Muay Thai fighter’s life revolves around childhood sport
This is just another typical evening for Sarah Zientek. She’s teaching the basics of the sport she has grown up with in a way that almost makes getting hit in the face seem like fun.
Her father, a third degree black belt who has been involved with the sport for close to 30 years, first introduced Sarah to the sport when she was 10 years old.
“She loved it right away,” said her father, Mike Zientek. “We used to take her to a kids’ class on Saturday and she always looked forward to it.”
As Sarah grew older, her love for the sport grew from a hobby to a lifestyle, and now takes up most of her free time.
“(Muay Thai) definitely my number one thing,” Sarah said. “I’m here for two to three hours every single night.
On a typical day, Sarah works her day job in human resources at 7:30 a.m. and typically doesn’t return home until 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. Then, she’s in bed after a quick bite to eat. She needs to be well rested to keep up such a hectic schedule.
“I’m either at work, or I’m home sleeping,” Sarah laughed as she explained what else she does in her life other than Muay Thai.
And with a schedule as busy as hers, one might wonder how she is able to maintain any type of relationship, but she has also managed to do that by dating a fellow kick boxer for the past three years.
“It’s a very healthy relationship to. We get to punch each other,” Sarah joked, also adding that it makes things a whole lot easier because he is at the gym all the time with her.
“This is my life and this is what I do.”