Brazilian chases her dream of competing in the Karate World Championship

The young woman’s history with the sport began when she was six years old, through a social project created by her father. The goal was just to learn about a different sport, but over time, Ester took a liking to karate, started competing and earned her black belt at the age of 16.

“I was dazzled by the logo in the first championship I participated in. It was a regional for beginners, and I was a yellow belt. I got 1st place in the kihon-ippon modality. From that point on, I felt that I needed to evolve technically. I always tried to evolve”, she says, in an interview with UmDois Sports.

Throughout 12 years of karate, Ester has accumulated achievements. Her biggest competition so far has been the Pan American Games in 2023, when she was runner-up in Kumite and a bronze medalist in kata. The place for the Brazilian team came precisely from the results of its competitions in the South and Southeast; the call-up is only made after the age of 18 and it happened as soon as they entered the age group.

“I started competing in the 18 to 20 years old category and was champion, runner-up and third place in several categories that I participated in. It is the result of many years of dedication and love for the sport. Being called up is the realization of a dream, but also the beginning of an even greater responsibility”, she celebrates.

At the World Championships in Egypt, Ester will compete in the individual Kata, Kumite and Fukugo categories; The athletes in the group categories have not yet been announced by the federation.

Karate as a lifestyle

Despite loving competing, karate goes far beyond the mats in Ester’s life. Having practiced the sport since she was a child, she also added the values ​​of the sport to her daily life and believes that this helped her evolve as a person.

“Karate is a philosophy of life, it goes far beyond fights, medals and podiums; it helped me become the woman I am today. I learned to be disciplined, resilient, persevering, to deal better with victories and defeats, face challenges and never give up on my goals, on and off the mat”, he assesses.

The young woman combines daily training for two with work in the morning and physiotherapy college, as well as additional Pilates training, weight training and physiotherapy sessions for herself.

Lack of financial support

The long-awaited place in the Brazilian team was already an achievement for Ester, and despite the guaranteed place in the competition, she still faces another major challenge: raising the money necessary to carry out the trip.

The Karate Federation only paid for the athletes’ registrations, in addition to the costs of Brazilian coaches and judges. Between air tickets, accommodation, food and even transfers to the competitions, Ester estimates that she will need to save around R$25,000. To this end, she is holding a raffle on social media, in addition to organizing an online fundraiser.

“She will participate in her first World Cup, it is an immense pride. Most of the challenge, which was the technical preparation, Ester has already completed masterfully. Now, it is up to us to help her overcome this financial barrier”, declares her sensei, Antonio Carlos Walger, from Dento Dojo, in Curitiba.

For those who want to help with the raffle, the Instagram profile is @ester.ossak. Donations to the fundraiser can be made through this link.