In the blink of an eye, an athlete's career can change. Jade Hayes, 21, was invited to fight in Thailand this month for The Kings Cup tournament and an Olympic muay thai kickboxing title. With hard work and training, Hayes got her big break and then had to give it up when she found a fracture in her right knuckle. Hayes, understanding of the ups and downs of being a fighter, has decided to roll with the punches and continue in the direction of furthering her education for the time being.

[X]: How did you get the invitation to go to Thailand?
H: You're supposed to fight qualifying fights to get to Thailand, but the head coach saw my last fight and called me and said, "Your last fight impressed the hell out of me." So I had my sponsor help me out and got some fundraisers.

But I ended up giving back some of the money because I didn't want to keep money that is going to the fight. I got a good amount of donations from the family.

[X]: What is happening over in Thailand?
H: It's The Kings Cup tournament -- where you fight people from all over the world; Japan, Germany and other places. It's for the Olympics. Whatever country wins, you will get a gold medal for the country. I got asked to go next year, so it's OK.

[X]: So you are still going to Thailand?
H: I leave on the 22nd. I have a lot of support coming with me, we're all just gonna go and explore Thailand and maybe watch some fights. I'm not going to be able to go anymore to the actual event, because it would be too hard to go and not fight.

[X]: What will you be doing there?
H: Touristy things with my family and friends. We're going to go check out the temples and go to Bangkok and an island and kind of relax. We're also going to go to Limpini, the most well-known stadium for muay thai.

[X]: When did you get the fracture?
H: I fractured my knuckle. My coach said I could fight, but it's not worth it because I'm not getting paid for it and if I were to land a punch in the same spot, I would risk breaking my hand. Plus, I'm leaving to study abroad in France three weeks after, and it's just not worth it to break my hand. It's a hard decision, because as athletes, you always get injured. I've always been stubborn and this time I didn't want to be.

[X]: How did it happen?
H: When I was training for the MMA (mixed martial arts) fight at Kezar, I was training with the little gloves and punching a lot of stuff -- hitting as hard as I could with the pads. And during training they said to find the knuckle -- so I found it and I broke it. I think it was before my last fight, so I fought with it before and it hurt during the last fight, but I went to my legs toward the end of the fight. So, I don't know exactly when I fractured it. I could fight, but it's training that's going to mess me up.

[X]: What was your reaction when you broke your hand?
H: There was a million things, because I was only taking a couple hundred to a thousand calories in and working out hard, so when I found out I said, "Well, I can eat now," but it just really sucks. I cried about it. I was being a baby for a while. I could have done it and I could have fought but it's not worth risking it.

[X]: What have you been doing to rehabilitate it?
H: Ice and warm compress, on and off. I was wrapping it with a splint, but I haven't done that for a while. I've had so many injuries, so it's just like, "Ah, whatever."

[X]: Are you still training now?
H: I have seven other weapons that I can use, but I decided to steer my focus toward school. All I've been doing is getting my schoolwork down, so when I come back from Thailand, I wont have to worry about going to France.

[X]: When is your next presumed fight?
H: My boyfriend is going to France with me, so we are going to find a gym to join. If we find a good gym in France, we are thinking of fighting in France as long as we have each other there in the corner.