FeaturesApril 21, 2017
Local teen and martial artist Skylar Ponder takes to the mat
Universal Martial Arts owner Bill Johns has made an interesting observation over the years. "Honestly, some of our best girls have been either cheerleaders or in gymnastics," says Johns, smiling as he delivered the unexpected words about the clientele that have taken his mixed martial arts classes...
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Universal Martial Arts owner Bill Johns has made an interesting observation over the years.
"Honestly, some of our best girls have been either cheerleaders or in gymnastics," says Johns, smiling as he delivered the unexpected words about the clientele that have taken his mixed martial arts classes.
Johns explained his point, noting flexibility and conditioning are assets in the sport.
It lends insight into why 15-year-old Skylar Ponder has been such a quick study her three years of martial arts.
Cheerleading is on the checklist of activities for the blond-haired teen who stands just 5-foot-1 and weighs 105 pounds.
It's a role the Oak Ridge High School freshman filled during her seventh- and eighth-grade years in middle school, where she also ran cross country.
Those activities pretty much coincided with her start in martial arts at the age of 13 after accompanying and observing her father and little brother to jiujitsu classes in Perryville, Missouri.
"I would go and watch. And I was, like, 'Oh that's cool, I would like to try that,'" Ponder says.
Her desire met no resistance from her parents, Travis and April Ponder.
"I said, 'Give it all you got,'" Travis says. "I want you to try it and see if you like it. I wanted her to like it and her to enjoy it, and if there's no joy in it for a kid, there's no point in keep taking them back and forth."
She became a quick study in jiujitsu, a self-defense sport heavy on grappling on the ground.
"I ended up really liking it," Skylar says. "I really enjoy doing it. It's fun."
She entered competitions, often in open divisions that would involve going up against boys, and she usually held her own.
"Her coach talked her into a division where she did all girls, and she did really well in that," Travis says.
And when her father began making the drive from their home in Altenburg, Missouri, to attend Johns' studio in Jackson last year, Skylar also attended while continuing to participate in jiujitsu, cheerleading and cross country.
"Last year it was rough during cheerleading season because away games were mainly on the days we did jiujitsu and kickboxing, but we worked it out so we could do it and still make both," Skylar says.
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This year, she didn't cheer or run for her school but hasn't ruled them out for the future, although she notes, "If I had to give up this or cheerleading, I would give up cheerleading in a heartbeat for this."
"This" is mixed martial arts, which she is now taking along with boxing.
"You learn how to punch, you learn how to kick and you learn most your grappling on your feet," Skylar says. "The point of mixed martial arts is you don't really want to go to the ground. In jiujitsu it's all about ground game."
Johns said the coordinated, compact teen was a quick study.
"As soon as we showed her how to throw a kick or throw a punch, she watched and did it exactly like we told her to, and she's just excelling in every aspect as far as I'm concerned," Johns says. "She was here for about two weeks and I was about ready to give her her first belt, and usually that takes two or three months."
Skylar is currently a yellow belt, and Johns anticipates she will get involved in some competitions.
"I think she will, because she's competitive and she's no quitter," Johns says. "She goes as hard as she can go."
Skylar recently brought up the subject of boxing, which has a more offensive mentality, to her father to learn more punches and kicks. He's agreed to take the lessons with her.
"I feel like you have to give yourself a well-rounded variety of everything," Travis says. "I told her that, too. I said, 'You've got to learn all of it if you want to do some of it. You can't just do one part and not do the other part. Boxing is part of striking and kickboxing."
For now, it's just an enjoyment and outlet for Skylar.
"It gets a lot off your mind and it gets you out and you can meet new people," Skylar says. "And you can eventually make something of yourself if you're very good at it."
Which hints at where she's possibly wanting to go as she develops her kickboxing skills. The legal age to enter a ring is 18, and it's something she's not ruling out.
Does she have aspirations of entering a cage one day, following the likes of Ronda Rousey?
Travis, who describes Skylar as "feisty," says he wouldn't be surprised if his daughter one day gave it a try.
"I wouldn't be opposed to it if I get to the point where I feel good enough," Skylar says.
The cheering just might be left to others.
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