Photos by MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Jessica Martinez (left) high kicks pads held by her coach James Henry at Henry's Tae Kwon-Do & Combative Training Center in Christiansburg.

Jessica Martinez won her first mixed martial arts fight and lost her second.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- Like every single mom, Jessica Martinez has plenty on her plate. She has a full time job, helps her boyfriend with his business, takes care of her teenage daughter and, when she gets a little free time, auditions for the odd role in local theater.

She also likes to mix things up a bit.

Martinez, a 31-year-old office manager who lives in Christiansburg, has taken up fighting. She is a black belt in ITF-style Taekwon-Do and a white belt in 10th planet -style Jiu Jitsu. And when a spot in a mixed martial arts event unexpectedly opened up last spring, Martinez stepped into the cage.

"I was afraid at first," Martinez admitted. "But it was so exciting. As soon as it was over I was like 'yes! let's do it again.'"

Martinez is doing it for the third time today at a North American Grappling Association event in Evansville, Ind. She won her first fight and lost her second -- though she is careful to point out that she made it through all three three-minute rounds in the loss.

"Ultimately I'd love to be able to do it on the pro level and be able to get paid for it," Martinez said. "But I'd like to get a couple more fights, or 10 more fights -- whatever it takes. We'll see how the year goes."

Martinez said it is harder to find fights for women than men because few women compete in mixed martial arts and because, she suspects, not all promoters want female fights on the program.

But Martinez is not easily deterred.

She grew up in Southern California and got a job as soon as she was old enough to get a work permit, not just for the money but also for some independence. She got pregnant at 16, and her daughter Destiny was born a week before her 17th birthday.

Martinez said her mother, although upset, offered her unwavering support.

"My mom is a huge part of Destiny's life, she helped so much with Destiny and helping me to grow up," Martinez said. "Although I always worked and kept Destiny fed and things like that, at times it felt like Mom was mom to both of us."

Martinez worked her way to a bachelor's degree in radio, television and film at Cal State Fullerton, but wasn't finding the kind of work she hoped. In the mean time, she took a trip to visit relatives in Christiansburg where her niece Gabrielle was studying at Henry's Taekwon-Do and Combative Training Center.

Gabrielle's teacher was James Henry, owner of the storefront gym on Roanoke Street in Christiansburg, and Martinez fell for him.

After some long distance romance, Martinez opted to move to Christiansburg in January of 2007.

Never an athlete, Martinez only decided to study Taekwon-Do when Henry offered Destiny a chance to learn.

"At first we studied self-defense, hand-to-hand combat and knife skills," Martinez said. "It's an invaluable skill that everybody should have, especially every woman. ...

"It's improved my self confidence a lot."

Studying Taekwon-Do led to competing in that sport, and at first that was plenty for Martinez. Henry was also teaching Jiu Jitsu, but "I didn't care for it, I didn't really understand it," Martinez said.

She tried it anyway, which is how she ended up qualified to fill in when another woman dropped out of that match last spring.

"At first I was like I think I need more training," Martinez said. "Then I said 'screw it, I'll do it.'"

Martinez said some fighters like to keep their feet, using mostly kicks and punches, while others like to go to the ground and grapple and punch. She likes to wait and see what opens up.

"I try to remain calm," Martinez said. "It's better to be smart and calculated rather than just go wild."

She said that during fights she is so focused that she sometimes can't even hear Henry's shouts of advice. Sometimes she even forgets there is a referee.

Although refereeing in MMA is definitely different from Taekwon-Do.

"There are a lot more rules in Taekwon-Do," Martinez said. "They will not allow you to hit very hard. MMA is kind of the opposite. They want you to beat the hell out of each other."

To a point. There are rules against shots to the back of the head and to the spine. Using elbows is taboo, too.

It hurts, Martinez said, getting punched with those four- to six-ounce gloves. That is one reason that, while her dad supports her MMA fighting completely, her mom doesn't like it one bit.

"She kind of like scolded me for it," Martinez said. "But then I was like, you know what, I'm in my 30s, I can do what I want."

For her part, Destiny stays out of that fight. An advanced red belt in Taekwon-Do herself, the eighth-grader at Christiansburg Middle School has been to all her mom's matches.

"It's fun," Destiny said. "There's a lot of energy there. I do get worried about the fights and all. But she's really good, so that's all right. And it's different from everyone else."