FeMMA About

Get to know FeMMA's Founders

Hello, I am Maria

Martial Arts Enthusiast/Boss B!tch

In my younger days, sports, especially martial arts, weren't on my radar at all.

One day, I ran into a street violence incident, where a man attacked me on the way to work. Thankfully, I didn't get hurt, but this encounter shook me to my core. I felt scared and on edge. I was worried something like this would happen again, and if it did, I wanted to be able to handle it better. From that moment on, things changed. I felt the need to face aggression head-on and wanted to learn how to become comfortable with uncomfortable situations and be able to protect myself. It was lucky that, at that time, kick boxing classes were running in my workplace building, so I signed up and never looked back.

I am currently three years into my Martial Arts journey and it has been a game-changer. Anyone who has tried any form of Martial Arts knows it isn't for the faint-hearted, it demands you to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Doing this revealed an inner strength that I never knew existed inside of me. The newfound strength and confidence that I have discovered and built through the process of Martial Arts has spread into all other areas of my life.

Starting at 30, with no sports background, has taught me I can tackle anything and that it is never too late. I am completely in love with and grateful for the sport and what it has done for me, and I want other women to be able to embrace their strength and realize anything is possible through Martial Arts too.

My goal in Martial Arts is to keep evolving as a Martial Artist and, who knows, maybe one day (before I am 40) I can step into an octagon for an amateur MMA fight.

Professional Journey.

I am a successful business woman. At 35-years-old, I am a Director at a Global Company. This wasn't always the case, we are not only fighters in the gym, but in life.

I grew up in a tiny Russian village, and even though I had no role models around me demonstrating what success could look like, I yearned for more than what life showed me was possible. A different, successful life was my goal, and I was going to make it happen.

At 18-years-old, I arrived in a foreign land with just 40 euros, a small suitcase and no place to call home. I was frightened, and struggled to speak English. I didn't know how to make the dream life I had in my mind a reality, but the quest for something different had me figure it out. It wasn't all rosy; it didn't just happen. I worked for it.

I always knew I deserved that dream life, I just had to grind hard to claim it. I owe everything to my actions, tough choices, and the occasional big risks I took. Crafting the life you want requires imagination and unwavering belief, yearning for more than what you have demands inspiration.

I created success for myself fast. I rose to the top due to my mindset, learning from my mistakes, and the skills I have developed. Today, I see myself as a pro in organizational savviness and negotiational skills. I've honed these abilities over a lifetime and believe that mastering them is key to thriving in any career.

My career journey has given me a wealth of skill and knowledge that any woman wanting success in their life needs to know.

I am not special, I was not born into success. I made it!

If I can make it, anyone can.

Hello, I am

Kristy "KO" Obst

Pro MMA Fighter/Holistic Healer

I loved boxing for fitness. I had so much fun hitting pads that I barely realized how much exercise I had done and no matter how exhausted I was after, I felt strong and powerful.

The moment I fell in love with Martial Arts was when a girl I worked with was kicking the bag we had in the middle of the gym floor. I was inspired by what I saw and asked her about her training. During that interaction she mentioned she was going to do a Muay Thai sparring day, with wide, curious eyes and asked "what is a sparring day". After she told me about the competitive side of this sport, I was hooked.

I walked into a Muay Thai gym the next day and made a promise to myself that in 1 years' time I would have my first Muay Thai fight, and I did at the age of 26.

After 6 fights, many injuries and setbacks, I hit a wall, my body started breaking down, and I found out I had chronic fatigue and had to stop training. I was devastated, my dreams were crushed (cue the healing journey).

1 year later, I was feeling better and was desperate to train and hopefully compete again. Going back to my old gym wasn't an option due to scheduling issues and what I needed to do to take care of my health. My dreams were crushed again.

