Kickboxing
Tisha Balentien
The Days Gym fighter who proves that strength doesn't always have to sound loud.
At Days Gym we believe that champions are not always the people who shout the loudest. Sometimes they are precisely the people who keep coming for years. Who keep learning. Who keep going when others stop. Who walk their own path, even when that path is not easy.
Tisha Balentien is that kind of fighter.
A name that became linked to winning, fighting and perseverance at a young age. An athlete from Almere who did not discover only later what discipline means, but who learned as a child that martial arts demand more than talent alone. You have to dare to train when it is hard. Dare to listen when you are corrected. Dare to lose, come back and rebuild. And above all: you have to keep believing that you can become stronger than yesterday.
Tisha’s story is special because it is not only about competitions. It is about character. About a young athlete who became a champion early on, later found her way to professional stages and eventually became connected to Days Gym. A fighter who shows that martial arts are not only about strength, speed or technique, but also about identity.
Because anyone who knows Tisha knows that she does not have a standard story. She is not just someone who fought a few bouts. She is someone who had to show early on that she earned her place. Someone who built her name step by step. Someone who, like every true fighter, was shaped by victories and setbacks alike.
And that is exactly what makes her important to Days Gym.
Not because a champion only wins.
But because a champion keeps building.
Among the champions from a young age
Tisha’s story does not begin on a big international stage. It begins earlier. Smaller. Close to home. In the gym. In youth competitions. In the Dutch martial arts world, where young talents are tested early.
By the age of 14 it was already clear that Tisha was no ordinary young fighter. In 2011, Almere Deze Week wrote that she claimed her third Dutch title at the Open Dutch Championships Muay Thai/Kickboxing. That is an important detail in her story: Tisha was already a champion before many of her peers even knew what real discipline meant.
But an achievement like that never comes by itself.
Behind a title lies training. Behind a victory lies repetition. Behind a young champion there is often a child who learns early on to deal with pressure, tension and expectations. While others may see sport only as a hobby, as a competitive fighter you learn at a young age what preparation means. What making weight means. What nerves mean. What it means to stand across from someone who wants to win just as badly as you do.
Tisha learned that early.
And maybe that is exactly why her story fits so well within Days Gym. Because at Days Gym we know that martial arts do not only begin when someone turns professional. The foundation is laid much earlier. In youth. In the first training sessions. In the first bouts. In the moments when an athlete learns not to run away from tension, but to go right through it.
Tisha’s youth achievements show that she had something in her early on that you cannot fake: a fighter’s mentality.
A fighter from Almere with a story of her own
In public fight-sport profiles, Tisha is linked to Almere and Days Gym. Tapology lists her as a fighter from Almere, Flevoland, with Days Gym as her affiliation. Enfusion also lists Days Gym as her gym.
For us at Days Gym, that means a lot.
Because a gym is more than a training location. A gym is an environment in which people are shaped. You come in as who you are, but you grow through what you learn there. You learn to deal with yourself. With your body. With fatigue. With emotions. With disappointment. With pressure. With the fact that nobody gets stronger without effort.
Tisha represents that process.
She is an example of someone who does not only train to get better in the ring, but someone who has become stronger as a person through martial arts. That is exactly what Days Gym wants to radiate. Of course titles matter. Of course competitions matter. But the real value of martial arts lies deeper.
It lies in the change that takes place when someone keeps coming.
When someone learns to persevere.
When someone grows from athlete to fighter.
From fighter to example.
Professionally active with Enfusion
Tisha Balentien is registered with Enfusion as a fighter of Days Gym. Her official Enfusion profile lists her height as 157 cm, her date of birth as September 14, 1996, and an Enfusion record of 3 fights: 2 wins, 1 loss, 0 draws and 0 no-contests.
That record tells a compact but important story.
Within Enfusion, Tisha fought Alicia Holzken, Nina van Dalum and Guliana Parisi. Her wins over Alicia Holzken and Guliana Parisi are registered with Enfusion as wins on points. Her fight against Nina van Dalum is registered as a loss.
To outsiders, a record like that may seem simple. Two wins, one loss. But in fight sports, behind every result lies a world of preparation.
A win on points means you did not have to be better for just one moment. You had to stay sharp for rounds on end. You had to keep scoring, keep defending, keep listening, keep breathing. You had to hold your concentration until the final bell. That demands technique, but also maturity.
And a loss? That is part of the story too.
Because real fighters are not only shaped by the fights they win. They are also shaped by the fights that hurt. By the moments when they have to take a fresh look at themselves. By the choice not to disappear after a setback, but to come back.
Tisha did that.
After her loss to Nina van Dalum she remained visible in the sport and came back with a win over Guliana Parisi at Enfusion 138. Tapology lists that fight on June 15, 2024 in Groningen, where Tisha won via decision over three rounds.
That is the sign of a true fighter.
Not only winning when everything is going well.
But staying on your feet after a difficult phase.
The victory in Groningen
The win over Guliana Parisi at Enfusion 138 is an important moment in Tisha’s recent career. It was not a title fight, but it was a bout that showed something about her character. She stood on a professional stage once again, fought three rounds and won via decision.
