As Nili Block strides into the boxing ring at competitions, her anthem of choice is always Alicia Keys belting out “Girl on Fire.” 

But last month, as the 29-year-old defended her world title in Paris, she replaced it with “Am Yisrael Chai,” the nation of Israel lives. 

Then, after defeating her Belgian opponent, she stood on the podium to accept her gold medal draped in an Israeli flag, as images of the hostages held by Hamas flashed behind her and Israeli national anthem “Hatikvah” was played.  

“Now it’s more important than ever to show that I am not only here for myself but for Israel too and for the men, women and children kidnapped. It’s my duty to hold the flag up high and show it to the world,” Block tells ISRAEL21c, adding that she felt so much support from the crowd at the Grand Palais Éphémère venue. 

The toughest year

Block may seem ripped and tough, but she is not afraid to share her vulnerable side. 

In her words to the crowd after the fight, she said the past year was difficult for herself and for the country she has called home since the age of two when her family moved here from Maryland.

Last year, her father was diagnosed with a terminal illness and passed away shortly afterwards. Then she suffered a near fatal neck injury. And the Hamas atrocity occurred on October 7. 

With a very specific training regimen developed by her longtime coach, Beny Cogan (who is also the coach of Israel’s national kickboxing and Muay Thai team), Block was able to rehabilitate herself back to peak fitness. 

Then came the opportunity to defend her 2019 world title (61.5 kg class) in France against Helene Connart, a “very worthy opponent who has a Mike Tyson knockout style.”  

The strategy adopted by the victorious Israeli was “lots of movement” to make her adversary look heavy and miss punches. This is a type of mental manipulation in which you cause her frustration. It’s also a way of claiming the territory.” 

Starting early

Block started kickboxing at the age of 10 after her mother, Rina, a border police officer, took up the sport to learn self-defense. Block met Cogan while training at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. 

Despite growing up in a religious Zionist home and attending an ulpana (an all-girls religious high school), Block did not feel out of place training there. 

“We were Jews and Muslim Arabs but there was no politics and preconceptions. Perhaps boxing is such a physical, contact sport you have to let go of it all. You can’t go against someone with full power with the idea of hurting someone.”

As the third child of seven in what she describes as a physically active family, Block grew up excelling in running and American football but decided at the age of 17 to devote herself solely to kickboxing and Muay Thai, a full contact martial art. 

That year, she won her first Muay Thai world championship (flyweight class) in Bangkok.  

Block explains that many Israelis spend extended time in Thailand to train and compete. She was there recently for two months at a training camp where she could “eat, live and sleep Muay Thai.” 

Getting over disappointments

Block has won seven world titles and four European medals in kickboxing and Muay Thai. She is the only female athlete in Israel with these credentials and was awarded the Israel Athlete of the Year title six consecutive times. 

Despite these accolades, she admits getting wider recognition is difficult as neither Muay Thai nor kickboxing are Olympic sports.

“There has been hype about it for the last 10 years and we were sure for a long time that Muay Thai would be included in the 2024 Paris Games, but this hasn’t happened.”

Block, who completed a degree in psychology last year at Reichman University in Herzliya, says she is disappointed but is not going to “cry over spilt milk. I look where I can execute my ability and monetize it.” 

One of the ways she supports herself as a professional sportswoman is the Nili Power Collection, a line of merchandise available through her website.

Pride in her scars

She has also recently started to appear on the motivational lecture circuit in Israel and in the United States, in a talk entitled “The Apex Predator.”

She explains this with the example of a lion hunting its prey while injured. 

“Lions may be limping or bleeding all over but nothing gets in the way of them going after their prey. This is my life lesson and it’s why I was attracted to sport. I like the physical demands of being on edge and out of my comfort zone when the adrenaline is pumping. 

“I have pride in my scars,” she says.

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