If I couldn't fight again, I decided to try something new, and went to my first BJJ class for fun at an MMA gym and loved it. After 2 sessions, my coach asked me if I wanted to fight MMA. A bubbling of excitement and joy rose inside me. I said YES of course! Then I immediately went on to tell him how 'I didn't think it was possible because of the health issues I was recovering from', 'the fact I was old "28" and didn't know any jui jitsu' 'was this even possible'. He assured me that was all OK, we would work around my health needs and I would be in the cage in a few months. And I was. My dreams were back on track.

I won my first amateur fight in March 2018 and was hooked! I was going to take this thing as far as I could. Within 1 year, I had competed in 4 amateur MMA fights and multiple jui jitsu tournaments. Not long after, an opportunity to apply to try out for ONE Championships 'ONE warrior series, competing for a $100,000 contract into ONE FC came up. I wasn't going to apply because I was still an amateur, and they were looking for professionals, but my team encouraged me to apply anyway! I got in. It was a dream come true. After a grueling and nerve-wracking trial day, and a few days waiting to hear the results, I opened my emails to see CONGRATULATIONS. We would like to welcome you to 'Rich Franklin's ONE Warrior Series'.

In 2019, I had my PRO DEBUT on the world stage with past UFC champions watching and commentating, and had an impressive win that earned me a win bonus. That year I won both my pro fights and a Muay Thai state championship belt. (not bad for an uncoordinated girl, who got picked last for every sport)

My fiancé and I decided to move to Bali and train out of Bali MMA to further our career's. In Jan 2020, the world shut down along with the ONE warrior series.

Since then, I have dealt with some other health issues and was due to return to the cage in Dec 2023 when, in a freak accident, I snapped both bones in my shin and had emergency surgery. Fight camp turned into a healing camp.

Let's see where my pro fight career goes next...

Professional Journey

Professionally, I have been a seeker of answers. I transitioned from a hairdressing career to running my own personal training business because I wanted to help people change their lives. Joining a gym, hiring a PT and working on my fitness changed mine. Not only did I start to physically feel and look better, but mentally and emotionally I noticed a shift too. For the first time in a long time, I felt proud of myself, confident and courageous.

As I started to work on people's fitness, I noticed that it wasn't enough to make a lasting impact on peoples' lives, get them out of the physical, mental and emotional pain they were in and have them achieve their goals.

I poured my money and time into study, I became a life coach and started training with the best holistic health and performance institute in the world (the CHEK institute). I became a level 2 holistic lifestyle coach supporting people's mental, emotional and nutritional journeys to better health and happiness, and a level 2 CHEK practitioner, supporting people to get their bodies into a state of optimal alignment for high performance and healing.

Along the way, I personally experienced many of my own personal troubles that I had to overcome; chronic fatigue, a myriad of skin and gut health problems, anxiety, body dysmorphia, disordered eating. This all triggered an identity crisis as I had to change my entire life and led me on to searching for even deeper answers to healing.

I became an energy healer and started to work with karmic consciousness and attend self-mastery schools. It was as though I had found the answer to personal transformation and optimal performance after years of searching.

I started to apply all of my knowledge from the mental, emotional coaching realm, the physical training and lifestyle realm, and the energetic healing realm, when working with my clients and started to see them make remarkable changes in their lives inside and outside the gym!

Years of back pain, gone! Stubborn weight, gone! Motivation problems, gone! Sabotage patterns, gone! Self-doubt, gone!

Throughout my own journey of overcoming many health problems (physical and mental), and being able to come back stronger than ever, along with my pursuit of fighting, I have come to know the ins and outs of what it takes to compete at a high level as a woman!

I have done many things the wrong way that set me back many years. I know what it's like to cut weight, heal an unhealthy relationship with your body, and cultivate the courage to overcome doubt, stand up for yourself and still succeed.

You don't have to sacrifice your health for your dreams, and you don't have to sacrifice your dreams FULL STOP!

My Services.

I offer a range of holistic services to support you to overcome block and excel towards your personal dreams.

Check Out My Website