Julie Kitchen

Julie Kitchen (1977-) is a former kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion. Kitchen was born in Truro and attended St.Paul’s School in Penzance, Cornwall. A shy teen, at Humphry Davy Secondary School, hockey, netball and athletics helped her to socialise and she discovered her sporting talents. She enrolled in the Sea Cadets and was awarded the honour of Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet, having risen to the rank of Petty Officer by age 16. In 1993, she went on to study a course in Leisure and Tourism at Penwith College. In 1999 she gave birth to twin daughters Allaya and Amber, and joined Touchgloves Gym in Penzance to lose weight after the birth. At 23, she began kickboxing and learning the art of Muay Thai, following a strict regime of diet and training to prepare her for professional combat matches. In 2002, Kitchen won her professional debut against Diane Fletcher from Liverpool, England. During her career she faced fighters from fifteen countries and won 14 World Championships. She was the first British woman to win a WBC title.