Читать книгу The Power of the Warrior - Néstor Galarraga - Страница 6

When Master Néstor Galarraga asked me to write a foreword for his new book, I felt great happiness, excitement and that it was a great opportunity to say goodbye to thousands of readers, who had accompanied me for 40 years, in this unique work that I have called YUDO KARATE. I told him that I would dedicate to him my last words in the martial arts, because it is possible that, due to a health problem, I might probably find myself unable to keep communicating; what an irony.

Unfortunately, I cannot speak much about the book or introduce the reader into what I think is a wonderful work, but, in turn, I can tell you about my dear friend, the author. With a lot of sense of humor, paraphrasing Fidel Pintos, I could say that I discovered Néstor Galarraga…

I remember, once, Jorge Luis Borges introduced the work of a painter and, after making a thorough and meticulous description of the most outstanding details of the artist´s painting, he said (have you noticed the irony?): «a blind person introducing a painter». In the same way and making an analogy, I could speak of Master Galarraga. He got his education, in many ways, in the hallways of the editing office of Yudo Karate, a magazine that reflected the occurrences of the martial artist in the Argentine Republic; in fact, he directed the magazine, in my absence, for three years.

Néstor has told me about the words in the pages of his new book, where he describes with detail the fundamental axes of his personal transformation and, it is no wonder, since he is a follower of his own steps, ending always with the realization of his own dreams. A man who has never stopped reinventing himself, and Yudo Karate has shown this throughout all his history.

More than thirty years ago, I had the honor of writing the foreword for his first book The Evolution Factor (Factor de evolución), in which he said that, absolutely focused on getting the things he aimed for, Néstor Galarraga has written, within the pages of that book, the most important thing he has ever achieved after years of practicing, studying and learning: his winner approach, because for him “to win in life is not the most important thing… It is the only thing”.

That book broke records in sales in the martial arts world, but I am afraid that The Power of the Warrior will substantially surpass it, since he talks about the road travelled, describing in detail the steps to follow in order to achieve the things we want, and he suggests technical development as a fundamental element to reach personal power and to master the art as a path towards spirituality. This book is nothing but a reflection of him, an additional sample of his responsibility, effort and commitment, with which he has devoted his life to ITF Taekwon-Do.

He has worked in the development of learning, training and testing methods, and in the making of regulations and methodology for the sports area, writing thousands of articles for Yudo Karate and other specialized magazines of the martial medium, and books. He has also directed documentaries, TV shows and he has been an active protagonist, participating in the most important decisions of ITF Taekwon-Do of the last 30 years. In the 90´s —together with the founder of Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong Hi— and, as of 2001, with his son Master Choi Jung Hwa, he has made contributions to the technical, sports and cultural area and he has constantly worked towards the evolution and development of Taekwon-Do in the world. He has also directed the sports area of the International Federation since 1997, a time when Taekwon-Do of that entity was only one in the world. He developed, together with other masters in the world, the regulations with which ITF Taekwon-Do competes nowadays. He conducted world youth championships, world adult championships, world senior championships, all the versions of the World Cup, Pan-American and European championships, and all the versions of the America´s Cup, in America, Europe, Asia, Oceania. He made his ITF Taekwon-Do teaching method popular, by delivering seminars in more than 60 countries and his ability to organize events is a trademark.

Yes!!! It is enough to go over some of his history to know who we are talking about, “a martial arts beast”, a man who, with hard work, managed to surpass talent and, with discipline, has conquered intelligence. I do not need to read his book —I interviewed Master Galarraga hundreds of times— in this occasion, I know exactly where he is going… Why is that? Because I always saw it coming… I leave you with the author.

Miguel Hladilo