Stories: Becoming a fighter

"I saw a girl who on the outside looked soft, but inside she is a really hard strong fighter," coach Rob Wisdom said of 19-year-old nursing student Rachel Wessling. "She pushes herself as hard as the guys. She is a motivator to them."

"I saw a girl who on the outside looked soft, but inside she is a really hard strong fighter," coach Rob Wisdom said of Rachel Wessling. "She pushes herself as hard as the guys. She is a motivator to them."Rachel Wessling practices kicking drills with her male teammates as they train together at the Boxing Gym in the Central West End for their upcoming fight. Wessling, a 19-year-old nursing student at St. Louis University, started training at the gym in October and in November her coach signed her up for her first fight,scheduled for January 28.
   
A poster promoting Rachel Wessling's first fight, Fight 4 Cause, hangs in the entrance of The Boxing Gym.
   
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Coach Rob gave Rachel the nickname "The Pink Panther" because of all of her pink gear. "He also said I have the attitude of a panther. The panther can be very sly and mischecious at times. It waits to see what its prey is going to do. Then once that prey makes a mistake you go in and mull the opponent."
   
"It's difficult with school, it's a lot of time management. A lot of
sleep loss and even when you get to sleep early your muscles are
twitching in the middle of the night. I have bruises and pains and aches all
over the place. Even in class or when I’m doing things outside of
fighting, I still feel what I was doing in practice."Rachel Wessling takes the blood pressure of her classmate Sarah Winebright during the first lab of their clinical decision making and health assessment class at St. Louis University. Wessling has known since high school that she wanted to be a nurse after she shadowed a surgical nurse and saw a double bypass, and tumor removal, and a tracheotomy. "Not once did I flinch. I got all into it and didn't want to go home," she said.
  
Amber Overton braids Rachel Wessling's hair as they hang out in Overton's dorm room at St. Louis University two days before her fight. She mixes in strands of synthetic pink hair into the braids in honor of her nickname "The Pink Panther."
     
  
Amber Overton braids Rachel Wessling's hair as they hang out in Overton's dorm room at St. Louis University two days before her fight. She mixes in strands of synthetic pink hair into the braids in honor of her nickname The Pink Panther. Also pictured are Jina DuBose (standing), Rachel Taylor (far right), Cora Black and Dennis Tabb (on the couch).
   
The first to arrive at the Machinist Hall in Bridgeton, Rachel waits with headphones in her ears and her hood pulled over her head. Earlier that day, Rachel went to the doctor. She had been running a 101 degree fever all week and her ear was bothering her. Rachel said they wanted to send her to the ER but she wouldn't let them."So this fight is more important than your ear," her doctor asked."Right now it is," she answered.
   
Left, Rachel Wessling and Elle Fischer battle it out in their Muay Thai bout. They were they only female fight at Fight 4 Cause at the Machinist Hall in Bridgeton.
     
  
Rob Wisdom picks Rachel Wessling up after it was announced that she won the fight. "Win lose or draw I will be inside the cage picking you up regardless," Wisdom said to Wessling before the fight. Wessling won in a split decision.