International Academy – What Does It Mean?
IMBA has taken me to Italy and Switzerland and I have made friends all over the world from Colombia to Australia. This spring our country representative even travels to Mexico for a training camp with another member from our gym. But what does being international mean in our academy, and how do we see it in our daily life in Tampere, Finland?
One big family
Officially, we are an academy but inofficially we call ourself “IMBA Family”. Every year on the summer training camp ”IMBA Summer Gathering” this can be perceived as the people from all around the globe gather to the green campsite in Costacciaro, Italy. The atmosphere is the warmest (as well as the weather!), and all old and new acquaintances are greeted cordially. IMBA is a big family that truly cares about its members. The family also welcomes its members to IMBA’s gyms all over the world. The great advantage of IMBA’s curriculum is that the basis of the training is the same – whether you’re in Great Britain, Mexico or here in Finland. In addition, it’s great how the people on other gyms greet international visitors. Having visited Switzerland and our headquarters in Rome I found that the welcome is very warm and the visitors are taken well care of. “>
International with a capital I
Over 20 countries and many continents. What connects us? The passion for a martial art called Muay Boran. We don’t always even have a common language, but that never bothers us. The Thai names for the techniques are learned for a reason – that’s how we communicate while training even when we don’t understand a word of each others’ languages. Of course there are language skills in IMBA and while training I have even learned some Spanish and Italian. However, we don’t always miss the common language after all, since the atmosphere is the most important thing. Looking at the world from Tampere, Finland I can say that places such as Brazil or even Switzerland seem pretty far away. IMBA is our link to the other countries. In the summer camp I have made new friends from all over Europe to South America and Australia. These friendships are irreplaceable and the connection between us is strong even if we rarely meet face to face.
World Day gathers us together around the globe
This Saturday we celebrate the annual IMBA World Day. It’s not just another Saturday, but a special one on which we train together in our own gyms in the many countries worldwide. The event is spread around the globe, but we feel like being together. Based on the same curriculum and the same values we train here in Finland like the Italians, Brazilians, Colombians, Mexicans, Portuguese, Swiss… The list goes on and on. World Day is just one event but in reality the internationality is present in IMBA every day. Our friends around the world are one e-mail or call away, and we are in touch as a rule. The network is massive and the knowledge inside it even greater. It’s great to be a part of this international academy – and before anything part of this big international family.
