Valentino Solinas Success Story

Valentino a Taekwon-do athlete.

I started Martial Arts when I was in elementary school after being awakened by the film “Fist of Fury” starring Bruce Lee. Training with great passion and dedication has always been a part of me, both in and outside the gym. I have always known that 2-3 hours per week of training isn’t sufficient to reach the results that I strive for.

During the long cold and rainy Friulan winters, and while still in elementary school I would in my bedroom every afternoon fasten my wrist and ankle weights and would throw hundreds of kicks and punches to such a point, that morning post-workout pains would make it hard for me to move and even have me staying home from school.

Only now do I realize that this type of training is excessive. But the devotion, the spirit, and the energy within me were so immense that not doing anything at all was just a waste of time. Today, not much has changed. I can never get enough training and my techniques are never perfectly adequate.

The making of my video clips is based on the selection of video frames and techniques that are chosen not from what may seem the best material but from what I believe is the most tolerable. Never being self-satisfied is my main characteristic.

Despite being a Taekwon-do Instructor since 2007, and having attained numerous black belts in my curriculum of karate and other martial arts styles, I train with the same devotion and determination as to the white belt who strives to advance and constantly improve. I still experience the same emotion, when after months of trial and error, I have finally mastered a new technique. I have reached elevation, I have increased precision in body control, or that I have increased the height of my kicks.

My second “Awakening” occurred during my teenage years. One afternoon while studying at a friend’s house, we promptly completed homework so that we could watch a TV sports show previously recorded from the Eurosport Chanel (back then we had video recorders). We were able to admire individuals performing back-flips, 540 kick, kip-up, 720 kick, aerial, back handspring and so many other martial arts and acrobats that we had only seen on TV.

My first thought was, I have to learn those techniques, but my enthusiasm lasted only briefly for I realized that in my town no one was qualified or could teach me.  So I continued with my training to enhance my kicks and study how to increase strength and increase flexibility.

It wasn’t until I reached University that a breakthrough finally came. Thanks to the BILANG website I discovered that thousands of individuals shared the same passion and that this discipline was known as Tricking or Extreme Martial Arts. The internet was launching the first tutorials on how to perform the various techniques and so together with a group of friends, I began to attempt my first somersaults and acrobatic kicks.

Nevertheless, no courses existed for this discipline. The only weapon that I had was to study the human body and work with acrobatic instructors and others from around the world who shared the same passion. I would spend entire days studying frame after frame on how other individuals executed various tricks, and then in a group, we would try and try until we had no energy left in us.

When we were lucky, we had old sofa cushions placed on the grass or on the floor on which to land. When we wanted soft soil, we would drive down to Grado to train on the sand. Even during the winter the humidity of the sea and the chill would remain in our bones for days. But we were so content and it didn’t matter for anything was better than asphalt or hard wooden floors. Finally, we were able to find a Gymnastics Club 20-30km from home that kindly allowed us to practice in the evenings.

The major part of the tricks I had already accomplished but at least we had a warm place and we had a roof over our heads to practice. My passion for this discipline began to grow even more. I was so infatuated with what I was doing that training became a part of my dreams and while I was studying, I was imagining how to develop what I was learning day after day. All of this however never prevented me from graduating in Foreign Languages and Literature with outstanding results thus confirming that sport and study can be combined very successfully.

Despite my immense commitment and dedication to refining certain skills, I have never abandoned practicing basic techniques. Even today, I dedicate myself primarily to these techniques and to physical preparation. I have always been aware that only my traditional kicks are valid and that the acrobatic ones are sufficient.

In next to no time my videos passed the severe selection for the Biland website and became published. It was then that I created my YouTube channel and began to upload the first tutorial videos in Italian because young people who were willing to engage in this discipline needed to approach it with certain criteria and without getting injured.

In 2008 together with Master Francesco Venturelli from Brescia, we organized the first-ever national event (at that time there were only 9 of us) and we laid the foundations for a committed Italian community. It was the starting point that allowed our gatherings to grow throughout Italy. These gatherings take place 2 or 3 times a year, and the number of people who are passionate about this sport continues to grow in number all the time.

From that moment I understood the importance of sharing my knowledge and demonstrating the skills, I had achieved. It was then that I decided to hold courses in Italy and abroad to whoever was interested and without any distinction being made between styles and federations, I was driven by the desire to help those who just like me were eager to learn but had no idea where to begin. It was unthinkable that people who were approaching Tricking or other Martial Arts would have to confront the same difficult situations that I had personally faced and have them surrender their passion.

Study more than one version, do your research. Practise, and attempt –  for trial and error are part of the course, and then start over. This is my advice to those of you who read this. This is what I have been doing my entire life for both Classic Taekwon-Do and Acrobatic Taekwon-Do.

Briefly, this is my story. I could have written an impressive autobiography with a list of black belts and Dans, styles studied, championships won, fitness diplomas achieved, seminars carried out, and films where I had a role as an actor.

I believe that if you’re reading these lines it’s because you want to learn more about who I am, the rest can be easily found via the internet.

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