Krista Dyer is Bermuda’s most successful female sanda athlete ever, winning a silver medal in the 65kg division at the 16th World Wushu Championships sanda competition in Fort Worth, and a Gold Medal at the 2024 Pan American Wushu Championships.
She also won the Gold Medal in Sanda at the 4th Pan American Kungfu Championships in Canada. Dyer competes regularly with the Bermuda Sanshou Association, is an active promoter of the sport of sanda in Bermuda, and teaches combat sports in her fitness classes at a local gym where she works as an instructor. Krista became a sports celebrity and made national news in Bermuda newspapers after her WWC win, and she looks forward to competing at the next Sanda World Cup.
“I am a naturally competitive person who loves a challenge,” she says, and intrigued with the sport, she showed up to training the very next morning.
Dyer recalls that her classes were at first geared more toward fitness and basic combos, with the Sunday morning sessions held outdoors on the beach or at the track. But she wanted to go beyond fitness – she wanted to fight. “I am a naturally competitive person,” she remarks, “and at first that was the element that stood out to me the most - the ability to compete in sports as an adult. In getting to understand sanda more I really grew to appreciate its variety of techniques and its pace.
As Dyer grew more skilled and confident, she began to enter fighting competitions. “My first competition fight was a hybrid rules competition against another local fighter from a different martial art,” she recalls. “It was to be her first fight too. I consider this a fantastic coincidence as there weren't and still aren't many local women fighters. Needless to say, I was super nervous for the fight and I think I cried at least 4 times in the weeks leading up.”
“In Bermuda,” she adds, “boxing is the most popular fighting sport. We have had a handful of professional boxers come out of our country including one woman professional, Teresa Perozzi. Oftentimes, when a fighting event is held in Bermuda it will consist of boxing, kickboxing and sanda matches. Bermuda having such a small population makes it difficult to fill a tournament or a fight card.”
“Despite the pool of fighters being small in Bermuda compared to other locations,” Dyer says, “I was fortunate enough to have quality training partners during my formative sanda years. They were previous PanAm and Worlds level competitors, natural talents, and others who just loved to work hard and fight. Being in this environment made me elevate my skills – I wanted to keep up!”
