Ekaterina Vandareva: “There were such fights that, it seems, a little more - and I will die

22.02.2014 15 facts about Ekaterina Vandareva

Ekaterina Vandareva was born in Starye Dorogi, and moved to Minsk with her family at the age of 13.
Katya came to the Kick Fighter hall to prepare for admission to the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The athlete received the name "Barbie" for her model appearance, and at first this comparison even offended her a little.
Before Thai boxing, Vandareva was engaged in self-defense and volleyball.
Katya's first coaches were Andrei Kulebin and Andrei Kotsur, then Honored Coach of the Republic of Belarus Evgeny Georgievich Dobrotvorsky.
From the age of 16, the girl had to combine work, study and training. Katya says that at first she had to get up at 4:30 in the morning.
The first fight of the international level Vandareva held in Cyprus against a Greek athlete. And she won it.
At the first European Championship for herself in 2009, Katya got a nose injury, but she made it to the end and won: “I I got a minor nose injury, and by the last fight I had a huge one, half a face. And by that time, my leg had been beaten off so much that sensitivity to it returned only six months later. ”
Vandareva considers her favorite award to be the title of the best fighter of the World Championship, won in 2010.
In the first W5 fight in Moscow, Katya entered the ring in heels.
In 2011, Ekaterina Vandareva won the fight with Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and wanted to leave the sport for a while. But withstood without training only a couple of months.
Piercing Vandareva did at the age of 14. But tattoos are skeptical.
At one of the championships of Belarus Vandareva struggled with fever and acute bronchitis.
Ekaterina Vandareva graduated last year. Now she is a qualified tourism manager.
In September 2013, Katya Vandareva got married, but she tries not to talk much about her chosen one.

Ekaterina Vandareva about ...

… combining work with training and study

From the age of 16 I went to work. We lived 20 kilometers from Minsk. The shift started at 7:30 in the morning, so I had to get up at 4:30, go to work, and then to the other side of the city for training. And after all still and university! I fell asleep, even just standing in the subway! But I still forced myself to go to training every day, even if the night before it seemed that I would not go anywhere.

... about the "cons" of Thai boxing

The downside of our sport is the human factor. If the judge did not want to give you the victory, he will not give it up, no matter how hard you try.

…about losing

Of course, after the defeat, there is a feeling that the end of the world has come. But thanks to losses, you analyze your mistakes and start working harder. So defeat teaches.

… about professional fights

It's nice when you go into the ring, a lot of people are rooting for you, and the fight is broadcast on leading TV channels. And what about amateurs… I won a medal, I brought it back, no one will say “thank you”, the country doesn’t care. And the premium even for gold is meager, and in professional fights you will receive a fee anyway, even if you lose. At least there is something to live on.

… about girls in Muay Thai

If I enter the ring - what's wrong with that? I don’t fight guys, I don’t smash my face into blood. On the contrary, I know how to overcome difficulties, and I can cope with everything that comes in my way. By the way, many guys say that girls who do martial arts are more gentle and sweet than usual, because we take everything out in the ring, all the anger comes out there, and in life we are almost angels.

Ekaterina Vandareva is a multiple world champion in Muay Thai. She performs in the ring under the pseudonym Barbie. In addition to Thai boxing, he takes part in kickboxing competitions.

I came to martial arts, one might say, by accident: I had seen enough of TV shows about investigators in my childhood and got excited about the idea of entering the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. So I decided to get skills that will certainly come in handy in operational work. I came to the club when I was not yet seventeen, and immediately got infected with the atmosphere that reigns here. There was excitement, I got involved in training to the fullest and a year later I became the world champion.

Before that, I was involved in athletics - I was bored, played volleyball and got upset when I scored, and my teammates “leaked”. In the ring, everything depends only on you - and that's great. I always lacked thrills, I wanted a surge of adrenaline, and I got it in full.

Yes, there is a chance of getting injured, but it is small if you are good at defensive techniques. Keep in mind that every workout we prepare our body for extreme loads. There are studies that confirm that the bones and ligaments of professional fighters are many times stronger than those of a simple unprepared person. My friends who have never been involved in sports are constantly “breaking down”, and among my clubmates, I don’t remember a single such case.

Soberly assessing my strength, I can now say with confidence that, if necessary, I can certainly “knock out” the average gopnik. Of course, the extreme situation on the street is fundamentally different from what happens in the ring. One day a maniac attacked me at the entrance and began to choke me. I was in a stupor for several seconds, and already when I started to choke, I heard the words of the coach, which he always says to me at competitions: "Don't give up, Katya, hit!" I hit him with my elbow - the rapist fell, I kicked him a few more times and left. There was another case with my friend from the club: the driver of an empty trolley bus began to pester her. In a second he was on the floor, and when he was able to get up, he said: “As I understand it, asking for your phone number is useless?”

When a girl is engaged in martial arts, she looks at the world with completely different eyes. I'm not afraid to walk in dark alleys, suspicious people don't scare me. At the same time, I am clearly aware of the limits of my capabilities: if a person has a knife or a gun in his hands, the game will go according to completely different rules. Professional fighters have an unspoken code of honor - we can use our skills only as a last resort. I know a lot of examples when our guys and girls ignored insults, realizing that if it comes to a fight, they can inadvertently make a disabled person out of a boor, and then go to jail for it.

