My parents split up when I was nine years old, and I started taking karate lessons at that point. I was very dedicated to my karate, and I looked up to my karate instructor kind of like a second father.
When I was a kid, I'd always wanted to take karate, but my parents wouldn't let me because I did a lot of other things, including ballet.
As a 4-year-old, I saw two men competing in the ring, and I thought it was martial arts. I asked my parents if I could do martial arts. So, I was 5 or 6-years-old, and I was doing karate and jiu-jitsu. Later on, I started kickboxing. Then, it just progressed. I did a little bit of everything, but predominantly, I did kickboxing.
It turns out that a Nobel is also followed by other recognitions, and perhaps the most unexpected of these is that the Japan Karate Association in Tokyo has now made me an honorary 7th-degree black belt, something that, given my athletic abilities, is even more unimaginable than being an Economic Sciences Laureate.
First I tried karate but I didn't like it because it was boring. There was no action like you see in the movies.
I would be a very different person without karate.
I'm so proud of my time in karate and what I achieved. It's part of me, so I don't want to leave it behind.
People never believe it when they find out I'm a karate world champion. They don't see me as the type because I'm small and blonde.
I think I got nominated in the MTV Brand New Top 10 because I'm 3x world time karate champion, and I'd probably just beat everyone up if they didn't put me in it. They were all scared!
I was into basketball, football, karate, boxing.
