Today, I had a surprise: in the dusty files of my computer, I found an article I once wrote, but it never saw the light of day until now. And since it’s a beautiful September day, it’s the perfect moment to bring it out! So, dear readers, here it is!

Sometime last year, I was invited to a K1 gala by a dear friend (thank you, Sorin!). Just to clarify, those who step into the ring are not “just people who punch and kick left and right because they can’t do anything else,” contrary to popular belief. Those who say such things probably have no idea how hard these athletes work, the kind of exhausting training they endure, the sacrifices they make—the list goes on.

Personally, I practiced K1 for a while, just for “personal use.” And after a 60-80 minute training session, I was absolutely “done.” To give you an idea, try warming up for 20-25 minutes non-stop at full intensity and see how long you last. During rest breaks, about 20-30 seconds between sets, we did air punches and footwork… great break, right? Now imagine, if a “for fun” training is done like that, how does a real athlete train?

Now, returning to the article’s topic, during this gala, something wonderful happened in two of the matches: contrary to expectations, those who, despite losing, had the strength to last until the end of the three rounds, taking punches, getting pushed into the ropes, even knocked down. And yes, they lost. Nothing extraordinary about that… Except that at the end of the match, the audience began to applaud those who lost. It was as if the winners suddenly didn’t exist.

I looked at the poor guys (to whom I ultimately give all respect for winning) and noticed that hardly anyone was paying attention to them, aside from their supporters and the photographers doing their job. The winners got the photos, but the losers received a thunderous round of applause (including from me).

Because at the end of the day, we can’t win all the battles, right? So what do we do? We can endure until the end, prove to ourselves that we can, and become an example to those around us. After all, tomorrow is a new day and a new fight we can win.

In family, in friendships, in business, in society… choose any area, and you’ll find such battles. You won’t win every time… but you can hold your head high in any situation and prepare for the next one. Bravo to you, athletes, for reminding me how beautiful life is and how it brings us experiences that reveal who we truly are.

In the end, I want to congratulate and thank you, Ionut Puca. I don’t know you well, but I got the sense that you’re a wonderful and valuable person (Ionut being the coach of one of the applauded fighters)!