The 20 year-old hope for the Bulgarian kyokushin karate Ia Kostova stumbled upon her passion for the martial art by pure coincidence impressed by the way all karateka work together and support each other.
Ia went through many sports, but kyokushin karate is her true passion and recognition.
“I see karate not as much as a sport, but as a martial art. I liked that from the very start – that you learn discipline and respect. You work on yourself all the time and you just keep on self-perfecting”, says she.
Kyokushin karate is a type of martial art, but it incorporates a lot of boxing, muay thai and kick boxing. The main style our young karateka is in is full contact, one of the heaviest and to put it in her words “you just go out there and fight”.
“You are not allowed to hit the head with your hands. Otherwise it is all a fair move – hands to the body, legs to the body and to the head. Naturally no hits are allowed on the genitalia and the throat” is her brief explanation of the technique.
In this new endeavor, the young girl gradually begins to walk the pathway of success as she confesses that she did not imagine being a professional karateka at all. She also recalled her first ever competition on which she was defeated … only to realize that this is not a big deal at all. “Then I understood that if I want something done I need to work harder.”
And triumph was not slow to follow the defeat. With a number of great performances this karateka enters the National Team.
Huge part of her professional growth is her instructor Dragostin Valkanov. “I am positive that if it wasn’t for him I would not be in the National team to begin with” is the firm opinion of the young lady.
There are many medals in her showcase, but the most important of them are 2015 and 2016 when she became the European vice-champion – first in Estonia, then in Serbia. All heads are turning to the origin of kyokushin, as this year the World Championship will be in Japan.
You canhear Ia Kostova’s interview here:
