World Class athletes have office jobs

Aug 3

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Meet the amazing 30 year old Lithuanian World Champion in Kyokushin Karate, Aneta Meskauskiene, mother of two and wife with a full time job at Accenture.

”At present, I am 30 years old, a mother of 2 amazing boys, a full time employee with Accenture (which are also actively sponsoring me) – working on Google projects, a wife, and a student. Keeping up with my busy lifestyle is not easy…but it is very rewarding! I set clear priorities and there is simply no time for feeling blue or for indeed for any wistful sense of nostalgia.”

I had the privilege of doing a training session with Aneta to get an insight into her sport and see the champion herself in action. I was so impressed with her skills, her focus and determination. She definitely has the traits of a champion.

Arlette Bomahou and Aneta Meskauskiene doing a training session together for the project Women in Sport project
Arlette Bomahou and Aneta Meskauskiene doing a training session together for the project Women in Sport project

She has been involved in Kyokushin Karate for several years now and has represented Ireland in many international competitions. Her best results to date are: 2nd place in the World Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria and 3rd place in the recent World Championship in Khabarovsk, Russia.

She started Kyokushin Karate in 1993 when she was only 7 years old. With an historical background Aneta discovered karate after her parents moved from Russia to Lithuania which at the time had only gained its independence from Russia. It was a tough time and the country was offering very few opportunities. Her parents decided to enroll her in the local karate club to boost her self-confidence, and also to help her learn Lithuanian. They thought it would be a great way to make new friends.

Soon after, she started to compete in Lithuanian national competitions. Her former coach Gintaras Cemnalianskis told her she had rare potential and a promising future.

When turning 14-15 there were issues in her personal life to deal with including arguments with parents and coaches. She then took the decision to walk away from her beloved sport.

“During adolescence…lots of things (including my sport) had to go by the wayside. Numerous arguments and heated debates later (with my parents, my coach, and indeed myself!) I finally decided that the sport was no longer a priority for me…so I stopped.”

She made the best of those 10 years away from Karate and didn’t waste anytime.

“I finished school, started college, moved to Ireland, met my future husband, finished my Bachelor Degree in Law, started my Masters in Financial Markets, and had 2 wonderful children. Yet, despite all my achievements I still felt deep down that something was missing throughout all that time. So straight after giving birth to my second child while being on maternity leave, I decided that I needed to get back into shape, karate being the obvious choice. I couldn’t actually imagine getting involved in any other sport other than karate. So I set out to find another local club in my husband’s hometown of Anyksciai (as I spent my maternity leave in Lithuania) and here my story resumed.”

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As you can you can imagine it was tough both mentally and physically to get back in the game. I personally suffer after 2 weeks break from weight training so I can only relate to what Aneta has gone through.

When she tried to reach out to her former sport buddies she found out that they had either become coaches, teachers or had stopped practicing years ago like herself. Thanks to the support from her new coach Eugenijus Silaika and by literally taking one step at a time she managed to achieve her brown belt and to strive for a higher rank black belt.

She even took part in her full contact knockdown tournament which took place in Holland that year. Although she lost the fight she felt accomplished and proud of herself. Coming after a 10 year break, competing in her first year back was an achievement in itself.

Ireland was back on the map! When her maternity leave came to an end she had to resume her full time job (Harvey Norman at the time). She was determined to keep practicing and competing. Finding the perfect Kyokushin club in Dublin and great coaches Shihan Kevin Callan (Head of Kyokushin Ireland) and Shane Mulhall (National Knockdown Squad coach) ultimately contributed to her sports career here in Ireland.

Aneta speaks highly of her coaches and mentor.

“They saw my strengths and my potential while at the same time highlighting areas which I needed to improve on. Most importantly they believed in me and gave me confidence.”

