Suzzana Stefankovicova

     I’ve been in martial arts since I was ten, so basically on and off twelve years... My thanks in this regard goes to my fathers, whose friends were the initiators of the karate in Slovakia at the end of the 1960s, beginning of 1970s. In the beginning they trained under the leadership of an Austrian coach J. Ellinger, practicing the Shotokan style. Later on, it was under the leadership of a Japanese Master Takeji Ogawa, in a style called Goju Ryu. My father liked this style of a movement a lot, and even he liked to go and practice at times, but he never actually became a member of any club. He trained in all of the places where his friends did, and whenever he had some spare time. When a Karate club Dunaj opened right across a street from where we live, he started going more frequently.
     I was always suspicious of him taking me and my year older sister with him, just for the reason of being able to get out of the house and my mom not being mad that he doesn’t take care of his daughters.
     The Dunaj Karate Club wasn’t among the oldest in Bratislava. However, its members had a lot of success as Champions of Slovakia several times, and the main coach at that time was one of the best Karate coaches Mr. Frantisek Sebej, PhD. The instruction level, therefore was very hight. I remember that then, when I was just starting, the lessons meant for me a lot of hard work in a little gym. It wasn’t making me happy, so whenever I had the littlest tiny reasoin for not going, I was very happy. Everything changed very quickly when I started passing the exams and my mastering levels were higher and higher. I gained a motivation, started frequenting various competitions and every training was suddenly making me happy. I, must, however, honestly mention, that it took me many years to grow with my mind to the level where I was able to look at the martial arts as a philosophy that could be part of one’s life. I gained a discipline, I reached a healthy moral judgement and I learned how to respect everyone withough looking at how successful he is, or what he knows, or what he does for living. I have learned how to be greateful for everything that’s happening in my life, because everything, even the negative, is good for something. And I started to follow the philosophy of life, that reads: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” So overall I can thank my parents, especially my father, who introduced this art to me, and opened my eyes to the gig wisdom of life. My sister Lenka gave it all up, once she started focusing more on a folk dance. I stuck with it, on and off, along with a few crisis, up until now.
     My interested got awaken once I met a group of Americans in film business, called “Fighters”.

LEAVING FOR HOLLYWOOD

     Two years ago I worked as a Casting Assistant for a big Casting Agency in Bratislava. We worked on one American project then for about two months.The American production brought a few actors from Los Angeles. Despite of reputed “Hollywood morality” I must say that some of them have been such a lovely human beings with great spiritual depth coming just from the philosophy of martial arts. I just love martial arts! It was an action movie, full of fights, so every actor needed to be experienced in Martial Arts. All of them were really good in what they were doing and we talked hours about the Martial Arts industry, about its penetration of the show business and its part in it, about the possibilities of possibly getting a role in a martial arts movies. That’s how I started thinking of going to Hollywood, inquiring all the possibilities and try to experience it all on my own. I started working hard and in July of this year I packed my suitcases and hit the road for the “big film world”.

HOLLYWOOD – ONE CRAZY MAD HOUSE

     So I arrived to L.A. Full of expectations, fear, doubts. I ´ll never forget my first weeks in L.A. It took a lot of tears. I’ve cried out every single day, while trying to get used to their mentality, to learn how to relax and don’t take things personally and how not even listen to certain things at all. I kept asking myself whether this is really what I want and whether it´s all worth it.
     Right from the start I ´ve been training with a Hong-Kong film Master of Martial Arts, TAIMAK, who became my personal trainer. The Martial Arts experts will surely remember him from the hong-kong movie made at the end of the 80´s, called “Berry Gordys THE LAST DRAGON”, where he starred the lead role of Leroy Green. He lives now in L.A., where he dedicates his time to acting and is one of the best known Masters and teachers of Martial Arts. At the present time he’s working on a several movie productions, so it’s only a matter of time when we’ll see him again on the screen and breathlessly watch his unbelievably fast technique of hands and legs. Those who know this movie,would certainly know what I’m taking about. We became very good friends and I have to say that dispite of being famous, Taimak remained with his feet on the ground. He is a very nice, intelligent, honest and open man. The trainings were very hard. Taimak, as an instructor, was very strict and non compromising and it took me a few weeks to realize how much he was trying to help me and get me ready for the harsh Hollywood. Today I am very grateful to him, even though then I was very close to letting the tears go again. All of it is requesting a very hard work, discipline and strength to make it. And I decided to do exactly that.

YOU ARE, WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE

     About a year ago I’ve read a book by Chuck Norris called “Secret inner power”. I will never forget Chuck’s words: “ If you really want something, you have to go for it yourself and give your whole self to go for it. Nobody will ever give you anything for free and if you’ll doubt or hesitate, you will certainly not succeed.” From this moment on these words became my life lines and I carry this book always with me, wherever I go. And every time , when even a tiny bit of doubt emerges, I open the book and flip through its pages . This book gives me more and more strength not to give up fighting and go for goals, that I have set for myself.
     I understood very quickly , that a man cannot prove himself to others until he is sure himself, about what’s he’s trying to convince the others of. “Always remember that the success starts inside of you. If you cannot see it, nobody else can”, that’s what Chuck used to say to his students. And he was right once again . Because how can one want the others to believe that he’s capable of something, if he doesn’t believe it himself? How can one expect that someone will discover him, if he hasn’t discover himself yet? At least he needs to get himself into the right place at the right time, so that he can get to know that they are looking for someone exactly like himself. And convince them, that it wasn’t only him, who was lucky, but also them, because they looked exactly for “him” ,and were lucky enough to find him.
     Because in Hollywood , they are always looking for somebody and finally finding him or her . Hollywood is one big dream, and in dreams everything´s possible, indeed.
     You can become a star from one day to the next, but you can also fall to the ground and begin from the very beginning. They can find you there, but you have to be very careful not to get consumed by it all.
     Nowadays I ´m improving my martial arts skills and acting. Who knows, maybe I´m gonna have a luck and if not, nothing happens. But however, I ´d be very happy to get a chance to show, that in Slovakia as well as in Czech republic there are martial arts on very high level. There are very good masters here too, but unfortunately there is not talked about them much. I´m convinced , believe and hope it´s just a question of time.
And as masters say , “there are only those constrains that we settle ourselves .” So masters, go for it !
     Chuck once said: “If you really want something from the depth of your heart, you can achieve it, though it seems impossible, though people around you tell you outright , that it´s impossible”. I can confirm that , as I´ve also met people who´ve been trying to turn me off from my big dream. And I would never be angry at them, as I know they haven´t meant it. They´ve been just telling me what they´ve felt. And I am honestly very grateful for their sincerity.
     Today I´m happy that I didn´t stop dreaming and believing, and have done first little steps to make my almost unreal dream come true . Though I was struggling, I know, I could never achieved anything without blessing by God and my little angels that take care about me, without huge support coming from my family and my friends in Slovakia as well as in Los Angeles. This way I would love to thank them all so much. And at the end, last but not least.....
     Please don´t give up your dreams! Because if you put aside your dreams, it´s as you put aside your life. Before my departure to LA Taimak told me ( even before I met him face to face) one memorable sentence : “ Few years ago I´ve read , that if you don´t believe in yourself, the only thing you need is someone that believes in you. So I´m gonna be that person for you , OK ? “.That was one of the most beautiful thing someone ever told me in my life. So please, let me be that person for you, for this time.
     And don´t forget! In the given time and in certain place you can be close to something, that makes your dream come true – but just then when you open to yourself. And without the goal and destination that you want to achieve , your talent can stay hidden, even in the eyes of yourself. Without this destination - your abilities , however big they can be - will stay hidden forever.