Wrangling four kids under four as a single parent is no mean feat, but Nowra dad Richard Kemp punched above his weight.
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Mr Kemp and his now partner, Elizabeth, share seven children - back in 2011, he was a single parent.
But full-time care of his four children didn't deter him from taking on 11 professional fights in 12 months.
"I'd been training martial arts for a few years, and I decided I was going to have my first pro fight," he said.
"(Then) things happened [in my previous marriage] - my children and I had to leave. I went to my parents' place, and they helped me out immensely.
"I couldn't go out and do any old job because I had a six-month-old. All I had was training, which I did at home by myself.
"I could spar at gyms sometimes, and would sleep on couches when the children were with their mother so I could train.
"It's how I tried to help make ends meet a little bit."
In his effort to help make ends meet, Mr Kemp gave up drinking and smoking, and shed about 30 kilos.
"Weight loss was a long process," he said.
"If you want to learn a martial art you can't be smoking or drinking, you can't have a poor diet - you have to get rid of all of that.
"It's a lot cheaper to have a gym membership than smoke two or three packs a week. If people want that, they'll change. If they don't, they won't."
He said his first child motivated him to change his lifestyle.
"In 2007 I was about to have my first child, my little baby girl," he said.
"I thought 'wow, I'm not going to live past 40 like this'. That was my motivating factor, to see my kids grow up, and so they don't see me doing things that I did as a teenager."
Mr Kemp now owns a mixed martial arts gym and teaches there five days a week. With seven children, it's no easy feat either.
"I'll do our 6am jiu-jitsu session, then I'll get back home, and I've usually prepped things the night before," he said.
"A couple of the kids will help us prepare breakfast. We do all of that together as a family, everyone has their chores.
"This year, we've started doing a dinner prep day where Liz and I will prep about 30 meals."
Between the two of them, Mr Kemp and Elizabeth have a 12-year-old, an 11-year-old, two 10-year-olds, an eight-year-old, seven-year-old and a six-year-old. If you think that sounds like hard work, you're not wrong. Mr Kemp said there were times when he had to use his "loud voice", but there was always more fun than trouble.
"It is difficult, but at the same time you just do it, and it becomes a way of life," he said.
"You get to be a child again yourself. I have to find that in myself, and get out of the hole of just being a parent."
Although martial arts may have a tough image, Mr Kemp said he found calm nurturing others on the mats.
"It helps keep my mind on track, because I'm actually very erratic - I don't plan anything, much to Elizabeth's dismay," he said.
"I get a lot of satisfaction out of watching other people grow, and I love nurturing someone's love of martial arts."
Despite the rocky road to achieving his ambitions, Mr Kemp said he was fortunate to be surrounded by good people.
There will be bickering, but we just choke each other and we're fine a few minutes later
He said it took time to find something he was good at, but having mentors along his journey made a big difference.
"In jiu-jitsu, my coaches taught me to empower myself and the people around me," he said.
"I had to change my mindset, and I couldn't do it on my own. Surround yourself with good people."
Mr Kemp is committed to sharing that positivity with others.
"If you treat someone like they're a person and you want them to grow, you create a culture where everyone tries to help each other," he said.
"A good strong team is like a family. There will be bickering, but we just choke each other and we're fine a few minutes later."
His real family still comes first and foremost though. Mr Kemp choked up as he said his children would always be his number one focus.
"Involve them in your journey, be present with them at home," he said.
"I make a huge mistake of that sometimes, and I think, I didn't have to go to that training session, I wish I planned that out better - there are other things in life."
