When I was 17 I found martial arts and fighting became an outlet for my personal struggles. It helped me realize the power of being different, built my confidence and made me proud of who I am becoming and where I came from.

When I was a couple days old I was abandoned by my birth parents on the steps of an orphanage in China. I lived in the orphanage and with a foster family until I was about six months old. I was then adopted by my family and grew up in Sault Ste Marie, ON in Canada. 

As much as I am grateful to have grown up in a country with many opportunities, I couldn’t always picture myself achieving anything big. I always wanted to do big things but I could never picture myself in positions of success. Growing up as an Asian woman in a largely white community was difficult and I didn’t have any role models who looked like me. To add to that, being adopted also came with a lot of confusion around my own identity and self worth. I never really owned my story of where I came from and used to be embarrassed that my birth parents abandoned me. Before having an outlet like fighting, I struggled a lot with these feelings and never really spoke about it. 

Fighting has changed my life and has taught me lessons in resilience, courage, confidence, discipline, vulnerability, faith and dedication. It has taught me to be myself and own my life. It continues to help me grow into a better version of myself each day and I continue to pursue my big dreams through MMA. Although my goal is to be a world champion, the best in the world, I strive to be a role model for the future generations of young asian women who feel under-represented in sports, media and success. You don’t often see Chinese women represented as strong, powerful, athletic and confident, I want to change that.

I want to continue to share my story as I have now realized how impactful it can be for others who have struggled similarly. I want to show that no matter what circumstance you come from, what you have struggled with, you can achieve amazing things and can chase your dreams. 

The nickname Big Dick Willow was started because my coaches began calling me that when I would do things well at practice. It caught on from there and when I had my first fight, the first Big Dick Willow shirt was created as requested by supporters. I have continued to use it as I feel it represents the powerful energy I bring to the cage and…the fans love it!