A martial arts charity has been formed in Edinburgh and is assisting youngsters and adults alike come to terms with physical and mental health difficulties.
The Edinburgh Combat Project, which has a major fund raising gala dinner arranged for the Capital next month, actually has its roots in a small Polish town where Pawel Zakrzewski grew up struggling to cope with the tragic death of his father before moving to Scotland with his family.
Aged just five and too young to understand grief Pawel’s pain turned to anger. He lashed out, got into fights and struggled to contain his emotions.
Then Pawel discovered martial arts and the lessons it provided are being channelled into helping others with similar experiences.
Now 33-year-old Pawel has gone from angry teen to mentor, coach and founder of a charity launched in collaborated with Daniel, his brother.
So far they have impacted the lives of over 50 young people and adults and this is only the beginning for a charity operating out of shared car wash premises in Slateford.
Pawel hopes to broaden out into satellite stations around the country with the help of the dinner set for the Balmoral Hotel on Friday, 30 May.
The sad fact is, he says, that there is no shortage of potential recruits.
Some 168 hours of free training are currently provided each week.
Pawel says:
“In a class of 25 only about three participants are not receiving complimentary membership but I don’t want anybody to be suffering stigma.”
“I know how bad it made me feel taking all the benefits (of martial arts training) especially in the small town of Waltz (pop. 24,000) where everybody seemed to know everybody.
“Among the disciplines we offer are boxing, Thai boxing and Brazilian ju-jitsu and it is a seven day-a-week operation.
“Depending on the success of the dinner we would hope to provide more for the participants.
“Already 145 tickets have been sold which means there are 65 left.”
For more information go to https://theecpcharity.com or to register your interest in the Gala dinner see – pawel@theecpcharity.com
Evergreen sports journalist. Previously published in many publications around the world. Send me your local sports stories. billlothian1008@gmail.com
