> By Benjamin Garrison   > Photographs by John Pai

 

 

 

At 4 feet, 11 inches and 106 pounds, Kim Messer doesn’t appear to be the kind of woman who could kick your ass. But watching her instruct a group of men — all of whom stand at least a foot taller than her — on how to kick, move and counter, shows how she’s a natural in the boxing and kickboxing world.

Just two decades ago, such a career for Messer would not have been feasible. Prior to the 1980s, female boxers were almost unheard of, and it wasn’t until the 1990s when the sport started to gain popularity and a slow acceptance. Now women’s kickboxing is gaining momentum, and female MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fights are starting to receive media coverage.

Messer is one of the women responsible for bringing these sports into the mainstream. Between 1994 and 2000, she won four kickboxing and boxing world championships.

“I was extremely impressed with her technical skills and quickness,” recalls Sue TL Fox of the first time she saw Messer fight. Fox is a former boxer who runs Women Boxing Archive Network. “There’s fighters that can be real skillful but they’re not very interesting to watch. Kim is an exciting fighter to watch. She brings a lot of showmanship into boxing.”

Today, she owns and operates Ring Sports United (RSU) with her husband, Mark, who is also an accomplished martial artist and former Washington State kickboxing champion. Their gym in Bellevue, Wash., a large suburb just east of Seattle, has an enrollment of around 200 students who take classes in boxing, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA. Messer is the primary kickboxing instructor and helps out with the boxing class, drawing on years of experience in both sports to guide a new generation of enthusiasts and competitors.

With enormous physical demands and time commitments, Messer’s journey to become a professional fighter was a difficult one. It required a great deal of tenacity and diligence, characteristics she has exhibited since childhood.

Messer doesn’t know when she was born or the name given to her at birth. She was found wandering alone in a train station in Seoul when she was about 3 years old. When authorities were unable to locate her family, she was taken to Holt orphanage in Jecheon. At the orphanage, unidentified children were given the last name of the person who took care of them. So for two years, she was known as Baik Kee Soon.

Kim Messer (right) and her protégé Melissa Shaffer.

Around the age of 5, Baik was adopted by the Messer family in Oregon. Once in America, she became Kimberly Sue, an energetic child who quickly adapted to her new surroundings. Family photos chronicle an active and busy life growing up in the small town of Silverton. Messer played tennis, softball and volleyball in high school, and was a gymnast and cheerleader. She also did ballet for eight years and performed twice in Portland’s Ballet West School of Dance annual production of “The Nutcracker.” While pliés and tutus seem at odds with roundhouse kicks and boxing gloves, much of the coordination, balance and athleticism necessary to succeed in ballet carried over into her endeavors in the ring.