World champion fighter blends sport with life lessons
by Zack Pettit
Angie Woolum, a world champion sport jujitsu fighter from Delbarton, splits her time between training sessions with world-class athletes and teaching pint size up-and-comers in the world of martial arts.
It’s a tricky balance for the former homecoming queen and something that keeps her motor running, but the 30-year-old wouldn’t have it any other way.
Woolum decided long ago her duty as a martial artist was not only to win, but also to set an example for young people and give back to the community. Now, she not only trounces the competition, but also teaches morals and discipline to youth.
The first-degree black belt has studied martial arts for many years but most recently has been under the supervision of world-renowned trainer Ernie Boggs.
Since her quest began with 49-year-old Boggs, Woolum has won the first women’s international world title in sport jujitsu and has become part of the newest mixed martial arts league.
Woolum and her World Combat League team, the Miami Force, recently avenged last season’s league championship loss at the Eastern Conference opener in Atlantic City. Not only that, but she took home first-place honors in the 128-pound division at the early December event.
Founded by Chuck Norris, World Combat League features competitive combat martial arts fighting, or CMA, at a full-throttle pace.
As mixed martial arts fighting has ascended into national spotlight in the past few years, several leagues have sprung up around the country. But World Combat League offers something different with its fast-paced, stand-up fights.
League regulations forbid ground fighting and fighters are penalized for stalling or passivity. “Knockouts, not tap outs,” is the league motto.
The pace is fast because competitors fight only one three-minute round to determine a winner. Fighters square off twice per match and break for 30 minutes between bouts. Points are tallied individually, but team scores are the determining factor in who wins.
Woolum does it all, but title belts and first-place trophies aren’t everything to her, she says.
Both Woolum and Boggs would rather win at life than in the ring.
And although Woolum is a knock-down, drag-out fighter, she does have a softer side.
In 1995, the 18-year-old now known as “The Mingo Warrior” was voted homecoming queen at Burch High School.
Woolum no doubt thinks of her high school prize as just one step along the path.
“The victory,” she would say, “is in the journey.”
That motto has graced the wall at the BCI Martial Arts gym in Nitro where Woolum and Boggs train and teach. It was developed by Boggs to keep his students focused on preparing for fights rather than eyeing the spoils of victory.
Boggs knows something about victory, too.
He has produced more world jujitsu champions than anyone else in the world. He has graced the covers of countless magazines and won world titles himself, but he retired from the ring in 1991.
When Woolum came to Boggs about five years ago, she was already steeped in morals and discipline and had been boxing professionally for about three years.
Training with Boggs did nothing but raise her skills and teach her more about what it takes to be a Boggs-type champion.
Giving back to the community is something Boggs preaches and does himself.
“If you can reach one of these kids, it’s worth it,” he said.
Woolum was reached when she was young.
She was raised in the Delbarton Church of God and started traveling with the children’s ministry when she turned 12. That’s when she realized her dream, she said.
“My passion is teaching,” she said. “Fighting is just something I do. If I can help someone else reach their goals like sensei (Boggs) did for me…”
With all her success, she, too, is eager to pass the buck and help someone and give up the spotlight.
She said she owes many of her achievements to Boggs.
“He’s one of the best instructors I’ve seen in my life,” she said. “He gets respect everywhere he goes. At Wally Jay’s (famous martial artist Bruce Lee’s instructor) 90th birthday party, he had Ernie speak.”
They frequently trade compliments.
He said she is the right person to send a positive message to today’s youth.
“True warriors will step up and do that,” Boggs said. “Angie has a way with the kids, especially the young ladies. She’s a champion of life. She understands her words are more powerful than her punches and kicks. The lesson is always in the word.”
Boggs said she also instills a can-do attitude in her students, which he believes is very important for the youth in the state.
“People from West Virginia have had to struggle,” he said. “It’s important these kids believe in themselves and for someone to tell them, ‘Yes, you can.’”
Neither of them shows any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Boggs said he is being inducted into another hall of fame early next year. He has lost count of how many he is in but thinks it’s about four.
He said he is particularly excited about this one because of the credentials required to get in.
He said the only way to get into this particular hall of fame is to change the history of martial arts.
Boggs did that when he designed the first pair of gloves for mixed martial arts fighting.
Woolum doesn’t really know what her future holds, but she is sure martial arts will be a part of it.
“It’s something I love to do,” she said.
