New boxing style gains adherents in Cuba

The Sanda, a Chinese boxing modality with martial roots, is gaining popularity in Cuba thanks to the effort of a group of passionate who work to raise the technical level of competitors and spread this discipline.

With the aim of forming a national team, regional qualifiers have begun in several age categories.

In the municipality of Rule, located east of the Bay of Havana, the first qualifying competitions for the western region were held. About 30 athletes participated in the event, who not only sought to secure their pass to the next national championship, but also improve their position in the Cuban Sanda ranking.

Content index

Expanding sport

Frank Cazón, president of the Cuban school of Sanda, highlighted the technical advance of athletes and pointed out that the purpose is to compete in international events. «We are getting closer to reaching the necessary level to represent Cuba abroad,» he said.

The current strategy focuses on the development of children’s and youth categories. According to Cazón, promoting practice from an early age is essential to guarantee the long -term growth of the discipline. In June, the first national championship of Sanda is planned, where the best exponents will be selected to integrate the Cuban team.

With a trajectory of more than two decades, Cazón aspires to organize in the future an International Sanda Tournament in Cuba. Although it recognizes logistics and financial difficulties, it is confident that the enthusiasm and dedication of practitioners will pave the way to specify this project.

Body and mind discipline

The headquarters of the Cuban school of Sanda is located in a modest place in Rule, where about 50 people train daily. The approach goes beyond competition: the objective is to instill discipline, values ​​and a personal improvement mentality. The students who participated in the recent qualifiers represented teams with distinctive names such as «Warriors of the Wind» and «Champions Factory.»

Eugenio Aleaga, one of the judges of the tournament, is a fervent Choy Lee Fut practitioner, another Chinese combat discipline. Forestry engineer and 40 -year -old plastic artist, Aleaga works to promote this form of martial art in Cuba, although the number of followers is still limited.

Although sports such as baseball, boxing and football dominate the Cuban sports scene, martial arts have managed to capture the attention of a population segment. The fighting in order attracted an enthusiastic audience who vigorously supported the contestants.

Currently, it is estimated that around 600 people practice Sanda in Cuba, distributed in eight of the 15 provinces of the country. The highest concentration of practitioners is in Havana, but the organizers aspire to expand the discipline nationwide.

The Sanda arrived in Cuba in 2000, when Frank Cazón and a group of fans decided to boost their practice. Since then, the Cuban Sanda School has been recognized by the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) and is part of the Pan American Association of Martial Arts.

The tour has been full of challenges, but the determination of dogfish and its team has allowed consolidating the discipline. With an eye on the National Championship and the dream of competing on the international stage, the Sanda continues to win adepts and strengthening its presence in Cuba.