Lisa Janette Stecki was born on October 28, 1981 in Plano, Texas and moved to Dubuque, Iowa when she was six years old. After spending much of her childhood in Dubuque, Lisa moved to Quad Cities, Iowa in August of 1995.

Lisa attended Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa and earned her diploma in 1998. Once out of high school, Lisa started training in kickboxing and the martial arts at Nick Tarpein's School of Karate in Davenport, Iowa.

In January of 1999, Lisa, at age 17, enrolled in Scott Community College, Bettendorf. While attending Scott, Lisa continued training and started her amateur kickboxing career fighting on local shows in the area. In her first year, she quickly established a winning record of 3-0, with 2 decisive knockouts.

It was apparent to her coaches early on that Lisa possessed the athletic ability and skill necessary to sustain a career in women's boxing and kickboxing. Lisa was also well aware of her potential and started mapping out a master plan that could help her maximize it. Along the way she started researching boxing and kickboxing. She noticed that only a few women have dominated these sports - World Champion Kickboxer Lucia Rijker (Lisa's all-time favorite) and Valerie Mahfood in boxing. Lisa was determined to add her name to that prestigious "short list" of female champions.

Lisa knew if she was really serious about a career in women's professional kickboxing and/or boxing, a major change would have to take place. In January of 2000, Lisa packed her gym bag and relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she would enroll in the University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee, become employed by Bally Total Fitness and begin training 6 days-a-week at North America's top Kickboxing Gym, the Duke RUOFUS Gym, located in historic Walkers Point. Duke RUOFUS is regarded as one of the best kickboxing trainers in the world and Lisa felt right at home once she arrived. The grueling workouts, combined with the vast knowledge RUOFUS shares on a daily basis, was exactly what Lisa's master plan needed to start coming together.

Fighting competitively throughout 2000, Lisa compiled a record of 7-0 (4 KO) and won the I.K.F. National Amateur Junior Middleweight Championship in September, 2000. Lisa also boxed competitively for the first time in 2000, winning her amateur boxing debut in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in December. Lisa will also be representing Wisconsin at the U.S. Amateur Boxing Federation Regional Tournament in Nebraska, February 15-17, 2001.

Regarded as one of the country's premier young talents of women's kickboxing, Lisa's boxing ability has drawn praise from many of the sports top promoters and trainers as well. Her short term objective is to obtain her college degree in International Studies, while continuing to train towards her ultimate goal of becoming the Women's Professional Super Middleweight Boxing and Kickboxing Champion.

Lisa would like to see women's boxing and kickboxing gain the same respect as their male equivalents. She is disappointed though at the proliferation of female boxers who turn "Pro" with little or no amateur experience and at the lack of skill or boxing technique shown by these women. Lisa also understands the problem presented by the new crop of "boxing daughters" that has sprung up recently, but she doesn't necessarily like it or their boxing ability (or lack thereof). While they possess their famous father's marketable last names (Ali, Frazer, Forman, etc...), for most, that is where the similarity ends.

Lisa envisions a very bright future for women's boxing and kickboxing. Through her determination, dedication, desire and pure love for the sport, she makes the light at the end of the tunnel easier to see and that light is Lisa Stecki.