COFFEE CHAT WITH STEVAN KUZMINAC

"Menssana in corporesano." Latin proverb

Our guest today is StevanKuzminac, Coordinator and Instructorat the Canadian Kickboxing Academy. Stevan is a Certified Kickboxing Coach and a former competitor atthe Kickboxing Club Zemun. As a coach in former the Yugoslavia, he had the pleasure to train several national champions who competed successfully at the international level. Stevan has been training in kickboxing for thirty-five years. At the professional level, Stevan has been active for twenty-four years as a coach and referee. The coffee chat with Stevan was an opportunity to learn more about his beginnings, development of his academy, his love for martial arts, and his collaboration with the Serbian community in Canada.

SAN:Stevan, your sport beginnings and successes are related to Yugoslavia and Serbia. Your love for sport and martial arts has followed you to Canada. Can you make a comparison in the work style in martial arts between Canada and Serbia?

Stevan: In Serbia people trained with a lot of enthusiasm, however, the training facilities and conditions were not as good. With the emergence of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the last 20 years, martial arts experienced a great expansion and became an interesting activity for many people. We adapted to the new trends and added MMA, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), and Greek Pankration to the kickboxing program.

SAN: Martial arts are quite a bit different than other sports. What fulfills you in martial artstraining?

Stevan:  My mission is to promote martial arts and share the knowledge that I have acquired over the years. Currently, we have a total of four coaches who specialize in specific areas of martial arts and yet we all work together as a team. Our focus is on working with youth (prevention of violence among youth) and other trainees and we use kickboxing and MMA methods to raise their fitness level and knowledge of the martial arts.

I find it fulfillingwhen I see that a student has learned a new move or achieved a goal that we have set previously. I also find it fulfilling when a parent informs me that his/her child has improved their level of self-esteem and stopped being the target of bullying at school.

SAN: Since you are an expert in the field of martial arts, what would you recommend to our readers who are interested in this kind of sport?

Stevan: I would recommend to everybody to be involved in amartial arts training program for at least a short period of time. By practicing the martial art techniques, the participants get a dynamic and interesting physical exercise. Participants also get to practiceself-defence skills, and by doing so, they maintain a positive competitive level.  Furthermore, martial arts trainings help the participants manage their mental health. Trainings involve whole-body exercise that helps with the development of all muscle groups, elasticity, endurance, and explosiveness. Unlike going to the gym where one follows the same routine, martial art trainings offer an interesting and dynamic atmosphere, as well as, novelty at every training session. The age range of the members of our academy is between 4 and 60 years old.

SAN:  The training facilities of the Canadian Kickboxing Academy have been located in Mississauga for some time now. A lot of people from our community have heard about the academy. Could you elaborate further on the work principles of the Canadian Kickboxing Academy for those who may not have heard about the academy?

Stevan:  We are a school that follows realistic martial arts principles where the training methods are based on the Serbian school of kickboxing. Within the Serbian community, we are the only such school in Toronto and the GTA, however, we maintain a good relationship with the HSMA (Hamilton School of Martial Arts) where the coach is of our origin. Our program includes: MMA, kickboxing, BJJ, Greek Pankration, self-defence for women, and fitness boot camp. We have a children's group for kids from 4 to 14 years of age and an adult group as well.

SAN: You are a person with a wide range of interests and some of them include working with youth and collaborating with the Serbiancommunity in Canada. Can you walk us through the development of the academy and your collaboration with our community?

Stevan: The early strugglesdid not bypass us. We invested quite a bit of timeto introduce peopleto the new academy. However,in recent times,the academy has experienced areal boom. We have also received support within our community. At this point, we have about ten Serbian children in the children's group. We hope that this number will grow. I want to emphasize that parents have recognized our work and we got their support as well. Moreover, some parents are also joining us at the trainingsessions.

SAN:The rewards of running a private businesscan be very fulfilling and exciting, however,at certain times running a private businesscan be difficult and uncertain. What are the most important things you have learned as a business owner in Canada? Also, what advice would you give to our readers who have businesses of their own or are planning to start a business in Canada?

Stevan:  The first thing I would advise your readers is not to be indecisive but to bravely make the move towards starting a business. Again, it all depends on personality, but if a person has a tendency towards owning a business, then that is the way that cannot be avoided and the way that willat the same time give them greatest satisfaction. It is necessary to prepare a business plan, conduct market analysis, prepare amarketingplan, and be willing to take a risk. One should start a business in the fieldin whichhe/shehas a considerable amount of knowledge and experience. Finally,oncethe business launches, one cannot expectmiracles right at the very beginning. Being realistic in terms of expectations and showing a certain amount of patience are important in achieving the final goals. I would also like to add that continuous work on improving the private business is something that must be applied at all times. My experience in private business ownership is not only based on running the Canadian Kickboxing Academy, but also in managingthe VIP Protection Agency (specializing in restaurant, concert, andbodyguardservices), which is a far larger business, but this can be a topic of another coffee chat meeting.

For more information about the Canadian Kickboxing Academy visit the website: http://www.ckbacademy.ca/.