Her Body Changed Overnight. She Kept Moving Anyway.

World Champion Janice Francis-Irwin on surgical menopause, physical resilience and why stopping is not the answer

Janice Francis-Irwin had spent her life in her body. She trained at international level, competed on world stages and understood her physical self with a precision that most people never develop. Which made what happened at fifty all the more confronting.

Having experienced no perimenopausal symptoms whatsoever, Francis-Irwin faced an unavoidable health crisis that required surgery: a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, removing all reproductive organs in a single operation.

Surgical Menopause: The Experience That Is Not Discussed Enough

Unlike the natural menopausal transition, surgical menopause begins immediately. There is no gradual process. The drop in oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone is sudden and significant, and symptoms can be considerably more severe as a result.

Despite complications during her operation, Francis-Irwin’s recovery was smooth. Drawing on decades of competitive discipline and physical conditioning, she was back teaching uninhibited within three months. Her symptoms, though present, were manageable, and have remained so.

She does not present her experience as universal. She does, however, believe that her years of consistent, demanding physical training played a significant role in how her body and mind responded. “Mentally, I felt like myself,” she says. “The foundation was still there.”

The Pattern She Sees

In a culture that frames menopause almost entirely as loss, Francis-Irwin observes that it is easy for women to absorb that narrative and stop. She did not stop teaching karate or fitness. And that, she says, matters.

The women she has spoken to who stepped back from physical activity during this period describe a consistent pattern: the longer they stayed away, the more estranged from their bodies they felt. The disconnection deepened.

“Karate kept me anchored,” she says. “Not because it was easy. But because it was consistent and honest. The dojo does not change. The techniques do not change. When everything else can feel uncertain, that consistency is a lifeline.”

Growing evidence supports this position. Strength-based exercise is increasingly recognised as one of the most effective interventions available for managing menopausal symptoms. It supports bone density, improves insulin sensitivity, helps regulate mood and supports sleep.

Her Advice to Women Going Through the Same

Francis-Irwin is careful to encourage all women to speak with their GP about what is happening in their bodies and to make fully informed decisions about HRT and other interventions. But she speaks from direct experience of moving through a significant surgical transition whilst maintaining a demanding physical practice.

“Your body is not abandoning you,” she says. “It is changing. And you can change with it. Perimenopause is not a reason to slow down. In many cases, it is a reason to train differently: to prioritise strength work, to pay attention to recovery. None of that requires stopping. It requires listening.”

Women who train at JFI Karate Academy in their forties, fifties and beyond are not exceptions. They are, in Francis-Irwin’s words, simply women who decided not to stop.

JFI Karate Academy runs classes in Ilford and Romford. For further information visit www.jfikarate.co.uk