Néstor Galarraga - The Power of the Warrior

It is about the development of power and, within its pages, you will find messages with much detail and information based on real experiences and on the certainty of how to reach the goals we set our minds to. In sum, it comprises everything that leads towards the discovery and development of personal power. It is not a history book; I will not go over the process of the different events I lived, which guided me towards my present conclusions; yet, sometimes I meticulously go over some fragments of history that are little know by the public. It is not a technical book either; nonetheless, I provide some thoughts and I include new concepts, based on recent investigations, with the main objective of generating new tools, so as to keep contributing to the technical development of our discipline.

This book speaks of common spaces, martial arts, Taekwon-Do; it talks about all of us, about you and me; it tells us about the road travelled, the emotions, the thoughts, the inner feelings that any person seeking to develop said power goes through, the meaning of life and everything that dwells in our own hearts.

When Master Néstor Galarraga asked me to write a foreword for his new book, I felt great happiness, excitement and that it was a great opportunity to say goodbye to thousands of readers, who had accompanied me for 40 years, in this unique work that I have called YUDO KARATE. I told him that I would dedicate to him my last words in the martial arts, because it is possible that, due to a health problem, I might probably find myself unable to keep communicating; what an irony.

Unfortunately, I cannot speak much about the book or introduce the reader into what I think is a wonderful work, but, in turn, I can tell you about my dear friend, the author. With a lot of sense of humor, paraphrasing Fidel Pintos, I could say that I discovered Néstor Galarraga…

I remember, once, Jorge Luis Borges introduced the work of a painter and, after making a thorough and meticulous description of the most outstanding details of the artist´s painting, he said (have you noticed the irony?): «a blind person introducing a painter». In the same way and making an analogy, I could speak of Master Galarraga. He got his education, in many ways, in the hallways of the editing office of Yudo Karate, a magazine that reflected the occurrences of the martial artist in the Argentine Republic; in fact, he directed the magazine, in my absence, for three years.

Néstor has told me about the words in the pages of his new book, where he describes with detail the fundamental axes of his personal transformation and, it is no wonder, since he is a follower of his own steps, ending always with the realization of his own dreams. A man who has never stopped reinventing himself, and Yudo Karate has shown this throughout all his history.

More than thirty years ago, I had the honor of writing the foreword for his first book The Evolution Factor (Factor de evolución), in which he said that, absolutely focused on getting the things he aimed for, Néstor Galarraga has written, within the pages of that book, the most important thing he has ever achieved after years of practicing, studying and learning: his winner approach, because for him “to win in life is not the most important thing… It is the only thing”.

That book broke records in sales in the martial arts world, but I am afraid that The Power of the Warrior will substantially surpass it, since he talks about the road travelled, describing in detail the steps to follow in order to achieve the things we want, and he suggests technical development as a fundamental element to reach personal power and to master the art as a path towards spirituality. This book is nothing but a reflection of him, an additional sample of his responsibility, effort and commitment, with which he has devoted his life to ITF Taekwon-Do.

He has worked in the development of learning, training and testing methods, and in the making of regulations and methodology for the sports area, writing thousands of articles for Yudo Karate and other specialized magazines of the martial medium, and books. He has also directed documentaries, TV shows and he has been an active protagonist, participating in the most important decisions of ITF Taekwon-Do of the last 30 years. In the 90´s —together with the founder of Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong Hi— and, as of 2001, with his son Master Choi Jung Hwa, he has made contributions to the technical, sports and cultural area and he has constantly worked towards the evolution and development of Taekwon-Do in the world. He has also directed the sports area of the International Federation since 1997, a time when Taekwon-Do of that entity was only one in the world. He developed, together with other masters in the world, the regulations with which ITF Taekwon-Do competes nowadays. He conducted world youth championships, world adult championships, world senior championships, all the versions of the World Cup, Pan-American and European championships, and all the versions of the America´s Cup, in America, Europe, Asia, Oceania. He made his ITF Taekwon-Do teaching method popular, by delivering seminars in more than 60 countries and his ability to organize events is a trademark.

Yes!!! It is enough to go over some of his history to know who we are talking about, “a martial arts beast”, a man who, with hard work, managed to surpass talent and, with discipline, has conquered intelligence. I do not need to read his book —I interviewed Master Galarraga hundreds of times— in this occasion, I know exactly where he is going… Why is that? Because I always saw it coming… I leave you with the author.

Miguel Hladilo

Almost ten years of active attention to a subject tend to leave a mark. This is a book that grew with time, accumulating reflections, conclusions. It is an innovative text, not only because of the content it expresses, but also because of its substance.

I feel that the underlying principles of this book were outlined, with greater clarity as time went by, in Néstor Galarraga’s train of thought throughout this last decade. The title of the book is very strong and I believe that, within its chapters, the reader will find the specific leads to walk this search path marked by the life of the author, a martial artist with a vast experience, a constant investigative effort, an unending curiosity and an invincible passion.

He invites us with a profound sense of spirituality to a required reflection, to connect with ourselves, to travel a path of new perceptions and to broaden our knowledge and consciousness, in martial arts, in Taekwon-Do and in our own existence.

It has been a privilege for me to collaborate in the production of this work of Grand Master Galarraga, my master, colleague and friend; it is a book that I recommend emphatically to those who have chosen the path of martial arts and, especially, Taekwon-Do as a way of being.

Taekwon,

Master Horacio Boitano

In spite of the advances of science, technology, the industry, art and culture, it gets harder and harder to live in such a big and complex society —with so many people divided by many social classes and a wide variety of differences— without feeling fear, insecurity, confusion, vulnerability. This big contradiction stands out: a society moving forward quite rapidly in some respects, yet stalling and moving backwards when it comes to fundamental matters such as human relations.