The instructor and martial arts practitioner, originally from Sciacca, tells about herself. From the beginnings with Judo to the arrival in MMA
Annalisa La Bella, instructor and martial arts practitioner originally from Sciacca, several times Italian champion and European champion of shoot boxing in Poland. Deputy world champion of shoot boxing in Ukraine and at the moment pro athlete of MMA who fights in various circuits around Italy and the world thanks also and above all to her manager Filippo Leone, and to his team, Legio’s Team Sciacca and American Top Team Roma, talks about his passion for martial disciplines.
The beginning with Judo
“As a child – explains the athlete – I was a hyperactive child but with little strength in my wrists; I got tired as soon as I wrote a lot. My teacher advised my parents to send me to the gym to try to solve both problems so my father decided to sign up for the Judo course because thanks to the kimono holds you could get a good strengthening result without neglecting an important detail children need to play a sport to promote optimal psychophysical development. I am very grateful to him for this choice also because soon I became very passionate about martial arts.
With Judo – continues the athlete – at a certain point I stopped training due to work commitments. After some time with my partner I started practicing kickboxing getting more and more passionate until I made my debut with full contact in the ring. My partner was already beginning to practice MMA abroad, where she was for work reasons, with guys of various nationalities.
The transition to mixed martial arts
Back in Italy he concentrated on martial arts, a passion for him too, from there he made the decision to start a training course with Alessio Sakara and I followed him doing different training and some courses but my partner specialized. in Legio’s sistem the method used by the American top team on the teaching of MMA. I went a lot into the world of MMA; dreaming of being able to compete in this discipline and the opportunity did not take long to arrive shortly thereafter, I made the first Italian championship and the selection of the national shoot boxing team with which I started a couple of times “.
Speaking of the techniques of Judo that are also found in MMA Annalisa La Bella states: “The only applicable techniques of Judo are the projections even if we had to readjust everything since the holds without kimono are very different. Even the ground fight of Judo is not functional for the mma and therefore I had to face together with my coach a path of demolition of unsuitable things to reconstruct more usable actions “.
The benefits
Regarding the benefits that the two disciplines have brought to the athlete, it can be certified that
any sport practiced as a child stimulates coordination and the development of a well-structured musculature that always help to have a good physique, good self-esteem and confidence in one’s abilities but also an objective reflection on one’s limits and good concentration on how to improve them. A martial artist is a person who tries to build his own improvement every day both physically and mentally.
To those approaching these disciplines for the first time, Annalisa La Bella says: “I recommend everyone to try to enter a martial arts gym and test themselves because often you have a wrong idea of what they are. They are an excellent anti-stress a good way to lose weight without even realizing it but above all a good way to understand the limits and potential of your body and mind. The advice I would like to give is to free your mind from prejudices and preconceptions and rely on an accredited professional to obtain results beyond all expectations.
Surely – he continues – martial arts are very useful in self-defense because they give an automatic reaction to blows, whoever is used to exchanging blows (giving and receiving them) will not be shocked or blocked if attacked but will almost certainly have an almost instinctive reaction. . I personally think that the best way to learn to defend yourself is to constantly practice a combat sport; at the moment I think that the best is the MMA because she is fighting both standing and on the ground .. “. “The only goal I have set myself – she concludes – is to fight as much as possible because it amuses me and satisfies me”.