Here are some of her achievements:
02/02/2013 – Scottish Open – Glasgow 1st place
04/04/2013 – 4th IFK World Tournament 2013 , 5th- 8th place
29/06/2013 – BKK Regional, Dunmow, Essex, England 1st place
04/10/2013 – KWU World Championships – Sofia, Bulgaria, 2nd place
23/11/2013 – BKK Open, 6th Incorporating Cup of Europe, Crawley, England 3rd place
29/11/2014 IFK European Open Sofia, Bulgaria, 2nd place
09/05/2015 BKK English Open, London, England, 2nd place
03/ 10/ 2015 KWU World Championships – Khabarovsk, Russia, 3rd place
17/10/2015 – 39th British Open and 7th Incorporating Cup of Europe, Crawley, England – 1st place
11/06/2016 KWU European Tournament – Belgrade, Serbia – 3rd Place

She is currently 17th in the Kyokushin World Rankings table 2015 (23rd in 2014) and is holder of a 2nd Dan Black belt.

Can you believe that she has only been actively training again for 5 years now. Her training regime is insane, just to give you an insight into what she does to grab all those titles:
her training sessions varies from 3 times per week up to 11 times per week depending on upcoming competitions and essentially her goals.

“In the mornings I would train with Dave Hedges of the Wild Geese Martial Arts Centre. He helps me to improve my strength, power and endurance. One day per week I would have a sparring session in the Kokoro MMA Club with lads who are practicing various styles of Martial Arts such as MMA, Muay Thai, and Kickboxing etc. While there, I can try out different techniques and combinations I earned with my coaches during the evening sessions. So when people say that Karate is not just a sport, it is a way of life – I believe they are right. They know what they are talking about.”

Aneta believes that Kyokushin Karate has several benefits which would include: discipline, respect, art, fitness, empathy, and motivation.

She also feels that it’s beneficial for both men and women.

“Especially for all women out there, as it gives you confidence, raises fitness levels, and strengthens your physical and mental health without taking away your femininity, and in particular for children – not only because the sport improves fitness levels, full body strength and flexibility (thus setting them on a path to a brighter future without crippling injuries or ailments), but it also prepares children for life – making them more confident, resilient, respectful, and disciplined individuals and members of society. This, I believe, can contribute greatly in confronting and dealing effectively with bullying or being bullied highlighting yet another positive side of the sport.”

Aneta’s big dream is to take part in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as it would give karate a huge boost in popularity and the global recognition it deserves.

Here is a definition of Kyokushin Karate:

Sparring, also called kumite, is used to train the application of the various techniques within a fighting situation. Sparring is usually an important part of training in most Kyokushin organizations, especially at the upper levels with experienced students.

In most Kyokushin organizations, hand and elbow strikes to the head or neck are prohibited. However, kicks to the head, knee strikes, punches to the upper body, and kicks to the inner and outer leg are permitted. In some Kyokushin organizations, especially outside of a tournament environment, gloves and shin protectors are worn. Children often wear headgear to lessen the impact of any kicks to the head. Speed and control are instrumental in sparring and in a training environment it is not the intention of either practitioner to injure his opponent as much as it is to successfully execute the proper strike. Tournament fighting under knockdown karate rules is significantly different as the objective is to down an opponent. Full-contact sparring in Kyokushin is considered the ultimate test of strength, endurance, techniques and spirit.

