found something [clears throat] that I would like to do I would love to do and something that when you're coming in there it makes you feel good after when you're leaving even you're feeling dead and can breathe and thinking that you sold your soul [laughter] but you actually love that. So that's what how just stayed in there and then was asked to do a demo for demo and um I would say not I would not say it was a best experience ever getting punched in the face [laughter] the demo but h I knew I want to do that so I know I like that so I was need to step in for the first time you know like first time demo done I don't even know maybe six months, seven months, maybe five months was I can't even remember now [laughter] [clears throat] and to do a demo because on set you can go to do a demo. I'm like yeah I going to go to do that but in the ring it was totally different and feeling [laughter] I was in the ring having a totally remember why I doing that? Do I need that actually? Like, you know, it's like how that can be enjoyable. But when it's everything, it's over. Yeah. I I knew what like actually I want to stick to that. >> Yeah. And that's mad. That's what I was actually going to ask you, how did you end up competing? Because a lot of people, and this is like like when a lot of people if they start at that age, they go like, I'm too old to compete. And I seen the thing you said that's just a mindset in people. Do you know the sort of way? Um, but the fact you went at that age and you were like you went down the road to compete and a lot of people wouldn't like you said you went to demo, you got punched in the face. It's not like like I said, it's not the best experience in the world, but obviously there was something that you liked about it. But when you went for your first fight, talk to us about going into your first fight, what were your nerves like, your mentality and stuff like that going into actually an actual competition where that person's trying to hurt you and you're trying to hurt them? >> Um, yeah. >> [clears throat] >> Um, I was afraid my mind is wasn't where I have in my mind now. Um, it was I don't know. I hate it, but I love it. If that makes sense. Um Um, I think I was so nervous and overthinking. Um I think in the ring I was losing um my head more than anything else. So um I just maybe four, five amateur fights. I lost them all like I don't know. But maybe four, six. Yeah, because after that I had three pro fights that I lost in a row too. So I think um all that [clears throat] stepping in the ring uh dealing with your nerves each time like you know >> it's not like I giving you a fresh pleasure but as something wasn't there that even with the losing the fights I still wanted to do as something was it's like a for the little bear a honey somewhere in the corn and just follow that. [laughter] I'm I really but no I was nervous. I was panicky each time I was asking myself why I'm actually doing that and it's like a little loop is end up that I just love it that so I said like when I started competing say I have now not big record I have uh that's my was 12th fight 12th fight yeah um in seven years but in last few years this was about Seven fights like you know so the last maybe two and a half years I [clears throat] had a seven fights so it's I was competing when I in amateur when I started then you're taking breakly a year I would say like you know and then decided back again to do and I enjoyed I never took seriously I would say like this that like you know because when I starting now take seriously different different way competing even like you know before it was like yeah it's I loving I'm enjoying but not that be fighting all the time okay so maybe because of the age it was struggle but no maybe not maybe an age yeah like you know because you're competing like I need to compete with the people who sometimes nearly half of age of mine like you know sometimes this could be younger so Um I think I didn't had discipline at the beginning. That's what it is. I had motivation plenty motivation because I wanted to do that's what I stuck in that but I don't think so I had discipline what I having now for last maybe two or two and a half years two years I haven't discipline. So I know exactly what I want. But before yeah I want to but this was like [clears throat] if I'm not fight it's okay. Now if someone did come up and say it's no fight I'm like oh come on somewhere should be sh to go to like you know it has to be. [laughter] >> Oh I like that. I like there's a couple of things you mentioned there I found very interesting. You were talking about you're nervous and you lost your head in the first fight and then the the you weren't as active as you are now. One of the things I kind of talk to fighters about, do you think like mentally uh the mentality like the the mental part of fighting? Do you think people overlook that sometimes that they concentrate more on the physical side rather than trying to get their mind right as well? Cuz I I think you I think everything you do in life there's a huge percent that's mental. Um how did you overcome like you said you lo you think you lost your head in the first fight. How did you overcome the likes of the nerves and stuff? Was that just experience over time that you learned how to manage it? um experience that I'll back to fighting pro after amateur because when we when I fought um amateur then um we had a lockdown so nothing was happening nearly for two years nearly happening and then I went back straight away to the pro fight and I lost that one but um I don't know it's a so many people thinking I think that if you physically prepare that mean you can't fight the so many so many I would say athletes forgetting that your head is has to be trained to same way as physically you have to train yourself mentally too because um we can be strong we can be technical we [clears throat] can have stamina whatever you want but if the fight in the fight something not goes to your way and you start getting panicky, your head goes off and that's what I think so many good fighters like you know they can go to for first two or three rounds and then they see it not goes to their way they actually losing the fight by then at all like you know so because I think it's just you have to have your physical you have to have your heart and you have to have your mentally mentally training