When Georgia Ralphs was in Year 8, she wrote a list of future dreams.
One was to become a Muay Thai world champion.
Although the central Queenslander had only been involved with the sport for a few years, it was clear the martial art was different from all the other after-school activities she'd tried.
Four years later, after countless hours of training, she has achieved her goal.
Ralphs won the belt for the Under 65 kilogram 16–17-year division at the ISKA Muay Thai Championships in November, travelling to Türkiye from her home in Rockhampton to compete.
"I didn't believe it at first," Ralphs says.
"When I got my hand raised, I froze in time.
"I was like, 'This is crazy, I actually did go this far.'"
Ralphs' fighting days are only just beginning, but she has another dream on her list: inspiring more girls to take up the traditionally male-dominated sport.
Attracting girls to the sport
Muay Thai originated in Thailand and, for centuries, was exclusive to men.
That perception is slowly changing — in part because of young women such as Ralphs and her coach, central Queensland gym owner Chloe McLachlan.
The sport also wasn't McLachlan's first choice for an extracurricular activity.
She'd been dancing for three years but would wait at her brother's Muay Thai gym for his training to finish before their parents could pick them up.
Eventually, her brother's trainer coaxed her into working at the gym and then joining the classes.
"Dad was like, 'You can't do both,'" McLachlan says.
"It was a big choice [giving up dance], but I just fell in love with it [Muay Thai]."
Back then, McLachlan stood out in "a gym filled with males".
"The females didn't really get a look in the door; we were always hiding over in the corner," she says.
"Whereas here, you walk in, male or female it doesn't matter — you're spoken to the same way, treated the same way and everyone's equal so it's a good environment."
As McLachlan moved into coaching, she was faced with a whole new challenge.
"It was hard once I worked my way up the ranks over the years teaching the men because … they didn't really want to be taught by a little girl," she says.
"But the little girl could teach them a lot."
McLachlan's influence attracted new girls to the sport and, in the nine years Ralphs has been training, the Gracemere classes have gone from "mainly boys" to an even split of genders.
Ralphs is also driven to encourage more girls to take up Muay Thai and is coaching younger students alongside her regular training.
The next generation
For children starting out, Muay Thai classes look like games and learning some basic technique.
Most of all, Ralphs says, it's about keeping things enjoyable.
This approach is working for Addie Hansell, eight, Pippa Banks, seven, and Rocco Vale, six.
The trio, who adore their "Miss Georgia", say she pushes them to learn new things without making classes too difficult.
To Addie, Ralphs is more than just her teacher: "She's like my big sister".
This family atmosphere is something McLachlan dreamed of when opening the business.
"We aim for our gym to be not just a gym, but a family," she says.
"We sometimes get kids here who have had really bad time at home, or they've had a really bad past or a bad upbringing.
"We have the saying 'one Muay Thai family' and we live by that."
'Their confidence skyrockets'
McLachlan says having so many female trainers helps children feel a little less intimidated starting the sport.
"Once they start training, you just see it change … and that's it, their confidence just skyrockets," she says.
McLachlan says some parents fear that Muay Thai is too violent for their children.
And while sparring can look violent, McLachlan says the sport is an art form.
"Parents are a bit worried that it's going to make their child a bully, or to react badly at school, and get into trouble," she says.
"It's not. It teaches them discipline and respect and confidence, so they know what they can and can't do at school."
"They have rules here … they know that they can't go home and punch their brother even though he's annoying them."
