Peter Queally has encouraged more women to take up mixed martial arts after an overwhelming response to his self-defence workshop last month.
The Bellator fighter ran the first free workshop at his SBG gym in Naas on January 22 and saw 30 women take to the mats for the first time.
He was moved to offer the classes free of charge as the country reeled following the killing of Ashling Murphy in Tullamore on January 12.
Queally, who will fight on the main card at Bellator 257 on February 25, taught the class alongside his colleagues at the Straight Blast Gym.
The classes seek not only to teach basic self-defence techniques but to show the physical and psychological benefits of training in a safe, communal environment.
“We had our first one last Saturday. And it was a great response...all the girls seemed to enjoy themselves and seemed to appreciate it,” Queally tells Dublin Live.
“To be honest, these self-defence classes are good, but what a girl should do really is just join a gym, and start learning how to defend herself.
“And not only will she be able to defend herself, in the rare, rare case that something happens, but also she’ll develop confidence, become physically fit and make friends.
“I'd recommend that to any girl. That was one thing that I found from speaking to the girls on the self-defence class was oh, you know, I have no experience, blah, blah, blah.
“They think an MMA gym is the likes of me, Conor [McGregor], Asael [Adjoudj] and Artem [Lobov] all in there bludgeoning each other to death.
“That's what they think happens in MMA gym. But the reality is, it's the membership of an MMA gym is made up of 99% of brand new people that are beginners.
“Everyone's a beginner, when they start, then you get good.
“And then you can sometimes morph into being a professional fighter or whatever. But 99% of people's goal is just to come in and get some confidence and have some fun.”
The popular image of an MMA fighter may be of a young man but Queally stresses that it’s a sport for all shapes, sizes, ages and genders.
One of the goals of any combat sport is to help build self-confidence and self-esteem and one of the most rewarding aspects for Queally is seeing that personal growth up close.
He says: “We've every kind of shape and size, and age as well. We've guys in their 50s training in the gym regularly.
“So none of this is a barrier. A good gym should be able to accommodate everyone.
“If you've been to a gym and you feel like you're too old or too slow or too overweight or whatever, you're just at the wrong gym. They’re not coaching you right
“There have been many guys that have come into my own gym, and they're just so shy and so meek.
“You can just tell they desperately need their confidence lifted, but then you do see it after the course of a few months. You see this happening before your eyes. It’s beautiful to see.
“I think women would benefit from this as well. Taking out the danger in society of being attacked, just having a bit more confident is always a good thing.
“And the social aspect of it is great as well, when you’re just making new friends, and all this different stuff.
“It shouldn't happen that we’ve to do this, it shouldn't be a case where women are getting attacked. But unfortunately, this is life.
32-year-old Queally faces British lightweight Kane Mousah on the co-main event when Bellator returns to Dublin later this month.
Also on the card will be the all-Irish featherweight clash between one-time sparring partners Sinéad Kavanagh and Leah McCourt, while bantamweight Brian Moore fights Jornel Lugo.
Queally has his sights set firmly on landing a world title but, away from the octagon, he finds he particularly enjoys the personal aspect of coaching on the mats.
“I've actually started enjoying it more and more. When you start to see people develop then you get a lot of enjoyment out of it.
“When you can see the fruits of your labour and the positive effect it's having on their lives, it's very satisfying. That's really important.”
Tickets to watch Peter Queally/Sinead Kavanagh/Brian Moore in action at BELLATOR DUBLIN: Mousasi vs. Vanderford are now on sale and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.ie and Bellator.com.
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