Maya Arussi was a pioneer in the taekwondo industry in the country.
She put us on the Olympic map in Athens in 2004, when she was 22, paving the way for more athletes, right up to the climactic moment in Tokyo 2020, when Avishag Samberg won a bronze medal.
However, the Olympic debut was a particularly painful start for Arussi and her professional future.
She was eliminated already in the first round, suffered harsh reviews, recovered towards Beijing 2008, when many predicted her greatness, but just before the criterion competitions her foot was broken and the dream was also broken.
Maya Arusi.
Elsewhere, Photo: Private
"It was a bit of a difficult experience, I didn't have much experience," she says, "I was hurt by the reviews, but that's not the reason I left the country."
Yes, Arousi, after a long and exhausting recovery process and several comeback competitions, made a life-changing decision - she moved to Los Angeles, exactly one year after the Beijing Games.
13 years later, in an exclusive interview with "Israel Today", when she was 39, she recalls: "At first I had a hard time. In the first half year I missed the country very much. I had an emotional hard time and asked myself 'what am I doing here?'. I did not find "But in the end, I reset myself really quickly, and I realized that this is my place."
Maya Arusi.
Made a life-changing decision, Photo: Adam Moran
How do you deal with the longing for the country and your family?
"My parents and sister still live in Israel and we are in regular contact. They come to visit me at least once or twice a year. I have not returned to Israel for 13 years, but I had plans that changed because of the corona. Everyone goes on with their lives, and even though no one is available here for me 24 hours a day, I really like the United States, the freedom that is here.
It's not boring here for a second. "
Maya Arusi.
Decided to move to City of Angels, Photo: Patrick Lee Hamilton
Have you set up your own family?
"I really want to, but it still hasn't happened unfortunately. It's my dream. I had an affair with an American guy who was younger than me. The age gap was big, so it didn't work out mostly in the romantic section."
Maya Arusi in action.
"I'm not in the US to pass the time,"
You mentioned the corona. How did you deal with the difficult two years of the plague?
"Although we did not have tough closures like in Israel, but at first it was a real nightmare. I continued to work part-time in private homes (as a fitness trainer and taekwondo instructor; AA), and I did not panic, not even after I got infected last August.
Good things also came out of the period.
I started keeping Shabbat, after a relative suggested it to me.
"As soon as my students agreed to move the training from Saturdays to other days, I realized it was a sign from above."
Engaged.
"For the very first half of the year, I missed the country," Photo: Farrick Lee Hamilton
Can you say that you are getting stronger?
"At first I felt it suited me to keep Shabbat, it filled me, including walking to synagogue, but I didn't get to skirts and headdresses. I still surf in a bikini and play in different disciplines with men, but I don't rule anything out."
Let's go back to the American dream. Aren't you afraid that one day it will just end?
"I'm not in the US to pass the time.
I see myself living here, in Los Angeles, at most I will move to another state within the US because I love more nature, like in Colorado or Montana. I connect to places with lakes and forests. Anyway, I feel right now that this is my home ".
"I'm somewhere else in life"
Arusi does not talk about returning to Israel, and feels far from the taekwondo industry in Israel.
"Apart from a good friend who coaches in Jerusalem, I did not keep in touch with my teammates," she says.
Did you choose to just walk away?
"It does not come from a place of disconnection. I am my own loop, and everyone goes about their business."
Maya Arusi.
"I was hurt by the reviews, but that's not why I left the country,"
In the US, do you follow taekwondo? Are there differences compared to the country?
"Now there are medals and achievements in Israel, so there is an appreciation of the state, but in the beginning, at the time, everything came out of my parents' pocket. Only after I got to the Olympics did money come from the Olympic Committee.
It's not the NBA or the NFL. "
Are you actually referring to Avishag Samberg's Olympic medal?
"Yes, I congratulated her on Instagram. It was amazing and she and her coach, Yehiam Sharabi, deserve all the respect. There are a lot of talented athletes in the country, fighters. They have it in their blood and they will go far, for many more medals. It will only open the door to more."
Maya Arusi.
A nightmare in Corona, Photo: Iordanis Kioumourtzoglou
Do you think that today you can contribute to the industry in Israel?
"I believe so, but I do not know if I want to, because I am somewhere else in life. In the United States I do it as a hobby, helping children learn more martial arts, to incorporate it into their lives."
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