your brains too because it's it's not it's not easy. um for last two years I think um myself I working with the sport psychologist because it was hard for me to step over even I really want to so I found um sports psychologist who is um really helped me and it's too because I'm slow learner really slow [laughter] I'm really slowly like 200 times slower than anyone else you could [laughter] be. >> I wouldn't say I wouldn't say that's true at all. [laughter] >> H trust me I have to in the gym to do 100 or thousand times same thing until gets in my head that I without thinking the gym. So it has to be that. So it's same with the with the H when you're working with the psychologist the same way. So um each time every my fights is from the 20 2022 2023 I was in the Valkyrie show um 2023 I think um yeah 2023 and when we start working together with psychologist even myself I see totally different totally different body language relaxing sleeping before my fight. [laughter] Okay. Even I still having a nerves. It's normal thing like you know we're all human but they're different. You're controlling them. So I learned through the two years that it's not just physical preparation has to be like you know done. I can be fit. I'm always complaining about my fitness but it's okay. [laughter] I can I can be fit. I can have technique. I can be really strong. But I find find myself like you know I think when you're getting little bit older you're getting more mature I calling [laughter] that um you start covering every angle of your fight to make sure it's everything covered like your strength work your nutritionist your uh fitness uh your technique think I think same way it has to be your head be in that package kind of together. >> Yeah, I think so. [clears throat] I think like you said you work with sports psychologists. I see a lot more people doing it now cuz there's people you probably see people that in the gym you're like oh my god and then they go into the cage or the ring or whatever and they don't look like the same person and that could be multiple things like when you're in the gym it's just yourself and and your teammates when you go to event there's a lot of people there as it was the other night they're drinking they're shouting there's like you said you've got the warm-up time what time you start warming up at all these little things can affect your mentality going into a fight it's different if you were just going to go okay we're going into gym and fight now that person will probably win nine times out of 10, but when they go to a show, those little things affect them and people don't realize it does and and I'm glad you went to sports psychologist and I'm glad a lot more fighters are looking at it as well. But another question on what you' said, you you lost a lot of amateur fights in a row and then pro fights in a row. What made you keep going? Because like a lot if a lot of people and this a lot of people if they lost that many, they might be like, you know what, this isn't for me. That's what what made you go, well, I'm going was it was it you wanted to get that win or was it you just loved it? Um, you have to love that. That is first thing. You have to love that. [laughter] You have to love to get your punching in the face. Okay. But, um, as a call, I think is that determination that I can get better. I can do much better. And I never try to prove anyone in the gym. I never try to prove to my coaches. I never try to prove to the John uh that I can be better. It's always was about me. I have to prove to myself. So I'm really um hard on myself especially when coming up to the training sessions. I really hard and picky on myself [laughter] and that's um it's a good thing could be if you work proper way is work. But if that thing works against you, that's not the best thing then to having. So I had that worked for me against me all the time. So I think we found the way how to being stubborn um being hard on myself but this works for me now like you know if that makes sense. It's like it's not against you. So I know how to control myself if I getting frustrated or if I getting emotional because we're we're not robots. We are humans. We're going to go to get emotionals. We're going to go to get frustrated because if something doesn't works your way but it's really important how to controlling that and default those losses. I think um I learn more then I'll be having all winnings. Okay. So um it's all those losses I think it keep me going more. I think if I be having more wins at the beginning because of my age I think I'm already retired. Okay. So but because of the losses uh I proving myself that I can get better and do much better. So I'm really happy that I didn't stopped and most of the people be stopping as you said losing a lot of the fights um and then thinking that's not for them. I had hostiles too. We're having like you know when something not goes your way you're having hostile but um I think it's for me it was more keep me going than going back. I think that's the stubbornness kicks in [laughter] when you're so stubborn. I'm like, I'm not giving up on that one. Definitely not. Like, you know, until I'm not win, I'm not giving up. And then when you're winning, you're like, I know what I'm doing. I might one like you [laughter] know. >> Yeah. And then here we are, like you said, with the amount of fights. There's a couple of interesting points there that you made that I just want to touch on as well. You said you're hard on yourself. I'd be similar and I find like you said I used to be hard on myself in a negative way whereas now I'm hard on myself where I look at where I can improve like I always think whatever I do is not good enough whether it's in my job whether it's doing interview in interviews I'll look back on and go I could have done this I could have done that but I think it's I think it's crucial to getting better and I think it like you said it's it's a mindset as well it's it's a mindset that if you feel that you're doing good and you're just okay then you're just going to stay at that level if you want to raise the levels which you have um you need that mindset And like you said, if if those losses if you had the wins at start and the losses around, like I said, once you start losing a couple and have to win, you might went, you know what, it's time to call it a day. But we're all glad