Mexican HMB fighters train diligently and do their best to improve in our sport. For many years now, training in soft armor has been an integral part of the process of preparing fighters for tournaments and keeping them in shape.
Adriana Isaak, National Women Representative and the captain of the Night Witches, the female team that is part of the Slavyanskiye Voiny HMB club, told us what the training process is when working in soft armor in one of the oldest clubs in Mexico.
“We have team training on Saturday and Sunday every week, and on both days we have soft combat practices. It’s both fun and great to practice the technique before using real armor and weapons. It helps new members to get a feel of fighting with equipment that changes the way your body is able to move, and also it helps to lose the fear of getting hit and hitting back. Here in Mexico, training in soft kit is quite widespread. Even though we haven’t developed the system officially, most teams train with soft armor as part of their routine now. We’ve even set up friendly, non-official Soft combat tournaments from time to time”, said Adriana.
Of course, practicing techniques and strikes in soft armor is safe and reliable, however, HMB Soft as a separate discipline does not yet exist in Mexico. According to Adriana, some work in this direction was carried out. She noted that there are enthusiasts in the country who are interested in the development of HMB Soft. There was the process of HMB Soft coaches who made preparation to work with children. She said that the children were also interested in starting HMB Soft training, but the massive restrictions associated with the proliferation of Covid-19 stalled the process. Work on this will resume as soon as the pandemic in the country recedes.
Adriana also admitted that fighters make soft shields and swords for their training themselves. The first attempts were not very successful, but technology is improving, and the quality of locally produced equipment is increasing. Here, the craftsmen do their best to ensure that their soft weapons meet all accepted standards and that children can train absolutely safely.
We can only wait until the Covid-19 pandemic finally recedes and we can all again live the life we are used to. And, as a result, we will be able to see the Mexican team at the HMB Soft Championship among schools and clubs in the coming years.
We are grateful to Adriana Isaak for the interview and we wish to carry out all our plans as soon as possible.
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