Par Olivier Bacquet
Published on
He is 32 years old, a smile that never leaves him, an easy burst of laughter, and the desire to share a passion that has been with him since childhood… Sofiane Akkaoui love it grapplingand he has every intention of developing this sport in the small village of Bourdon (Somme), where he settled two years ago.
A little-known sport accessible to all
Grappling? Would it be a new discipline? A new derivative of martial arts? “You necessarily know grappling, smiles Sofian: it’s a term that includes all the sports where you cling…”
Judo or wrestling, for example. Indeed, we know. On the other hand, we did not know the more precise discipline that the young man proposed to Bourdon: the Luta Book (literally: “free wrestling”).
Here again, Sofiane shows herself to be a pedagogue. “The goal of judo is to catch the opponent and put him on the ground, he begins. The Luta Livre does not stop there: once on the ground, the fight continues with joint lock techniques, and only stops when the opponent gives up. With a particularity that distinguishes it from Brazilian jiu-jitsu: the Luta Livre is practiced without a kimono, in shorts and in a jersey.
Very attached to rurality
This detail is important: “it makes the sport more accessible, if only financially”, underlines Sofiane. And accessibility for all is one of the young man’s driving forces.
I grew up in a village in the Oise where we didn’t have access to this kind of sport. To practice them, I had to go to Paris, which I continue to do every week!
But here it is: Sofiane Akkaoui is very attached to rural life. Legal adviser for companies, he lived for a long time in the center of Amiens, and aspired to a better quality of life. “That’s how I got to Bourdon,” he says. And very quickly, I wanted to bring this sport that I would have liked to find in my country of origin. »
The meeting with Mayor Anthony Delassus did the rest: the elected official did not hesitate to entrust the keys to the village hall twice a week to the young man. And Bourdon becomes the first village in Hauts-de-France to offer Luta Livre lessons.
“I am the first on the niche! smiles again Sofiane Akkaoui, who already gives lessons in a room in Amiens, and who created her association, NR Luta Livre.
Meetings with big names in sport
“With this club in Bourdon, I want to bring the sport to a small village, but I also want to allow the villagers to exchange with Parisian practitioners, and to meet stars of the Luta Livre”, like NR , like Nicolas Rénier, the Parisian teacher of Sofiane, a big name in Luta Livre in France.
The first lessons took place last week, after a demonstration session with most of the elected members of the municipal council. They were four at the very first session, but Sofiane knows that it will take time to set up this new appointment.
Sofiane Akkaoui offers Luta Livre lessons every Monday and Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Accessible to all, 2 free trial sessions.
Annual fee: €100 for minors and students, €150 for adults (including license, free technical clothing, free travel).
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