Help Me Keep Fighting for Australia

I’m Jade Clarke, an Australian women’s buhurt athlete, Australian representative, and full-time PhD researcher. I’m raising funds to continue competing, developing as a fighter and teammate, and representing Australia on the international stage.

But I never actually planned to become a fighter.

How it all started

In 2024, two of my friends from our D&D group started doing buhurt. They were preparing for their first competition, a local fight night in Toowoomba, and asked whether anyone would like to come along and support them. I immediately said yes. I have always been the person who wants to show up for my friends, so I drove from Brisbane to Toowoomba, painted their team logo onto a canvas as a keepsake, and spent the day helping them get into and out of their armour and cheering them on. I had no intention of fighting, I was just there to support my friends. Then I squired at the Abbey Challenger and that was where everything changed.

I found a team

What struck me most wasn't just the fighting. It was the people. I watched the Brisbane Beasts men's teams make an effort to come to every women's fight to support their teammates. They cheered for them, celebrated their successes and made it clear that the women's team mattered. When the women were treated inappropriately, the team stood up for them. I saw a community where the women were not simply expected to participate, they were valued, respected and protected. I felt safe there, I felt encouraged and I wanted to be part of it. That experience made me want to stop standing on the sidelines and become a fighter myself.

My first fight

Just three months after I started training, I entered my first tournament at Barossa. I was nervous. I had only been in armour a couple of times, and the armour I was wearing didn’t particularly fit me well. I couldn't lift my arms above my shoulders and couldn't bend my knees very far. My instructions were essentially: "Stay alive as long as you can." So I did.

I got absolutely smashed but I wouldn't go down. I wasn't throwing people around or doing anything spectacular, but I simply refused to give up. Every time I went down, I got back up. Every time I was exhausted, I kept fighting. At the end of the tournament, I was awarded Tournament MVP. That experience taught me something that has stayed with me ever since, 'It’s what you’re made of that matters'.

Why I stayed

Buhurt changed the way I think and feel about my body. Before buhurt, I spent years in the gym chasing a particular appearance. I focused heavily on how my body looked and tried to make myself smaller. Buhurt gave me a completely different perspective. In this sport, it doesn't matter whether you have the "right" body, the right proportions, or the right appearance. What matters is what your body can do. Can you keep going when you’re exhausted?  Can you protect your teammates? Can you keep fighting when everything in you is telling you that you're done? For the first time I wasn't trying to make my body smaller, I was trying to make it stronger. I learned to be proud of my shoulders, my strength and what my body is capable of. I stopped trying to hide myself and started taking up space.

What Buhurt has taught me

The thing I love most about buhurt is the combination of teamwork, strategy and physical challenge. You have to understand what you are good at, work on your weaknesses and figure out how your strengths fit within a team. And when you're fighting, you're not just fighting for yourself, you're fighting for the person beside you. I'm the kind of teammate who will go back for someone who is in trouble. I don't necessarily stop to think about whether I can win that fight. I see my teammate in a bad position, and my instinct is simply ‘go help them’. One of the things I love most about this sport is that it has taught me to trust myself. It has built my confidence and resilience. It has taught me how I react when I'm exhausted, frightened, frustrated or under enormous pressure. It has taught me to stop overthinking and just act. Sometimes you have to do something while you’re tired, scared, hurting, crying or simply don’t believe you can. You do it anyway.

Buhurt has shown me what I'm capable of and, perhaps more importantly, it has taught me that I don't have to be perfect to keep moving forward. It has helped me become a better fighter, a better teammate and a better version of myself.

From the arena to the world stage

This journey has taken me much further than I ever expected. In 2024, I was selected to represent Australia at the Buhurt International World Championships 2025 in Hungary. Standing there in Australian colours was surreal. At first I felt excited and honoured, then I realised the weight of what it meant to represent an entire country.

When the Australian fighters and support started singing the national anthem, I got goosebumps and wanted to cry. Walking into the list while hearing "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!" from the crowd was indescribable. It wasn't just me standing there, it was my team, it was Australia. When we won 3rd place in the women's 12v12 competition, the medal never really felt like it belonged to me alone, it felt like it was ours. Ours as a team, ours as Australians. That experience made me want to keep going.

The journey so far

2024

• Barossa 2024: Buhurt 3v3 – 3rd Place
• Barossa 2024: Tournament MVP
• AMCF Nationals 2024: Buhurt 3v3 – 2nd Place, 5v5 – 1st Place, Outrance Middleweight – 1st Place

2025

• Rookie Rumble 2025: Prevailing Warlord
• Abbey Challenger 2025: Buhurt 5v5 – 1st Place
• Toowoomba Fight Night 2025: Buhurt 3v3 – 2nd Place, featured in The Chronicle
• Winterfest 2025: Buhurt 3v3 – 1st Place
• Buhurt World Championships 2025 Hungary (BI): Buhurt 12v12 – 3rd Place
• New Castle Cup 2025: Buhurt 3v3 - 1st Place
• AMCF Nationals 2025: Buhurt 3v3 – 2nd Place, 5v5 – 2nd Place
• Inaugural Queensland Buhurt Gala 2025: Specialised Award - Mercenary Tyrant

2026

• Abbey Challenger 2026: Buhurt 3v3 - 4th place, 5v5 - 3rd place, 12v12 - 2nd place
• Buhurt Invitational 2026 Romania (BI): Buhurt 5v5 - 5th place, 12v12 2nd place
• New Castle Cup 2026: Buhurt 3v3 - 2nd place, 5v5 - 2nd place

Where I'm going

I want to become the best buhurt athlete and teammate I can possibly be. I want to keep representing Australia. I want to help the Australian women's league continue to grow. And I want to see just how far I can take this.

My upcoming goals (2026-2027):

• AMCF Nationals 2026 (Australia, October)
• Trans Tasman Cup and Waihora Reborn Tournamnet 2026 (New Zealand, October) - pending
• Buhurt International World Championships 2027 (location to be released)
• Abbey Challenger 2027 (Australia)
• Winterfest Cup 2027 (Australia)
• New Castle Cup 2027 (Australia)
• AMCF Nationals 2027 (Australia, October)

These events, along with other potential competitions, will help me develop as a fighter, gain international experience, and strengthen Australia’s presence in global buhurt.

Why I'm fundraising

Being a competitive fighter comes with significant costs.

As a full-time PhD researcher, my income is limited, while competing at a national and international level requires ongoing investment in armour, weapons, training, travel, accommodation, equipment maintenance and recovery. I am committed to doing everything I can to pursue these opportunities myself, but financial support can make the difference between an opportunity being possible and having to turn it down.

Your support helps me take the opportunities I've worked hard to earn. It helps me train. It helps me compete. It helps me recover. It helps me keep improving. And ultimately, it helps me keep putting on the Australian colours.

Come with me

I don't expect anyone to fund my journey. What I hope is that people who believe in what I'm trying to do will choose to be part of it. Whether you contribute a little or a lot, your support means something to me.

You're not just helping me pay for a competition. You're investing in a young athlete who is trying to see what she is capable of.

You're helping me become a better fighter, a better teammate, a better person, and when I step into the list wearing Australian colours, I want to carry that support with me.

Thank you for believing in me, supporting Australian women's buhurt, and being part of my journey.

Follow my journey

Sporting: Sporting instagram

Academic: LinkedIn

Brisbane Beasts: Club website

AMCF: National organisation

BI: International governing body

Media: QUT media release | ABC news article