Newsletter 2/2013 Fight Camp with Katya Solovey
After many years of thinking about the phenomenon that is Katya and her way of sparring and winning fights, it was finally time to invite her and her coach Oleg Solovey to hold a training seminar in Jönköping.
During the weekend of May 24th-26th, Jönköping Taekwon-do ITF conducted a training seminar lead by Oleg Solovey, head coach for Team Ukraine, together with Katya Solovey. I know both of them well personally and was looking forward to this opportunity. Something that was extra fun was that the majority of the participants on the seminar were girls.
The training
Oleg and Katyas training was at the very highest level and they shared many of the things that they train on back home in Ukraine, much of which were clearly visibly during the fights in the recent European Championship. What struck me the most was the short distance between yourself and your opponent that they sought after, and which they emphasized rigorously during our training sessions. Oleg took the opportunity to push me really hard during some of the exercises and scolded me just as I would do my students when I don´t get the result I want. Oddly enough I have really missed that type of a scolding, as much of my time in Taekwon-do these days is spent as an instructor. You become a completely different person and you work even harder to avoid getting yelled at and prove that you can do it. Oleg showed a really strong will in his way of coaching, which made many of the participants raise their level considerably even when they were tired. Throughout the entire weekend the atmosphere was fantastic, despite a tough eastern way of conducting the training.
Now to what this weekend really was all about: Katya! She participated in almost all of the exercises despite the fact that she was set to compete at the World Cup in Kickboxing Wako the following week. What you could see of Katya is that she is a completely normal girl, but with an enormous will to be where she is today and that she has practiced her distance together with her timing more than once.
As a host for the seminar we spent a lot of time together both during and between the training sessions. What you realize when you hear how Katya lives her life and how she trains, is that if you want to reach a level like Katyas it is not enough to have your training as a hobby but you need to train hard every week. This is not something that surprises me personally, but maybe people around Europe need to hear this in order to understand that it is fully possible to reach your goals if you are willing to sacrifice enough. It is not luck that has made Katya as good as she is. She works very hard to be at the level that she is. However, I feel that she is a special person in her will to train as hard and as often as she does while maintaining her motivation and ambition. For those of you out there who feel that you sometime in the future want to reach the top, you should know that it took 8 years of training and a few failed European and World championships before Katya won her first European championship. What I want to tell you with this is to be patient and give your training time. Nothing happens overnight.
Sabum-nim Patrik Carlström IV Dan
Impression of the seminar from some of the participating clubs
Södermalm Taekwon-do ITF
First of all, Södermalm Taekwon-do would like to give a big thanks to Sabumnim Patrik Carlström who took the initiative to invite Katya and Oleg Solovey and of course a big thank you to Katya and Oleg Solovey who took the time to come here and share their knowledge. To, at such a close range, get a look into how a world champion trains and cooperates with her is a great privilege that we will make the most of.
In short terms, some of the experiences we have of the seminar were that even that we were so many each practitioner was seen individually and we were stopped in time if we did something that needed to be corrected. It was very well organized, everything went very smoothly and the language was not a problem. It was, just as Sabumnim Oleg said, a very nice and welcoming ambience towards everyone, instructors as well as practitioners.
One of the important messages we take with us is that it is important to listen and trust your coach to 100% and that both coach and practitioner should know each other so well that the communication between them cannot be misunderstood.
We go home with loads of inspiration and new exercises that we are going to practice at our club with our other members. Now we go home to practice and to build a strong character. Taekwon!
Frölunda Taekwon-do ITF
We of Frölunda Taekwon-do all agree that the seminar was just as awesome as we that that it would be! Before the seminar there was a bit of anticipation and afterwards we are completely sold! To be able to train for, according to our opinion, the worlds foremost Taekwon-do practitioner was a privilege like no other. Something that we hope to be able to do again soon. Anyway, we take with us a lot of techniques and combinations that we intend to continue practicing. The educational approach that Katya and Oleg had as instructors made us all work even harder and even better. That Katya and Oleg in a thorough way showed the exercises and corrected you if you did something wrong but also raised you up if you did something good, is a proof of good leadership qualities.
The seminar was also characterized by a good team spirit and fighting spirit along with humility and respect. More people should take these kinds of opportunities when they come along not just to be able to train for a different instructor, but to get to know people from other clubs.
All in all, the seminar was very well organized! You could really see why Katya and Oleg are as good as only they can be. We have taken part of their knowledge, their commitment and their joy for Taekwon-do, which has inspired us to keep on fighting and to train even harder.
Best regards Frölunda Takewon-do
Stockholm Taekwon-do ITF
The seminar exceeded all of our expectations! The exercises on pads, in sparring, movement, distance, warm up and stretching was very good and applicable. It was fun to get a glimpse into their training philosophy and what you should focus on. Both of them have a good charisma, both between the exercises when they are calm and harmonious, and during the exercises when it is 100 % focus and adrenalin. With that, they also managed to create a good atmosphere among the participants. The length of the training sessions was just right and the three-hour break between Saturdays two sessions gave you ample time for lunch, rest, recovery and to build up a joyful anticipation for the afternoon session. You get the sense that they have thought the lay up through to be able to share the way Katya trains and thus widen the know-how and the possibilities for qualitative training for us here in Sweden, which with experience has shown to give good results.
The journey home was dominated not by an aching body, but by inspiration, motivation and thoughts on how to make our training sessions even better at Stockholm Taekwon-do ITF!
