We are pleased to announce that we are sponsoring Toshi Karate Club based in North West London. The club is run by Acorn employee, Alina, and her partner – here we find out a little bit more about Alina, the sponsorship and her passion for karate.
What is your role at Acorn and how long have you worked here?
My role is Bank and Purchase Ledger Manager and I will have worked at Acorn for 9 years in January.
Acorn is sponsoring your Karate team – Can you tell us a bit more about your Karate team and how long you’ve been involved in it?
Our Karate Club, Toshi Karate Club, has been open for 8 years now. My partner ran a Karate Club in Romania for 12 years and ever since moving to the UK it was his dream to open a Karate Club again.
What first sparked your interested in Karate?
I was 12 years old when I decided to give it a try and I stopped due to my studies at age 16, when I was green belt. I’ve since started to practice it again after a 15-year break, this time here in London.
Are you at a certain level?
I am black belt 2 Dan
What do you enjoy most about Karate?
The style we practice is Shito Ryu Hayashi Ha and we also do kihon (this is the basic techniques that are taught and practiced as the foundation of most Japanese martial arts); kata (Kata is the practice of performing sequences of specific karate moves) and kumite (fight against an opponent). I always prefer kumite 😊
Now as a coach I enjoy seeing the students succeeding and achieving good results in the sport, at school and learning to deal with their emotions as well.
You’ve recently been to Romania with the team – Can you tell us a bit more about that?
On 15th October, Toshi Karate Club participated in the Traditional Shito Ryu National Championships with only 4 students and we had great results: 2 gold medals; 1 silver and 5 bronze. As these students are Romanian, they have participated at this competition to gain points to qualify for the European Championships in Croatia next year.
What does Acorn’s sponsorship mean to the club?
The funds received from Acorn will go towards new kit and our upcoming competition in Venice at the end of the year as well as any other competitions outside the UK. I’d like to say a big thank you to Acorn Property Group and John Skok for the support – we really appreciate it!
At Acorn, we love to contribute to local sports teams where we can, in the past Acorn has sponsored rugby teams, community running events and even a professional surfer. We are proud to say we are now supporting London-based Toshi Karate Club. Specialising in sport karate, the club offers students quality tuition from children of 5 years old to adults. Making the sponsorship even more special, a dedicated mentor at the club is Alina, who is part of Acorn’s finance team. Outside of her day job, Alina is a two times national champion of the ‘Kumite’ (sparring) discipline. With a trip planned to Venice in December, we wish the club the very best of luck in their upcoming competitions.
