If, as a kid, Fehn Foss knew she'd one day be fighting in a world Muay Thai championship, she says she wouldn't have believed it.

"I'm surprised every day the turns my life has taken," said the 31-year-old visual artist and Muay Thai fighter, originally from Hamilton. 

Foss describes herself as "nerdy" growing up and didn't play any sports. But when she was in her late teens, she discovered kickboxing, which drew her to Muay Thai as a young adult. 

After eight years of intense training, Foss is headed to Turkey this week to represent Canada at the 2025 Senior World Championship run by the International Federation of Muaythai Associations. She'll compete in the 67 kilogram weight class. 

"I'm really proud to be going and it feels very 'once in a lifetime,'" she said. 

The combat sport from Thailand is different from kickboxing in that it allows fighters to strike opponents with any of their "eight limbs": fists, elbows, knees and shins. They can also throw and clinch opponents. 

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As Foss got serious about Muay Thai, she was also completing an undergraduate degree in photography and masters in visual arts. By April 2022, she was training at Lotus Fitness in Toronto and had her first competition at Lithuanian House on Bloor Street W. 

"I was beyond nervous about having an anxiety attack while in the ring," said Foss. 

But as soon as she was there she found a "deep focus." She won. 

"It was one of the coolest experiences to go from such extreme nervousness and, quite frankly, fear to being relieved, elevated and proud of all the work I put in," she said.

"Then I was hooked and I knew I wanted to keep progressing competitively." 

Training hours a day

Last summer, Foss qualified for Team Canada and prepared for the world championships, including training in Thailand for three months, where Muay Thai is the national sport. 

Back home, training is intense — about 18 hours a week in season, Foss said. She also coaches Muay Thai, works as an artist and is a teaching assistant at York University.

Foss's coach at Lotus Fitness, Charles Chen, described her as determined, hardworking and driven. 

"Fehn has been training her butt off," said Chen, 35, who has also competed on the world Muay Thai stage. "She has so much going on and she's still able to be so consistent in the gym and push super hard." 

She'll be up against athletes from countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Russia, he said. Thai athletes, who are usually "the toughest competition out there," typically compete in lower weight classes.

What drew Chen to Muay Thai was, at first, fitness and he "really liked hitting things." He then became absorbed in understanding the culture, technique and "fine details" of the sport, which appears almost effortless. 

He's now seeing these components of Muay Thai resonate with young athletes as it becomes more popular, he said. 

Foss encourages people of all ages to give combat sports a try. 

"I think we assume the athletic potential is only for young people, but I think it's cool to push yourself and find those limits of where you can go," she said.

As an amateur athlete, Foss doesn't get paid to fight, and fundraises to cover travel and gear expenses, but said it's all worth it. 

"I know myself better, I know my body better, I'm proud of what I can do," she said. "I feel really present physically and that's an incredible feeling to have."