Michelle Schramm's life story has some shocking twists and turns. But, today, she copes with her traumatic past with a new perspective, thanks to martial arts. By profession, Michelle is a school teacher who recently opened her own private schoolhouse, a pretty impressive gesture that fulfilled one of her personal goals. This ambitious teacher's past, however, is filled with debilitating abuse began when she was 14 years old when she was molested and raped by the youth pastor at her church. She endured his abuse for 8 long years until, as a young woman, she found the strength to go to the authorities and bare all the intimate details. The residual of this event from 20 years ago remains. She is the mother of 2 sons ages 19 (a product of the abuse) and 11 (who she adopted at birth). Because of the abuse, Michelle spent years believing everyone was going to hurt her, until her oldest son began martial arts and she saw the impact of his instructor on her son's life. She decided to give martial arts a try and eventually settled on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which she claims, "saved her life." She weighed more than 300 pounds when she began. Through her practice she has lost significant weight and also became a competitor who has won numerous competitions as a beginner and later, a blue belt. This real-life overcomer story proves the power of martial art practice, Michelle inspires you and me to finally take the steps toward self-healing and self-betterment, even when hope wanes.
Michelle's Links & Info:
https://www.facebook.com/ShugyoPersonalDevelopment/
https://www.instagram.com/biggirlbjj/
#WomenofArnoldBjj
Andrea's Links & Info:
The Martial Arts Woman book: https://amzn.to/3inNiuQ
Martial Art Inspirations for Everyone: https://amzn.to/3irRjyy
How to Start Your Own Martial Art Program: https://amzn.to/3zf0aJB
The Martial Arts Woman Podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrea-harkins
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