‘If I Can Do It, You Can Do It’ – Janet Todd Aims To Inspire More Women To Compete In Martial Arts
Reigning ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion and ONE Interim Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Janet Todd is more than just a martial arts superstar – she’s also a role model for countless other women.
On March 24 in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video, “JT” will square off with ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues in a highly anticipated World Title unification bout.
Set for the Singapore Indoor Stadium live in U.S. primetime, that clash will serve as a showcase for two of the most talented women in all of combat sports – and fittingly, it will come during Women’s History Month.
Each and every time Todd competes, she knows she’s being watched by millions around the world. She’s also aware that she plays a pivotal role in the growth of women’s martial arts.
And as a leading figure in an industry that’s traditionally dominated by men, she hopes her success encourages others just like her to dip their toes into kickboxing and Muay Thai.
The California native told ONEFC.com:
“I hope people can see what I do and say, ‘Yeah, I can do that.’ Or even say, ‘Yeah, I could do that better. I could be the next champion and help the sport grow.’
Because compared to the men, there’s not as many women competing. ONE Championship is a great platform, but I hope the sport continues to grow through some of these major promotions like ONE Championship. And, yeah, I hope people get inspired to compete. If I can do it, you can do it.”
While the 37-year-old knockout artist is a trailblazer in her own right, she was also motivated by a number of powerful American-born women that came before her.
Those inspirations include multiple-time Muay Thai World Champion Miriam Nakamoto and women’s martial arts pioneer Gina Carano.
Todd said:
“There’s a bunch of women that have really helped us get to the world stage today. I’m thankful for them to preset the path for us.”
Now that she’s competing on the global stage provided by ONE, the Boxing Works representative is thrilled to see more exposure for women’s kickboxing and Muay Thai.
And with recent broadcast deals being signed and ONE’s first United States show coming this May, Todd believes it will only continue to gain in popularity.
The two-sport queen said:
“I think ONE Championship, making the fights more accessible to people through watching it on YouTube or watching it on Amazon Prime, is helping grow the interest in the sport. I’m sure after people watch it, maybe not everyone’s like me, but they might want to start and see what it’s like.
“And maybe that’ll help the sport grow, too. So I think ONE Championship is making that more accessible to people by putting it on platforms where we can watch all these fights for free.”
Janet Todd: ‘I Don’t Let Failures Get Me Down’
For Janet Todd, kickboxing and Muay Thai provide much more than just a paycheck and international fame.
She also views those sports as key tools for women’s empowerment. Because with each challenge, setback, or defeat she’s faced in competition, “JT” has learned to continue training and improving – a core tenet of martial arts.
According to her, those lessons learned in the ring and the Circle will echo throughout the rest of her life:
“I think what martial arts, at least, has done for me, is giving me confidence that I can take on challenges that I thought I couldn’t and find a way to get it done. And it’s not just in martial arts, but outside, in my work and everything else in life.
I don’t let failures get me down, I just know I just have to try again, find a different way to do it. And it’s given me the confidence to be able to get back up and try again and be able to discover more of what I’m capable of, which has been really rewarding. So I hope that people who start martial arts gain that kind of experience too.”
