The Unbreakable Professora Xan

Every academy has its heartbeat.

At Atomic Jiu Jitsu Brisbane, ours is Professora Xan.

While some people talk about being tired, stressed, or “too busy,” Xan quietly lives the kind of discipline that most only preach. She doesn’t chase balance — she builds it through relentless structure, through purpose, through hard work that would break most people in half.

From Monday to Friday she’s on physiotherapy placement — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., five days a week, unpaid, completing the final leg of her university degree. She gets home between 4 and 5 p.m., logs on to continue her professional work with a preeminent Brisbane spinal surgeon, and at 5:30 p.m. we’re out the door again, heading to Atomic.

By 6:30 p.m. she’s on the mats teaching.

Precision. Patience. Presence.

Class ends around 8 p.m., but the work doesn’t — mats get cleaned, gear gets packed, lights off, door locked. We’re home by 8:30 or 9, just in time to shower, cook, eat, and reset.

Then, while most people are winding down, Xan fires back up. From 10 p.m. until 1 or 2 a.m., she’s back at the laptop, working for the surgeon — and when the weekend comes, she doesn’t stop. She spends 10+ hours every Saturday and Sunday doing the same, pushing projects forward, writing, researching, reviewing, and building - because no one else will do the work for her.

And this isn’t a burst of inspiration or a few weeks of grinding before a deadline — this is who she has been for four full years.

Throughout her entire physiotherapy degree, she has maintained a full-time study load and full-time professional work alongside her commitment to Jiu Jitsu. Now, in her final year on placement, she continues to hold the same pace — study, placement, professional work, and the academy — all while maintaining a GPA of 6.2.

That’s not just “passing under pressure.” That’s Distinction-level excellence — achieved while doing what most people would call impossible.

And she did it all while progressing from purple belt to black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — a journey that most people find difficult in isolation, achieved here alongside full-time study, full-time work, and teaching responsibilities.

That is mastery across every domain of her life.

The perfect union of intellect, discipline, and craft.

And even now, as she completes her final physiotherapy placement, there’s no pause — no easing off the throttle. She moves straight into dual employment: continuing her full-time professional work with the preeminent Brisbane spinal surgeon while stepping into her new role as Lead Clinician Physiotherapist within the same medical umbrella.

It’s not the end of her workload — it’s its evolution.

While others might take a breath, she’s already building the next chapter. That’s what makes her truly unbreakable.

And the thing most people miss is that this isn’t a story about one big week or a short burst of effort before easing off.

This is every single week. 

For years.

No breaks. 

No “light weeks.” 

No pretending to be busy once in a while.

While most people talk about hard work, she just quietly does it — again and again, with the same precision, focus, and humility.

That’s what separates effort from excellence.

Week after week.

Month after month.

Year after year.

Add it up, and it’s a schedule north of 100 hours a week.

No shortcuts. 

No excuses. 

No complaining.

And yet — she’s always smiling. Always encouraging. Always the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Professora Xan is the embodiment of what we stand for at Atomic:

Precision through Passion & Hard Work.

She is proof that if you want something, you make the time. You don’t wait for the perfect moment — you create it. You don’t talk about being tired — you work until you’re proud.

So when someone says they “can’t make it” to training, I think of her — and I know what it really takes.

Because nobody is coming to save you.

You have to do the work.

And if you’re not willing to put in the hours,

you don’t deserve the results.

Professora Xan is phenomenal — a beacon of what hard work and humility look like. A shining example to everyone who walks through the doors of Atomic Jiu Jitsu Brisbane.

This is the example we follow.

This is the standard we hold.

This is Professora Xan.

This is Atomic Jiu Jitsu Brisbane.