When she is out of the ring,  the young female kickboxer with 14 years of competitive experience and a championship title seems like any fun-loving college student.

While her personality is warm and endearing, her kicks are fierce.

“I’ve broken an opponent’s leg in the second round of the fight I won my title in,”  said Jill Herrig, junior biology major with an emphasis in zoology.  “I watched her past fights, and I knew this one kick she did was going to come.  Her leg came straight at me, and I countered her by sweeping it away as a block.  Her foot tilted to the side, so I came back with a front kick that went behind her leg.  I didn’t mean to break her let, but I kept pounding it until it she tapped out and it was fractured.”

Herrig’s actions in the ring may seem dangerous, but a great amount of composure and humility is important in fighting, Herrig said.

To stay calm and centered, she fights with the Christian Hymm lyrics of “Loving and Forgiving” on her mind.

“It goes, ‘Slow to anger, rich in kindness, loving and forgiving are you,’” Herrig said.  “It tells me to be patient.  It’s ironic, the stereotype is that fighters are rutheless, aggressive and mean.  I use it as a sport, a sport that needs discipline to control your anger.”

Herrig also tries to beat the stereotype that all fighters are male.

“In a male dominated sport, some men do not see me as a threat,” Herrig said.  “What you see isn’t always correct.”

When she was four-years-old, Herrig saw a display in the mall for a fighting school.

She then began learning Muay Thai, a combative form of Martial Arts that orginates from Thailand.  Muy Thai is the “science of eight limbs” and is known for strong kicks and elbows, Herrig said.

She is a third generation Muay Thai fighter.  Her instructor was a second generation Muy Thai fighter, meaning the founder of Muy Thai in the United States instructed him.

She later practiced other Martial Arts forms, such as a weapon-based fighting called Eskrima Khali.

Among her accomplishments are a first place title with the Thai Boxing Association of the USA and a second place title with the International Kickboxing Federation.

An amateur-style fight has three 90-second rounds.

“Every second really counts,” Herrig said.  “You spend so much time preparing for one fight.  I used to train Monday through Thursday for four hours, Friday for five to six (hours) and Saturday from seven to eight (hours).  Sunday was my recovery day.”

Now that she is studying at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Herrig has kept her fighting practice to Monday and Wednesday nights with the Kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu club on campus.  She is also involved as a resident assistant of Southwest Hall, a Study Abroad ambassador and a member of The National Residence Hall Honorary.

Upon her graduation, Herrig hopes to work for Sea World as a whale and dolphin show trainer.  She would also like to work with the Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation that rehabilitates injured marine animals and releases them back into the wild.

To see Herrig in action, attend the Kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu club from 8-10 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday in Studio A of the Pioneer Athletic Center.