About Arlette Bomahou

My story One of my favorite quote “ Be yourself, an original is always worth more than a copy “ My name is Arlette Bomahou. I am a 42 years old French lady living and working in Ireland since 2005. Born and raised in Caen, north of France. My mother is from Togo and my father from Benin ( West coast of Africa). They moved to France in the 70's to start a new chapter in their lives. I was born soon after in 1975. My life purpose is to empower women to take full responsibility for their own health and love their bodies at any age or shape. I do believe that limitations are only in our mind, we can achieve the best version of ourselves at any age. Back in France, I was alway active and involved in diverse sports from athletics, basketball and cross training. In 2000 my passion for sports and foreign languages took me to Amsterdam. I was employed by Nike and developed my skills as an account manager. More importantly, I discovered my first love : weight training. We were fortunate enough to have gym facilities, a basketball and tennis court. This work promoted a move to Dublin in 2005. 12 years on, I am still enjoying Ireland and hope to raise a family here. After 13 years of fitness training, I decided to put my strength into good use by competing in powerlifting for Ireland nationally and internationally until I decided to change path. As a result I won 2 worlds and European champion title in 2013 and 2014. My main focus the past 3 years has been to become healthier and fitter by losing 110 lbs/ 8st/ 50kg. When you get the chance you can check out to my blog article where I share 10 practical tips on how to lose weight while leading a healthy lifestyle The turning point Learning to love myself unconditionally inside out even at 19 stones. I finally realized that if I was not going to be grateful for the body I was born with right now, I won’t be happier once I succeed to achieve my goal weight. I was looking at pictures of myself as a teenager at a size 6-8 and I remembered that back then, I had no clue how to appreciate the way I looked. As a result I would complain all the time of being too fat. Moreover, I have across in my life of many beautiful women whom from the outside seem to have it all from the looks, financial stability and the so called perfect boyfriend. When we had a proper chat, I found out that deep down they were not very happy. Over the years, I understood that true happiness won’t come from how much weight I would lose, rather than by having the most loving and respectful relationship with myself. Bodybuilding journey I finally competed in my first bodybuilding competition on Sunday 8th of October in Dublin with NIFMA, Northern Ireland Fitness Model Association, after 11 months of hard work. I won 1st place in the Body Transformation category over 40, 2nd place in overall Body Transformation and 2nd place in Figure Toned over 40. It was a qualifier for the World Championship in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I then competed in the World Championships with NIFMA on Sunday 26th November 2017 in the Body Transformation and Couples division. I came 1st in the Couples, 3rd in the Body Transformation category. for the Couples category, I was actually on stage with one of my dearest friend and mentor Giselle Minehane. It was a very special moment for me as a year back I had seen Giselle competing in the same event and was very impressed with her. I came back stage to talk to her and since then we have been friends and training partner. My current goals within bodybuilding are to keep improving, learning about the sport and to take part in more events nationally and internationally. My long term goals like many athletes who compete in that sport, is to receive a pro card with NIFMA by November 2019 and by December 2019 with WBFF (World Beauty Fitness Federation). The ugly side of bodybuilding : my nervous meltdown I had signed up for the 10th September show with Nifma last year, due to health issues I had to pull away. It was the accumulation of over training, not sleeping enough, stress, pushing too hard and over consumption of both vitamin C and calcium tablets got me into troubles. I lost it completely, took 300 vitamin C tablets in 3 days, 90 magnesium & calcium tablets in one morning. Thinking it would give me more energy to keep going. I became so obsessed with competing and get my body ready for the stage to the detriment of my health. The blood tests ran in the hospital indicated that there is an imbalance between my white and red cells in my blood which meant that my body is very tired. Then my liver function was too high due to over consumption of vitamin C and calcium tablets. I took 3 weeks off work and training to allow my body to rest. I am actually glad this happened as I get to learn from my mistakes. During the 3 weeks break, I did walks on the beach and a lot of meditation. It was actually really nice and a wake up call. Everyone was very understanding and supportive of me, from family friends and work colleagues. I learned the hard way how to monitor my energy and the value of recovery. Why I decided to get into powerlifting before I transferred to bodybuilding For the past 17 years weight training has been my passion. It has helped me with weight loss and increased my fitness level. My previous personal trainer Adrian saw my potential and encouraged me to compete in powerlifting. In August 2013, I turned 38 and decided I needed to achieve something for myself before turning 40. The 2013 national deadlift championship provided an opportunity to test myself. I had found the place where I could get my true power. Why I am passionate about strength sports Powerlifting and bodybuilding are an empowering sports although they are different. It provides athletes with strength and confidence. For women it creates the belief that the impossible is possible. Lifting weights one never dreamed could be achieved opens the mind to an array of more possible ties. It’s been a real pleasure to see the change of trends in the fitness industry. For years, women were made to believe that lifting weight would make them bulky. Thanks to social media and movement trends such as “ Strong is sexy “, I see more and more women not afraid to do weight training and becoming advocate of it. My Vision Empowering women of every age and shape to embrace who they are and love their bodies. A healthy lifestyle starts with a healthy relationship that we have with ourselves. Through my struggles and experience to adopt healthy habits the past 10 years, I am aiming to share my knowledge and educate my future customers. This is one of my favorite TEd talks which I watch for motivation and reinforce self belief. What makes us special TED talk from Mariana Atencio

Posted on August 3, 2016, in fun, General Benefits, Health and Nutrition and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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