Valeria Chaika Success Story

Valeria Chaika a karate athlete.

A brief introduction to yourself?
My name is Valeria Chaika. I am 21 years old. I was born in a small village on the shore of the White Sea. When I was 3 years old we moved to St.Petersburg. It was in this city that my introduction to karate. And quite recently I received an offer to join the national team of the Moscow region and train under the guidance of the head coach of the Russian national karate team. Now I live in the city of Klin.

How did you develop your fondness for karate and at what age did you start learning karate?
My introduction to karate started at age of 8 years. Before that, I was engaged in ballroom dancing, but they could not interest me at that moment. I owe my love for karate to my first coach – Tatyana Ivanova, who not only taught me karate but also taught me to accept defeats, work on mistakes and not be afraid to move on.

What is your style and what rank do you currently hold in karate?
I’ve been studying Shotokan Karate-Do for about 9 years, but in the last few years, I’ve been working hard on Shito Ryu. Currently, I am a Master of Sports of Russia in karate.

What do you like more Kata or Kumite?
I was taught in the bigger part of the kata technique, so my choice is obvious. A couple of times I went to Kumite training, but it’s not for me.

Do you have a favorite Sensei?
I don’t want to highlight one of the coaches. I am grateful to everyone who has contributed to my development.

How did you get to this position and how was your journey being in this sport?
My karate career started at the school I attended. My physical education teacher opened a set in the karate section and the next week I was among the future karate players. My mother wanted me to play a more feminine sport, but she gave me the right to choose. And I’m sure, I did the right choice.

Do you take karate as your profession or is it just a hobby?
Karate for me became something more than just a hobby, and I realized that when I started training children.

What challenges did you come across on getting where you are at today?
You can share any injury story as well.
The main difficulty is to overcome yourself, to do something through pain and fear. But with the support of my family, I can do anything. The main problems of karate players are problems with knees, and this disease also affected me in 2017. I was waiting for a difficult year of surveys, followed by the operation.

What motivates you the most about your profession as an athlete?

I am motivated by the fact that in karate we have no limit to perfection. Every day, when you come to training, you find something new for yourself, each time exceeding your capabilities.

Do you have something you want everyone to learn?
I would like to teach many people not to be afraid to move towards difficulties, even if something doesn’t work out, but you always can work on mistakes and move higher and higher to your dreams.

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