[1] As one of the first women to rise to prominence, Kwok is widely regarded as an early pioneer of the BJJ scene in North America.

Emily R. Kwok was born on 5 October 1980, in Aomori, Japan, from a Japanese mother and a Chinese father, when she was a baby her family immigrated to Canada.

During her late teens in Vancouver, Kwok discovered sambo then started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) in 2001, complemented by Wing Chun and kickboxing, before moving to New York City.

[a][6] Throughout her competitive career, Kwok also fought has an amateur and professional MMA fighter for the Smackgirl organisation in Korea and Japan.

[12] Kwok won gold in January at the 2023 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu European Championship competing in Master 3 / middleweight division.