Sue King has become renowned in the art of jiu-jitsu after the trauma of childhood bullying
Sue King is the highest-ranking active female Japanese Jiu-Jitsu practitioner in the UK(Image: Sue King)
A Liverpool woman has had the last laugh after being bullied in her younger years. Sue King, from Croxteth, is a Jiu-Jitsu legend who has been commended for 40 successful years in martial arts.
The 54-year-old picked up the sport one day after she found herself being taunted in school and decided, “Enough is enough.” Wanting to stand up to her bullies, she attended a self-defence club after school.
Initially, she went to training once a week, but her love grew so strong that she began dedicating six days a week to it – stating it was an “escape from my reality, from home”. Since then, she said she has “never looked back.”
She said: “It’s been difficult being a high-ranking woman in a male-dominated sport, but I love changing lives. If I help just one kid, it makes me feel at home. Every day is a bonus for me and I can’t see myself stopping as long as I have blood and breath in my body. There’s been many times I thought I would hang up my Gi but I love it.”
Sue, the brains behind Norris Green’s Muga Mushin Ryu Jiu-Jitsu school, has been travelling all over the world recently to teach martial arts and inspire others to overcome adversity.
As a child, Sue’s mum died in a house fire — a tragedy that caused her to need skin grafts herself, and made her a target for childhood bullies. She then grew up as the sole carer for her seriously ill dad, who was in hospital during the fire. He died in 2008, leaving Sue, a Shihan with a 7th Degree Black Belt, with funds to open a school – similar to the one she desperately needed as a teenager.
Jiu-Jitsu legend Sue King (Centre) with Steven and Sean Hughes and Kenneth Culshaw
She said: “I was brought up by dad as my family died in a house fire when I was five. I lost my entire family. Coming out of that there was no such thing as counselling, you just got on with it.
“So for looking back on the past 12 months with the school, it has been nothing short of incredible. Our gym has gone from strength to strength, with new classes added to support our growing community. We’re especially proud of how our children’s classes have thrived.
“Unfortunately, early on in the year, I faced a significant challenge. A knee injury sustained during training sidelined me for many months, preventing me from training and attending some UK seminars. While it was a difficult period, it reminded me of my motto of triumph over adversity and the importance of resilience and adaptation, values I strive to share with our students.”
Sue King has been involved with Jiu-Jitsu for four decades now(Image: Sue King )
Stating that “if the little kid from Croxteth with literally nothing can triumph over adversity, then everyone can,” Sue is on a mission to “show that your childhood and background don’t have to define you.”
She said: “I’m so proud that we’re truly making a difference and changing lives through martial arts. I’m really looking forward to an exciting year. I’m releasing two books and at the school and CIC, we’re planning even more events to bring our community together and make a positive impact.”