What could be worse than pouring your heart, soul and body into something you love, only to have people mock your endeavor?
On top of that, having some of the closest people in your life simply not understand your passion.
I'm not sure how many people could handle this, but for up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighter Emily Dubas it is what it is.
"I get mixed reviews," Emily told me tonight, just days after winning her first match. "I mean like at the fight, my friends who came... one of them was shouting and he was like, 'Rip her head off,' [jokingly]. And then the people behind them were like, 'Rip her shirt off.'"
Emily realizes that the latter comment sums up the way the recreational fan is going to look at her, but she claims it doesn't even faze her.
"It's just one of those things," she said of people looking at it as just girl-on-girl action. "There's gonna be people who are gonna say it. They obviously aren't in the sport and don't understand what you go through and everything like that, so it doesn't even bother me."
Like any good fighter, Emily has the ability to drown out any surrounding distractions while she's in the cage or training at the Mixed Martial Arts Institute in Harrisonburg.
After only about six months of training in Tae Kwon Do and a variety of other disciplines, the 20-year-old sophomore at James Madison University was able to forget about the naysayers and dominate in her debut against Mary Scott.
Scott, a sophomore at Christopher Newport University, definitely looked the part. She packed on at least 10 more pounds than Dubas — and let me say, it was definitely muscle.
Emily entered the cage with her hair loosely tied back — a stark contrast to Mary's tightly woven corn rows. (Somehow I knew that her ponytail was going to come undone; luckily for her, by the time it did, she was in firm control).
Consider me part of the problem. I honestly didn't think Emily had a chance when they first touched gloves. How wrong was I!
After taking a couple punches to the head, Emily woke up and dominated through the last 2 1/2 rounds. Credit Mary for hanging tough as her nose bled profusely, while right jab after right jab connected cleanly. The Tae Kwon do came into play in the second round when Emily cracked her right foot squarely against Mary's jaw.
They call it Martial Arts for a reason. It's about mastering technique and being able to channel aggression and strength through that technique.
The lankier-looking Emily managed to keep her technique despite never being in the cage before. Mary admitted losing control.
"Any person in their first fight will say your nerves get to you, you get excited and technique's out the door and you just wanna brawl and that's what I did," Mary said.
Brawling is probably the last word people who love the sport, would like associated with it. Emily's parents haven't come around to the idea and her father Larry declined to comment on his daughter's fighting.
"They still don't really like the whole idea, but they said that they were proud and everything," Emily said. "They just don't really like violence or hitting or anything."
Consider convincing her parents just one of a number of obstacles that accompany a female in mixed martial arts.
Emily has already overcome her first fight, as well as gained the respect of the rest of her gym, where she is the only consistently attending female.
She said she prefers training with the guys because it's more challenging and that when new girls show up, it almost seems to easy.
"It's kind of hard," she said,"when you go to a gym full of guys, you have to prove yourself to them and show that you can do everything that they can do.
"... They'll try to like baby you and be like, 'We'll you can do girl push-ups if you want,' or something like that, but like no I'm gonna do the regular push-ups like everyone else."
Two obstacles down, many more to go. But as is the sport of mixed martial arts.
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