Laing

Conversation BREAKFAST WITH …

HAZEL LAING BOXER AND ARTIST

BY CARMEL PILOTTI | PHOTOGRAPHS: GODFREEMAN KAPTIGAU

What is a usual breakfast for you after training? I usually go for fresh fruit, or local veggies left over from dinner the night before – my diet is mainly plant based. What’s your breakfast drink? Sometimes it’s green tea but it depends on how I feel; if the energy is low it’s coffee. I usually get a coffee at the Ela Beach Hotel bakery after training at the beach. What have you ordered this morning? It’s a long black with honey, seasonal fruit and a fruit roll with marmalade jam (from the Salt Restaurant breakfast buffet). You’re an artist of two forms, visual and martial. How did you come to partake in the two? When I was a child I didn’t draw a lot, I’d write more in a journal. When I turned 13 I realised that the words couldn’t quite capture my feelings. So when I discovered paint and brushes it just stuck, and it was like a meditation because there was no-one else involved in it; it was just me channelling whatever I was bringing to the world. With the competitive side of boxing I felt I was out of my comfort zone at first, but then I fell in love with the art of boxing. In 2018 when I joined Tru Warrior (TW), Tala and Tomasi (TW Founders) were just

With my first fight, I was really scared. I was thinking, what the hell have I got myself into?

great teachers and they sold me on it. What is one thing you love about each of your chosen art forms? I can’t really describe what I love about visual art, and that’s what I love about it. You just have to look at it and it will invoke something in you. I guess it’s the subtleties of art that I’m drawn to. With (visual) art it’s the flow and surrender, and with boxing it’s the refinement and strategy. When you’re in a fight you have to think, even when you’re tired, so I definitely love the strategy. Do you feel these two contrasting paths you’ve taken provide some kind of balance in your life? With boxing you have to know the rules and with art there’s no rules – so yeah I feel like that’s the yin and the yang. Tell me about your first fight – what is it like to face an opponent for the first time? With my first fight, I was really scared. I was thinking, “what the hell have I got myself into?” I instantly started to panic when my coach showed me my opponent. But the survival instinct kicked in. I think I was more worried about other people’s opinions and whether I’d perform, and not necessarily about whether I’d be hurt. At first, all the technique I’d learned went out the window,

but then I calmed down and I was able to use some strategy rather than letting emotion control me. What motivated you in your choice to take up boxing? Definitely personal growth. It gives me an environment to grow with the pressure. Tell me about your visual art. What inspires your pieces? My emotions always provide the biggest inspiration. What are some other things you are passionate about, and what is next for you? I’m really passionate about healing in any way, or form. I have a drive to bring healing for myself and others to whatever spaces I enter. Doing that through art will be the next step for me in my journey. With the self-defence, the empowerment it gives, especially to women, is a form of healing.

Salt Restaurant is at Ela Beach Hotel, with all-day dining and an upstairs bar with beach views. Open from 6am. See coralseahotels.com.pg.

Opposite: Seasonal fruit and a fruit roll from Salt Restaurant. Above: Hazel Laing, prefers a plant-based diet. Left: Laing with one of her artworks.