World Games: Julia Paszkiewicz wants to complete her title collection

Created: 07/10/2022, 07:00

Still hungry for success: Julia Paszkiewicz and her partner Johannes Tourbeslis have already won almost everything in Ju-Jutsu-Duo-Mixed – the two are still missing a triumph at the World Games.

© DJJV

Freisinger Julia Paszkiewicz fights for gold at the World Games.

The nervousness is great - despite all the successes that she has already celebrated in Ju-Jutsu.

Freising

– For athletes in non-Olympic sports, the World Games are the absolute highlight of the season.

The eleventh edition of the title fights will take place in the USA – more precisely in Birmingham, Alabama – until July 17th.

A woman from Freising has high hopes for precious metal: Julia Paszkiewicz (26) and her partner Johannes Tourbeslis (28) are among the absolute world leaders in Ju-Jutsu.

The term "Ju-Jutsu" can be translated as "gentle art" and is a modern self-defense and duel sport that combines elements of different martial arts.

However, it is not about sending your opponent onto the mat.

The focus is on defense patterns, body language and the use of the voice are also important.

Steep rise to World Cup victory

Paszkiewicz has been practicing the sport since 2004, Tourbeslis started in 2008.

From 2010, the two trained the duo-mixed competition.

It is important to demonstrate the rehearsed defense combinations with the sports partner, which are then evaluated in comparison to another duo.

As early as 2013, the sports couple was accepted into the federal squad of the German Ju-Jutsu Association (DJJV).

They are now actively involved in the youth training of their club, SV Niederroth.

The fact that the two of them are world leaders in ju-jutsu is an advantage in order to attract more young people to the marginal sport: "If you do the sport yourself as a trainer, you can convey your enthusiasm even better live," says the Freisingerin.

The young people would also get to see what it means to work hard.

(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)

Paszkiewicz and Tourbeslis have long since perfected their interaction on the mat.

Her sporting successes in recent years speak for themselves: The woman from Freising and her partner were able to win two medals at the last World Games 2017 in Wrocław (Poland) - silver in the duo-mixed competition and gold in the team competition.

In the same year, Paszkiewicz and Tourbeslis were awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf - the highest state award for achievements in sport - by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for their success.

On Monday we go across the big pond

But the duo did not rest on their laurels: the focus quickly shifted to qualifying for this year's World Games in the USA.

They trained up to 20 hours a week for this.

In 2021, the two celebrated their greatest success to date: gold at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi.

This year, the couple has already triumphed at the German Championships - their eighth national title - and at the European Championships in Israel.

So the best conditions to win a medal at the World Games in the USA.

On Sunday Paszkiewicz travels first to Frankfurt am Main, on Monday he goes across the pond.

The days leading up to the first competition on July 16 have already been planned.

"First we have to acclimatize because of the jet lag, then we'll look at a few other sports," explains Paszkiewicz.

A bit of training is still on the agenda, also in the mental area: "We see our hall in advance, there we can visualize our competition even better."

The tension before big competitions is still great despite all the successes: "Once you've won something, you're almost even more nervous the next time.

It is both a curse and a blessing.”

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