that uh it it's worked out the way it has. But um like you said, you've been very active. Um what's been the highlight of your kind of or or highlights of your career so far? Um um I think for last two years I had really um good fights um high level fight. Um I fought girl last year in September on the home show here in Waterford. Um so I fought girl. She's number one in UK. Um I was really happy to come off of the win like you know. So um I knew that's my place. Um I knew that I belong there. So I proved to myself that I'm actually belong where I am. Um then um in October, not October, Nove I fought for title for Kings of Solitarium in the Switzerland. So um I fought a girl I think that it's a uh experience really go was she's a tig girl from Germany and she had over 40 chip plus fights so that was really challenging um preparation for that [laughter] because um I was really nervous but I really overcome I was nervous about the fight maybe because um somebody having you're having say your 11th fight be and somebody having over 40 fights and they actually even call her in the in Thailand uh Bangla Princess like you know because she's fights a lot um but um I prove again to myself that I can't stand beside those people who is on the high level and who's have more experience and prove to myself that I can't baby be there. So I think it's all those big fights and I just not let me to retire yet. [laughter] the same with Joanna like you know she's I think she's fought in last year more than actually fought in last two years you know she's active fighter and she's a tough cookie okay so she's a to but it's always you can have uh game plan and if you following your game plan and you're listening what your coach is saying um 99% is always works then I don't know especially If you're having mindsets in your head like [clears throat] with Joanna um when I was preparing for fights it's uh four weeks four five weeks before my fight my dagger start going to go to sew my Achilles so my um calf um I reduced my training because I thought that um maybe need to just to have a break my gym three sessions a day. Okay. For five days or six days. Okay. So, it need little break but it pains was getting worse. We went to phys two and a half weeks ago before my fight. I was on the with the walking stick for the week walking because of the pains in my back. It's where my two fifth and sixth discs was inflamed and also press the nerves. So that is all was going through my my hip, my calf, my Achilles, my ankle. Everybody was painy just because of the nerve was trapped nerve in there. So um didn't stop me. I'm like now with the doing trainings, but I'm still fighting two days before I went to physio for the session just to make sure I can go to to fight like you know. So in the first round, this was tough one. In the first round is my back went at me. Um I love clinching and I couldn't turn anything to do because my back felt like locked. So when this fight over in changing room, I was crying because it was so sore. [laughter] So it's my highlights of my fights is I think um those three four big fights. Um I lost one in Manchester. I fought with the girl we was wasn't there. I think I just got panicky because night before they said it's going to go to be main event. And I think it just that's why we're back to my mindset. [laughter] That is good. We got me in there. So I learned that nothing can change you when you're getting your head in there. It has to be blocked. Everything else like you know it's not supposed anything changing here because I learned hard way. never blend my keys away. >> I like there's a couple things you said that you keep saying I prove to myself and I like that that you're proving to yourself all the time. It's not for anyone else. It's for you. And >> yes, >> and I really like that mindset. I've really enjoyed this conversation. I'm going to let you go, but I just want you to ask you a question. For anyone that might be older or any female that wants to get into a combat sports, what advice would you give them? >> Just go for it. life too short to missing anything. It's and having regrets because you never did that. I never gonna go to have regret that I didn't done that like you know I might have regret because my bones is going to my muscles sore [laughter] but only thing for me to say just if you want to do something just go and do that. It's it's not supposed to be like you know I'm too old and whatever but I would like to. If you're thinking that maybe you're too old, maybe that's not what you need to do. That's what for me that's it's if you think that you can go to age is a number. I think I proving to everyone age just a number. It's nothing can to do with your age. I think people just finding an excuses. So if anyone want to go to and do any sport might boxing, kickboxing, dancing, anything what they want to do, it's I think it's just you have to put your mind in there and just go and enjoy every every moment because it's life too short. >> Yeah. Because because the hardest part is getting through the door. Once you go through the door from there, you can see these fascinating journeys like yourself. For one, I've really enjoyed this conversation and I will catch up with you another time, especially if you have a fight in the next year. I am going to let you go, but is there anything you want to say before you go or anyone want to shout out and thank you so much for your time. I've really enjoyed this conversation today. >> I just want to say thanks very much for having having a chat with me. I'm still nervous. I'm still I think shaking inside, but I really enjoy. [laughter] >> So, thanks very much for that. >> No, you're fine. You got in last week, but you're nervous talking to me. The least intimidating conf confrontational person ever. Um, but I get it. Publicly speaking on camera or in public can be a thing and a lot of fighters don't like it. But, uh, I think I've really enjoyed this. I do want to catch up with you again in the future if you'd love to come on and explore your story. You're a huge inspiration to a lot of people out there. Um, and if this story helps one person, it it's done a job, you know, that sort of way. So, >> thanks very much. >> Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of your evening and I will talk to you soon. I did too. Yeah, we'll talk to you soon. Thanks very much.