It is exciting and interesting to share some private facts and background knowledge with people who are really interested in the person behind this blog, the pictures and all kind of told stories.
Here is a collection of the most asked questions from people I met around the world.
Where are you currently living?
I’m currently living in Southeast Asia, in the city-state of Singapore. Since 2013 I have been working here as the Head of Sports Performance at a professional Football Club. Before I moved to Singapore, I worked many years in the German Football Bundesliga. I am here in Singapore together with my wife Magdalena.
What is your purpose or calling regarding your work and when do you feel the ‘flow’?
I love connecting, motivating and activating people. I am fascinated by the uniqueness and infinite potential and fantastic abilities of humans. My personal goal is to help people to connect with their individual strengths and develop their unique potentials as individuals.
The moment when ‘my’ people getting connected with their own potential, is the moment when I feel real happiness!
What is your favourite food?
I am a vegetarian and I love all kinds of healthy food. My all-time favourite dish is pasta with tomato sauce (cooked by my mother) and Dhal (yellow lentils). After a long and exhausting work day, these are the perfect meals to recharge my batteries! I love fresh salads and all kinds of vegetables but I don’t like mushrooms.
Who are the most influential coaches, mentors or lecturers in your life and why?
I have two persons in my life who influenced me a lot. The first person is my Karate Coach Shihan Hideo Ochi from Japan (I practice Karate since 1976). He always encouraged me and gave me at all time the positive perspective to be a winner.
His way of coaching was the way of correction by encouragement. With a clear vision and the ability to see my potential before I knew it! That is the reason why I trusted him so much! With his help and connections, I got a scholarship for Japan in 1990. I lived, trained and studied in Tokyo.
The other person is a Sri-Lankan Monk. His name is Venerable Gangodawila Mudithamano Bhikkhu. He lives on a small lagoon island in the southern province of Sri Lanka. My connection and relation to him are based on the way how he educated me from the first moment we met.
Listening to his Dhamma (Buddhist philosophy) explanations is a real gift in my life. His deep understanding and the ability to explain the complex Buddhist teachings in simple words is the reason why I call him a teacher. He taught me a lot about meditation, breathing techniques and the meaning and understanding of the nature of human life.
Where is your favourite holiday place?
Definitely Sri Lanka! It is a wonderful place, a pearl in the Indian Ocean! I love the nature, the people and their smile, I love the food, the tea and I love the smell of the sea breeze of Sri Lanka.
There is another wonderful place I love to think about! It is Tokyo in Japan where I studied in 1990.
I heard a lot about Vancouver…… maybe my next destination! I was in Calgary in 1990 and I loved Canada very much! Unbelievable people and such an amazing nature!
What is your favourite music?
I don’t have a favourite music. I love the variety of rock music like ACDC (depends on my mood) to classical music. I like Jethro Tull, Adele or Annie Lennox. Some of my favourite songs are ‘Aqualung’ from Jethro Tull, Cat Steven’s ‘Father and Son’ or any kind of Chill Out music. A good mixture of all kinds!
What was your life-changing situation?
I was born on 12 March 1969, under the most difficult medical circumstances. Against the opinion of the doctors, that I would not survive, I made it and also became Karate World Champion on 7 September 1991 in Calgary, Canada.
The period between my birth and the win in Canada was all due to my motivation, belief in my strengths and the help of the closest people around me, who always encouraged me positively.
When I was born, I was very dependent on the help of others in order to survive. That is precisely why the feeling of helping others has made this profession my passion.
How would you describe yourself?
I am my own island.
What I connect with the word ‘Island’ are meanings like a place people like to be, settled, and a stable spot in the middle of an ocean, a resting place or a point of navigation.
Everybody is welcome!
Here you find my favourite quote:
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