The Kumite seminar has come to an end. Mr. Christophe Pinna gave us the honor to train with him for this week. Trainees learned so much and lived a lot of moments that inspired them to go further. Additionally, Mr. Pinna explored different sites in the country both historical and cultural. All in all, it was a very exciting week.
From the first day, Mr. Pinna showed the need to understand Rwanda as a whole. He started by visiting the Gisozi genocide memorial and the campaign against the genocide museum. He then visited Kigali Arena and finally with a stop on the golf course and finally visited the Volcanoes national park. He did all this while he also kept his main goal of training and inspiring young karatekas in LDK’s gymnasium.
Just like he had said at the beginning, his goal here in Rwanda was to procure inspiration for his trainees. He taught them many techniques of combat and gave them different training techniques. But, he insisted on the importance of training with the champion that he is not only on the technical part but from the psychological point of view.
He stressed this much by training with young children. He worked some katas with them and practiced some combat techniques too. In addition to that in his last address to them, he added on a lot of encouragement. “I would like to encourage you to always keep practicing your skills and techniques, do not stop. I would be the proudest if one day I meet or hear of any of you as champions and know I had a role in it.”
Mr. Pinna’s visit leaves an example of what being a true champion is all about. From a professional point of view, it teaches hard work, consistency, discipline, and having a strong and good work ethic. Morally it teaches humanity, humility, and simplicity.
