Rene “The Challenger” Catalan is not only turning heads in ONE Championship with his recent streak in the organization’s strawweight division; he also remains a highly sought-after practitioner in wushu.
In fact, he welcomed the Indonesian National Wushu Team to the Catalan Fighting System gym in Makati, as they start their preparation for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, which will be hosted in Manila from 30 November to 10 December.
Before becoming a fan favorite in The Home Of Martial Arts, Catalan made a name for himself as a top-notch wushu practitioner.
The 40-year-old won multiple World Titles and medals in the sport, including a gold medal in sanda back at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.
Now, his Southeast Asian neighbors are looking to learn from him. The Indonesian National Wushu Team is led by head coach Agus Suprayitno, and some of his visiting students include Efi dian Sofiana, Gunawan Sutrisno Putra, Jefri Arianto Utomo, and Oscar Yaqut.
“It’s a privilege to share the knowledge that I have in wushu sanda with other people. All of them are dedicated, and I’ve seen their hunger to learn,” Catalan said.
“We’re working on drills and exercises for the meantime, and then we’ll focus on discussing their opponents after,” the top strawweight contender continued.
“They have huge knowledge in the sport as well. I’m here to share what I know and the things that they aren’t too familiar with.”
Known as one of the best nations to compete in wushu sanda, the Indonesian visitors are fully aware that they will be the targets of other nations in the region — the Philippines included.
That’s why they want to enter the biennial event well-equipped, and one way of attaining that is by learning from the best.
“Coach Rene’s experience in wushu sanda is big, as he has been a World Champion for four times in a row,” Supraytino said.
“We would like to be as successful as him in this sport. That is our motivation to practice in Manila with the Catalan team,” he expressed.
“Our aim and purpose of training with coach Rene is to learn his wushu sanda techniques.”
Suprayitno also pointed out that Filipinos are the perfect training partners for his team, since their hospitality and knowledge to the sport is next to none.
“We feel very special here. We are impressed with the abilities of the athletes here. They are friendly and very helpful to us, which makes us happy to practice here,” Supraytino continued.
“We normally do our training in China, and it is our first time here in the Philippines, but to be honest, we are happy with the result of our training her,” he continued.
“We feel a very significant change regarding our improvement, endurance, abilities, techniques, and strategies. We will definitely be back here.”
