Cassandra le Roux

6 x SA Gold Medal, MMA

2018 All-Africa Gold Medal, MMA

2018 World Champs Bronze medal, MMA

Multiple SA champ, u16, dancing

5th place International champ, dancing

Why do you train?

I train for physical and mental “rehabilitation.” To make sure my mind is clear, make sure if I’m having a rough day, I get the good endorphins going, and I get everything to settle mentally. From there everything works together. If I don’t train I get very moody. It sets the discipline in place, that’s my time to train. Time to read. Time to eat. Keeps me in the good habit of creating something that I know is good for me.

Why did you choose fighting?

I was a multiple time national dancing champion. I chose fighting because I love the discipline, commitment and team effort that comes with it. Discipline. Commitment. Being part of a quality team. Without that, what have you got to offer in life? If you’re not committed, why are you doing something? If you’re not dedicated, how are you going to get to your goals? And if you don’t have a team backing you, then how are you supposed to do something? That’s the push a lot of people need, that support to say that I’m with you on the days where you don’t feel like doing it.

On coaching:

The difference between going to a “normal gym” and the way we do things, is that you need to figure out what you’re going to do today. We always have a plan. “This is what we are doing. This is how it’s going to benefit you. This is how it’s going to impact you for the rest of the day.” We read you when you come in and if necessary, we start slow, get you into the right environment and mental state, to the point where you are feeling ready to take on the session. Everyone leaves with a smile and a laugh. By the time they leave, they go home happy, instead of depressed and stressed. It’s a mental reset. They feel like they can take on all the challenges. The reset is important because why do you want to dwell on negative stuff? Why dwell on the stuff that can harm you? Rather reset your whole mindset and take on a more positive attitude. Training helps with that because it makes me look at things differently. Even when I’m going through a really hard situation, I can look at it in two ways. Either this is my downfall. Or I look at it like how am I going to get past this stage where I can move past it, and how it’s impacted me in a positive way. Instead of dwelling on what is done to me and how it could break me, I look at it as how it can make me a better person at the end of the day. I learnt that from fighting.

What benefits has fighting brought from you mentally and physically?

Physically I know that my body is capable of a lot more than I’ve put it through in the past. I know I can break through that barrier point. Even if I wake up sore, even if I’m struggling, I push past that point and I get stronger, not just physically, but mentally as well. That’s a big thing for me because I don’t feel weak. I feel like I’m strengthening myself every single day that I’m training and working away. I think, as a female, feeling weak is the worst thing we can put ourselves through. When your body feels weak, your mind starts to feel weak. And then you start deteriorating every aspect of you. You get sucked into all your other insecurities. “I don't look good.” “Everything is failing” You start feeling disappointed in yourself and you cannot look at yourself in the mirror. Or you look at your partner and you think “why are you with me, I’m not good enough for you?” That process is not a process anyone should be going through. Even if I’m physically weak, I can train my mind to be strong.

Where does strength come from?

Strength comes from your head and your heart. Your heart because you’ve got to be in it for the right reasons. You’ve got to have to want it and need it. It’s got to be something that drives you to your goals. Your mind because you get to that point where you don’t know if you can do it, and you get to the point where it’s like even if I can’t do it, I’m going to try and try and try until I do get it.

Why train others?

My biggest thing is that I’ve learnt so much in the decade plus I’ve been training and for me there is no greater pleasure than knowing that I can transfer my knowledge to someone else, that’s impact their lives in such a positive way. It’ll give them the confidence and the strength to be able to feel like a new, different person. When you’re walking on the streets and you’ve got that confidence that you can hold yourself in anything. Inside and outside.

What do you give your clients?

I give them the opportunity to work on themselves. To strengthen their minds, to be able to physically feel stronger. To realise how much potential they have. Inside the gym and outside the gym. So if they’re going through a rough situation at work, they’re better than what they were when they started. So when they reach that limit where they feel they’re not in the place where they should be, they can get through it and be okay. I feel satisfied that they’re building their confidence, they’re building themselves. As we grow up we lose the kid in ourselves. As a kid we have all these dreams and aspirations. If you take a kid and an adult, the kid’s dreams are as wild as possible, but as we get older we get sucked into the reality of things. So you forget to dream because it feels like it’s not even possible. Through my coaching and training, I try bring that through as well. When you come in we try to unlock that childhood stuff. So you’re dreams become bigger and we push through the boundaries of reality.

Who do you get the best results for?

The people who come in who are really wanting a change. It doesn’t help if you want it but you’re not prepared to do what it takes to get what you want. The people that are at the point in their life where they’ve realised that if they don’t do something now, they’re in trouble. If they’re committed and dedicated, and have taken that time out for themselves, I put in the extra work with them. It’s something that they want, it’s that desire and need to get past that point where they are. People that feel stuck, and that need a change.

What are the biggest changes that you’ve seen?

The biggest change is confidence. In such a big world, we all feel small. People can just tower over us and talk their way through everything. Once you gain that confidence you’re firm. You’ll stand your ground. When someone talks to you in a way you don’t want them to, you can say “right that’s enough. I’m not allowing you to talk to me like that,” Whereas an unconfident person will back down.

What goals, dreams and outcomes do you help your clients with?

Physical. Emotional, definitely. There have been a few clients who’ve come in who have a lot to deal with emotionally. I’ve been through my fair share. I think the fact that you don’t just go through it alone, you have someone to go through it with. Someone to look at the positive side of things. I think that’s one of the biggest things emotionally and physically to get to the point where they don’t feel weak any more. They feel like they’re progressing. You can see a mental shift. You can see when they start feeling like their true selves. You can see the confidence in the way they walk. Everything changes. And then you start hearing how everything at work starts changing. And I think for me that’s the biggest win. How they’ve adapted what you’ve taught them inside the gym to outside the gym. And everything becomes better. I’ve seen it especially in the school kids. The stress about exams. The training side of things is a good mental reset. To clear everything out and start again refreshed. Not carrying all that pressure in your mind. The same thing applies to the people outside of school. People studying as well as working. If