Conquering Argentina!

5:3 – this was the score by which the Polish national team defeated Argentina in a match held on 24 February 2018 in Buenos Aires. A 5-person Krakowskie Centrum Taekwon-do team flew to the other side of the world: coach Mikołaj Kotowicz and competitors Karolina Czech, Dobrochna Dolicka, Adam Zięba and Mateusz Kopciński.

The Krakow team paid a return visit to Grupo Escorpio club in Buenos Aires to train together, take part in a tournament and explore this corner of the world. During their 2-week expedition, they found time for joint training sessions, an international match, sightseeing in the country’s capital and a visit to one of the 7 natural wonders of the world – Iguazu Falls.

The tournament took the form of a “triangular match”. Each category included one representative of Poland and two Argentinians – representatives of Grupo Escorpio from Buenos Aires and Escuela from Patagonia – competing against one another. In the individual competition, Dobrochna Dolicka won both of her bouts, while Karolina Czech, Mateusz Kopciński and Adam Zięba each won one bout and lost the other. In total, in the match between the Poles and the Argentinians, our representatives won 5 of 8 bouts, receiving a magnificent cup for the victory.

During the week preceding the match, the Krakow team took part in training sessions of the Escorpio groups in Avellaneda, led by the club’s head coach Victor Fabian D’Amore, 7th dan, and his student, multiple TI World Champion Sebastian Freire, 6th dan. At the end of the stay, coach Mikołaj Kotowicz, 5th dan, returned the favor by leading a training session for a group of Escorpio’s top competitors. For both sides, this event was an important part of preparations for the July world championships, which will take place in England.

There was also time for sightseeing during the stay. Although Buenos Aires itself is a gigantic city, the Poles had the opportunity to visit the modern riverside district of Puerto Madero, the old districts of Monserrat and Retiro, the wealthiest Ricoletta, the very colorful La Boca, watch tango in San Telmo and dance to reggaeton themselves at a nightclub in Palermo, as well as take part in a traditional Argentine barbecue, asado.

The Krakow team spent three days outside the capital, flying to Iguazu National Park. There, on the border of Argentina and Brazil, are some of the largest waterfalls in the world. The KCT team had the opportunity to see them from both sides of the river and even take a motorboat beneath some of the gigantic cascades. Our Argentine partners from Grupo Escorpio were deeply involved in the entire trip. The team from Buenos Aires had already visited our country three times during the Polish Open Cup in Opole and the European Championships in Wieliczka. They also took part in one of our training sessions in Kurdwanów. This time, they returned the favor with their exceptional hospitality. Both sides reached the same conclusion – despite the fierce competition between taekwon-do athletes, taekwon-do above all brings people together and builds friendships that last for years.

Author: Mikołaj Kotowicz