Pee-pee, pee-pee… The alarm sounds. On the calendar, there are no competitions in sight, but it is no excuse. From bed to training, until 1:00 p.m. Sandra Sánchez, after retiring from it with her 60th consecutive medal, the one she was missing, at the World Games in Birmingham (United States)does not get off the tatami. Karate is special, a way of understanding and being understood. “It is that search, that finding your place, making sense of things. Many times we give too much value to the superficial. Nobody is born knowing that and you have to not know it, to be able to make mistakes and give yourself the pleasure of understanding it, ”explains the Olympic champion to AS. Have karate heartone of the central ideas in his new, and first, collection of books, “Kat Karateka”, which already has two installments (“The kata club” and “The great combat”).
The talaverana, after having won everything, is still brimming with energy. Gold in Tokyo, two World Cups, seven European Championships, the Guinness Record for victories in the Premier League, an absolute hegemony in the All Time Ranking, etc. An endless list, but the best of all time does not rest. “The only thing that has changed is that before I trained in the mornings and afternoons and now, in the afternoons, I only train two or three days a week. In the morning, I follow the competition schedule. We have to maintain the level for when we give the seminars, the classes… I want them to continue seeing Sandra at the level she was at, to see my 100%, and to absorb it”, she argues. After his umpteenth victory, in Birmingham, he stayed in the United States to give a master class with his coach and partner, Jesús del Moralwith whom he has also launched the Chikara platform -energy, strength, power, in Japanese-, a space through which to share training with both online.
“Maybe yes,” Sandra replies, with her innate grace, if, despite the withdrawal, her hustle and bustle is even greater. Now, without going any further, she is in Indonesia, giving clinics. He can’t help it. “I don’t like to be still for even ten seconds. The afternoons that I don’t train, we start putting on more projects”, she confesses. Unlike before, yes, she can dedicate more time to herself and her family. “I can enjoy my family more, my nephews, my parents… having that social life that, during the competition, is left a little to the side.” His vital mottos remain intact. Change the form, but not the message, whether in the form of books, classes or talks: “I want to transmit all the good and the less good that you experience when you train, compete, when you fight to achieve something. Everything is part of life. And, if somehow, I can put a little positive seed in people… that’s my goal in life.”
Madrid, capital of emotions
Katerina Katosawa, Kat, is a brave and audacious kitten with clear ideas: she wants to be the best karate fighter in the world. He wants to join the Kata Club, the best dojo in the city, but his cuteness, as well as his small size, are a barrier. At least, for the eyes that, suspicious, observe her. Four-year-old Sandra Sánchez has just started dance classes. She, however, likes karate. She convinces her family of it, but, until she is 32 years old, she does not get to be part of the national team. “I was very excited. Those moments that you have lived and that were not easy were stirred in the pit of my stomach. When they mess with you, they push you aside… At that moment you don’t realize it and you push forward, but they leave a mark”, Sandra speaks, for her and for Kat, her literary protagonist, with whom she experienced a profound process of catharsis.
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On her way to legend, Sandra had to convince even Jesus, initially opposed to the idea of training her. He ended up agreeing, unleashing a tsunami of medals that eventually reached Birmingham. An endless collection with a special place for two: “The Olympic Games is the most incredible moment for any athlete, but for me, when I won the World Cup in Madrid, at the WiZink, and I turned around and saw my father already my mother crying, knowing our history and everything we have lived… it will be a moment that… that will be tattooed here, in the little heart”, she is sincere, after being caught in a hurricane of affection. In La Rioja, in the Spanish Championship, in Turkey, in Europe, and in the United States. In a triple crown at the height of his unattainable career. “You feel indebted. Sometimes, I don’t have time to get to everything. To answer all the messages, to be with everyone in the championships. And you want! I want them to feel good because they make me feel good”, she thanks. Kat will surely arrive at the Kata Club.
