Austėja Landsbergienė Earns Kyokushin Karate Black Belt After Seven Years

Austėja Landsbergienė has achieved a significant personal milestone, earning her Kyokushin full-contact karate black belt after a dedicated seven-year journey. She shared the "joyful news" on social media, describing the path as long and challenging, filled with extensive training across the globe and culminating in an emotional exam.

Landsbergienė's commitment was evident in her training regimen, which involved practicing three to four times a week, often in unconventional locations. Her training took her to Iceland, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, France, Tenerife, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and the USA. She adapted her practice to hotel corridors, deserts, mountain slopes, and even a monastery's stone floors, often training early in the morning or late at night to accommodate her work and travel.

She recalled her coach's words, "A black belt is a white belt who didn't give up," which became her guiding principle. This mantra fueled her determination, especially during difficult training sessions, like doing push-ups on her knuckles on cold stone floors in Italy. Landsbergienė also expressed deep gratitude for her trainers, Edit Abraham and Magdalena, who supported her throughout her journey, and for Gabija, with whom she humorously termed their morning kata practice "cat breakfast."

Initially, Landsbergienė kept her karate pursuits private, promising herself she would reveal her progress after the first exam. She returned home with her orange belt after that initial test, eventually working her way up to the black belt. Her inspiration stemmed from childhood fascination with martial arts films and the perceived righteousness of their practitioners.