Whatever you do on this planet, there will definitely be those who will say that either you are doing everything wrong, or in general your hobby is complete nonsense. People who say that the physical form of a person is not the main thing, but the most important thing is the brain, I personally feel pity, just like those who spend most of their lives in the virtual world. Spending your best years on the internet and toys is beyond my comprehension.

I have been married for two years, and sports do not interfere with family life at all and do not affect household chores in any way. Perhaps sometimes I take on too much: I tried to take a break in my sports career, but without victories, travel and new acquaintances, it becomes somehow completely boring . My friend, who was one of the first to win the World Cup, has three children. She returns to training a few months after giving birth and at the same time everything is in time !!

To be honest, it upsets me that, according to recent studies that were conducted in Russia, 25% of men agree to run the household, while their wives will earn money. I think that this is a catastrophic figure that characterizes a lot, first of all - the degeneration of masculinity as such. Look at how many men behave behind the wheel - they are completely inadequate, who, relying on the defenselessness of the girl, allow themselves such statements and maneuvers that it immediately becomes clear: a person has no brains, no education, nothing masculine in principle. Sometimes, you know, I want to go out and explain that he is wrong and you have to answer for your actions and statements, but still I restrain myself, you should not waste your nerves on losers.

I am sure that most of the commentators who scribble posts like “I don’t need to be strong, because I’m smart” or “the main thing is how much you earn” do not really go into sports just because they are lazy, well, and a little afraid. Boys and girls, do not be afraid, come to our hall, no one will offend you here.

Belarusian athlete Yekaterina Vandareva, at the age of 24, has repeatedly become the European and world champion in Thai boxing and kickboxing. The girl enters the ring under the pseudonym Barbie and fully corresponds to this nickname, as she looks very feminine and attractive. Ekaterina is trying to destroy the stereotypes about female fighters that exist in society, and she shared her thoughts on this in a short interview.

There is a common stereotype: a female fighter is something scary, masculine, with a rolled nose. I'm trying to break this stereotype. The girls who practice Thai boxing are mostly very beautiful, they have proportional figures, beautiful facial features, but everything spoils the desire to look menacing - this is how tattoos, short haircuts, men's clothing, and excessive muscle mass appear.

Yes, there is a chance of getting injured, but it is small if you are good at defensive techniques. Keep in mind that every workout we prepare our body for extreme loads. There are studies that confirm that the bones and ligaments of professional fighters are many times stronger than those of a simple unprepared person. My friends who have never been involved in sports are constantly “breaking down”, and among my clubmates, I don’t remember a single such case.

Soberly assessing my strengths, I can now say with confidence that if necessary, I will certainly be able to “knock out” the average gopnik. Of course, the extreme situation on the street is fundamentally different from what happens in the ring. One day a maniac attacked me at the entrance and began to choke me. I was in a stupor for several seconds and already when I started to choke, I heard the words of the coach, which he always says to me at competitions: “Do not give up, Katya, hit!” I hit him with my elbow - the rapist fell, I kicked him a few more times and left. There was another case with my friend from the club: the driver of an empty trolley bus began to pester her. A second later he was on the floor, and when he was able to get up, he said: “As I understand it, it’s useless to ask for your phone number?”

When a girl is engaged in martial arts, she looks at the world with completely different eyes. I'm not afraid to walk in dark alleys, suspicious people don't scare me. At the same time, I am clearly aware of the limits of my capabilities: if a person has a knife or a gun in his hands, the game will go according to completely different rules. Professional fighters have an unspoken code of honor - we can use our skills only as a last resort. I know a lot of examples when our guys and girls ignored insults, realizing that if it comes to a fight, they can inadvertently make a disabled person out of a boor, and then go to jail for it.

I always say that, in addition to sports, you need to have something else for your soul. The employer does not care how many titles you have won, the main thing is that the specialist be a good one. For example, I received an education in the field of tourism and now I am organizing outreach corporate events. Went to a photography course. In general, I don’t sit still, I’m constantly looking for something interesting and at the same time I manage to take care of my family, clean, cook, etc. I don’t understand neglected women who go to one job and whine that they are all poor- unfortunate, do not succeed. This, by the way, also applies to men who are sure that their duties are limited to making money, and after that - only couch rookeries.

I have been married for two years, and sports do not interfere with family life at all and do not affect household chores in any way. Perhaps sometimes I take on too much: I tried to take a break in my sports career, but without victories, travel and new acquaintances, it becomes somehow completely boring. My friend, who was one of the first to win the World Cup, has three children. She returns to training a few months after giving birth and at the same time everything is in time !!

To be honest, it upsets me that, according to recent studies that were conducted in Russia, 25% of men agree to run the household, while their wives will earn money. I think that this is a catastrophic figure that characterizes a lot, first of all - the degeneration of masculinity as such. Look at how many men behave behind the wheel - they are completely inadequate, who, relying on the defenselessness of the girl, allow themselves such statements and maneuvers that it immediately becomes clear: a person has no brains, no education, nothing masculine in principle. Sometimes, you know, I want to go out and explain that he is wrong and you have to answer for your actions and statements, but still I restrain myself, you should not waste your nerves on losers.
I am sure that most of the commentators who scribble posts like “I don’t need to be strong, because I’m smart” or “the main thing is how much you earn” do not really go into sports just because they are lazy, well, and a little afraid. Boys and girls, do not be afraid, come to our hall, no one will offend you here.