For Days Gym, a moment like that is important.
Because it shows that Tisha is not only a fighter with a past, but also someone who can perform again. Someone who comes back. Someone who keeps testing herself.
Fight sports are hard because you become visible again and again. You cannot hide behind a team. You cannot point at someone else. When the bell rings, you are the one standing there. You have to move. You have to react. You have to deal with pressure.
Tisha has done that.
And she has won.
That is why her story has value within the Champions page of Days Gym. Not only because she once became a young champion. Not only because she has been professionally active. But because her career shows that martial arts are a long road. A road with different phases. Youth, amateur, professional level, coming back, carrying on.
A champion is not someone without difficult moments.
A champion is someone who keeps moving despite those moments.
More than one discipline
What makes Tisha extra interesting is that her martial arts background is broader than kickboxing alone. Tapology also lists her as a professional MMA fighter with an MMA record of 0-1, with her fight against Suad Salimova at Levels Fight League 4 in 2022.
To some people, a loss sounds like something you would rather not mention. But we see that differently.
The step to MMA takes courage.
MMA is no small adjustment for a kickboxer. It is a different world. Different distances. Different risks. Grappling. Wrestling. Ground work. Cage work. A different way of thinking. For someone with a stand-up background, that means: learning anew. Becoming vulnerable again. Starting over.
That Tisha took that step says something about her mentality.
She chose to test herself outside her familiar environment. That is not easy. That takes courage. Many fighters stay within what they know. Tisha dared to look wider.
And that fits Days Gym.
Because we believe that growth begins where comfort ends. You do not get better by only doing what you already can. You get better by taking on new challenges, by making mistakes, by learning and by coming back.
Strength in silence
Not every champion has the same presence.
Some fighters are loud. Others are explosive. Some draw attention with words. Tisha’s strength lies in something else: presence without exaggerated show.
She has a story that speaks through what she has done.
A young Dutch champion. A professional Enfusion fighter. An athlete from Almere. A Days Gym fighter. Someone who has seen the ring, knows the pressure and has not let herself be defined by one moment.
That makes her valuable to the gym.
For young girls at Days Gym, Tisha is an example. She shows that martial arts are also a place for women and girls where strength, self-confidence and discipline can grow. Not in an exaggerated way, but for real. Through training. Through structure. Through learning to deal with your body and your mind.
For parents, her story is important because it shows what martial arts can do when they are taught in the right environment. It is not about aggression. It is about control. About self-confidence. About learning to know your limits. About respect. About discipline.
For competitive fighters, Tisha is a reminder that a career does not always go perfectly, but that you can always prove yourself again.
And for Days Gym, she is a name that shows our champions do not all have the same story. It is precisely the differences that make our gym stronger.
What Tisha means to Days Gym
Tisha Balentien represents an important part of what Days Gym wants to be.
A place where not only men train. Not only heavyweights. Not only big names. But a place where every serious athlete gets the chance to grow. Where women are just as much part of the martial arts culture. Where young talents can see examples who look like them. Where discipline is not a slogan, but a daily process.
Tisha’s story helps us show that.
She started young. She won Dutch titles. She stood on professional Enfusion events. She fought in kickboxing and MMA. She came back after setbacks. And she stayed connected to the sport.
That is a story that deserves respect.
Not because everything was perfect.
But because it is real.
And real stories are often more powerful than perfect stories.
Key achievements of Tisha Balentien
Multiple-time Dutch champion in her youth/amateur phase
At the age of 14 she claimed her third Dutch title at the Open Dutch Championships Muay Thai/Kickboxing
Enfusion record: 3 fights, 2 wins, 1 loss
Win over Alicia Holzken at Enfusion Talents #58 on points
Fight against Nina van Dalum at Enfusion Talents #83 / Enfusion 100
Win over Guliana/Giuliana Parisi at Enfusion Talents #113 / Enfusion 138 on points
Professional MMA debut at Levels Fight League 4
Has proven herself in multiple disciplines: kickboxing, Muay Thai background and MMA experience
Tisha Balentien – a Days Gym story
Tisha Balentien is the kind of fighter who shows why Days Gym is more than a place to train.
She shows that martial arts shape people. That a young talent can grow into a serious fighter. That women are just as much part of the champion culture. That strength does not always have to be loud. And that a career is not defined by one win or one loss, but by the road someone keeps walking.
For Days Gym, Tisha is a name to be proud of.
Not only because of her achievements.
But because of her story.
A story of starting young. Of becoming a champion. Of carrying on. Of fighting professionally. Of coming back. Of growing.
Tisha represents the power of discipline. The power of continuing to build. The power of a gym where people do not only learn to fight, but learn to become stronger in who they are.
That is why Tisha Balentien belongs among the champions and top fighters of Days Gym.
As an example.
As inspiration.
As proof that martial arts build character.
And as a reminder that true champions are not made only by what they win, but above all by who they become along the way.
Tisha Balentien is a Days Gym fighter with a story that deserves to be seen.
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