The young club UA-DO from Sisseln is preparing for the World Cup
Volodymyr Volkov has been practicing UA-DO, a combination of judo and jiu-jitsu, since his earliest youth. The Ukrainian combines numerous international titles. After fleeing the Ukraine, he founded the UA-DO school in Sisseln almost a year ago. Today the association already has 45 children and 8 adults.
Susanne Hörth
“We were very fortunate that many friendly people welcomed and supported us in Sisseln as well as in Stein,” says Volodymyr Volkov gratefully. Like many of their compatriots, he and his wife Natalia fled the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The couple from Kiev have been living in Sisseln since the summer of last year. Sitting idly by and waiting until they can return to their home country was not what 62-year-old Volkov wanted. In autumn 2022 he founded the UA-DO school in Sisseln. “I received a lot of help from the local authorities,” he says happily. Volkov himself has been running UA-DO since he was about four or five years old and has won many titles since then. He also speaks full of praise for Svitlana Kozyr. She is an important key person for the school. Steinerin organizes the translation and the cooperation of the sports club with other local clubs.
double martial arts
“UA-DO is literally the Ukrainian way.” Volodymyr Volkov adds two more meanings of the young club to this philosophical description. “It was and is primarily a place for sports, on the other hand a meeting place for Ukrainian refugees.” UA-DO, also known as Ukrainian Cossack duboi, is a combination of judo and jiu-jitsu and is a very popular national sport in Ukraine. Right from the start, participation in national and international competitions was part of the program of the UA-DO Sisseln sports club, in addition to training several times a week. Their President Volodymyr Volkov also proved his great ability when he took 1st place in the 90kg weight class and 2nd place in two other disciplines at the World Championships in November 2022 among the veterans. In May of this year he became European champion in Italy. Having won the championship title in his beloved sport fills the 62-year-old with great pride. But it is even more important to him to bring UA-DO closer to children and adults, to be able to get them excited about it and to be able to promote mental and physical development thanks to modern martial arts.
Today, almost a year after its founding, the UA-DO School has 45 children and 8 adults. The youngest member is 3, the oldest 80 years old. “They all have their own exercises and training methods.” The founder, club president and coach Volkov is also proud that there are many Swiss among them – “especially among the little ones”. He reiterates that learning the sport also involves endurance, discipline, strengthening body control and working together.
Of course there are also challenges to be mastered in everyday club life, Volodymyr Volkov does not hide. «Starting with communication and learning the language.» There is also a lack of judo mats and sport-specific sports equipment that would ensure efficient and safe training for the students. The transport of children is also always a big issue at competitions. He is grateful for the understanding and support of his parents. “It’s already helping us a lot.”
The next goal is now the World Cup in Germany. “Our students can gain experience there and validate their abilities,” says Volkov. Full of expectation, he adds: “We definitely want to win first place in the team in three disciplines. We are optimistic based on the results of the competition so far.”
Training takes place three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from 4 to 7 p.m. in the school gym. “Three groups are on duty during this time: children up to 8 years old, young people up to 16 years old and adults with no age limit,” says Volodymyr Volkov.
2023-08-09 22:03:21
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