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Bec Rawlings describes her start in mixed martial arts as bittersweet.
While she admits it led her away from what she describes as a "rough childhood", she was also introduced to the sport by her former husband.
She is now divorced from him and claims he physically abused her during their marriage and also threatened to harm her children.
Ms Rawlings's film, Fight to Live, is now showing in cinemas and has just screened in her hometown of Launceston.
The film documents her journey as a domestic violence survivor, while also looking at the daily challenges of becoming a professional fighter.
Turning her life around
It begins with a look into Bec Rawlings's early life in Launceston, catching up with her close family, who still live there.
There is a comment from Bec Rawlings's mother Mary Rawlings near the start of the film, as she sits at her kitchen table and looks back on her daughter's early life.
"She was a cheeky little thing," she says. "She liked to be boyish and wouldn't have her hair done and wore funny things.
"You just looked at her and thought, 'She's going to be trouble.'"
A few minutes further in, Rawlings's sister Jacqui has an even more blunt appraisal of her younger sister.
"If she'd kept going along the lines she was going, she would have ended up in jail."
The story inside the story
As the film progresses, we soon see Rawlings's fighting prowess and her professional journey coming to the fore.
But the main message of Fight to Live remains the issue of domestic violence, and how it can affect anyone.
"The documentary really touches on the emotional and the physical side of domestic violence," she told ABC Radio Northern Tasmania Drive.
"It can happen to anyone … domestic violence doesn't discriminate.
"I'm a professional fighter and it happened to me. Even if you can defend yourself, doesn't mean that you can and you will."
Ms Rawlings hopes that by sharing her personal experience of domestic violence on screen, it will inspire others to speak up.
"If people are stuck in a similar situation, there is hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel," she said.
"I hope it also educates young people, as well, to recognise the toxic traits, the red flags, when they're getting into these relationships and then can get out before it's too late."
A winner at Cannes Film Festival
Director Tom Haramis took around three years to shoot the documentary, fitting in around COVID, as well as Ms Rawlings's fights and training schedules.
He says that he now considers Bec Rawlings a close friend and says he's in awe of her bravery.
"She's a great human being," he said.
"We just connected on all levels. I think that made it even more meaningful for me, to deliver her story," he told the ABC.
Mr Haramis is now keen to see the film get distributed on a major streaming service after a small cinema tour around the country.
Fight to Live also recently claimed Best Inspirational Film at last year's Cannes Film Festival in France.
"This film has got a universal theme and it definitely needed to be recognised on a global stage," he said.
"Winning the award was our validation and showed us this film needs to go further."
Bringing it home
While winning a prize in France was big, it wasn't as nerve-wracking as showing the film to Launceston friends and family at the city's iconic Star Theatre.
The screening was a sell out and ended with a question-and-answer session with Ms Rawlings.
"It was heart-warming to see Launceston come out and support me," she said.
"It's pretty sad, there were people in that audience who had experienced something similar [to what happened to me].
"I think that really shows the problem within Australia right now, with domestic violence."
Away from the screenings, Ms Rawlings is now planning her next professional bare-knuckle bout and hopes she can announce a fight date soon.
The 35-year-old lives a busy life in Brisbane with her new partner and two kids. In the film, she describes her life as being "pretty normal", aside from her typical workday.
"We don't put a suit on and go to an office," she said.
"We put our gym gear on and go punch people in the face."