At first glance, things obviously didn’t go well for martial artist Rafail Sappidis from Donaueschingen at the Grappling World Championship in Astana (Kazakhstan) at the beginning of October. Eliminated in the first round, that’s his record in both competitions (NoGi and Gi), and therefore no place among the top ten martial artists in the world in his class up to 77 kilograms.
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On top of that, the Donaueschingen martial arts professional also suffered a more serious shoulder injury in the first fight. In any case, it is not the result that Rafail Sappidis had wanted after he recently made it into the German national team and achieved a place among the top ten fighters at the European Championships in Baku (Azerbaijan) in May of this year.
Rafail Sappidis (from left) at the World Cup in Astana together with his teammates Nico Pulvermüller and Ramesh Roth. | Image: Rafail Sappidis
The positive aspect
But as negative as the World Cup results may read on paper, they are not that bad. This becomes clear in a conversation with the determined athlete. Quite the opposite. Participation made Rafail Sappidis realize one thing: he can keep up with the big favorites and possibly win.
Russian or American athletes in particular dominate in this sport, he says. He previously lacked the knowledge that he could keep up with these fighters, for example at the European Championships in the spring when he was eliminated by a favored Russian fighter.
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This is also the case now at the World Cup, although it was very close. “I was even 2-0 up,” he remembers. Everything was going well in this fight, until this situation: The opponent was able to unexpectedly and successfully apply leverage, a so-called kimura.
Rafail Sappidis’ arm and shoulder were severely bent backwards and twisted. A little too far, as it turned out later. A tendon and ligaments in his shoulder were torn. The fight was lost. He still took part in his second fight a day later, but was unable to show his full performance due to the injury. This battle was also lost.
Rafail Sappidis will compete for the German national team at the Grappling World Championships. | Image: Rafail Sappidis
“But I realized that I can hold my own against the favorites and win,” says the Donaueschinger, drawing an important, positive insight from the defeat. “You just have to always believe in yourself.”
Giving up and moping is therefore not an option for the 28-year-old. Rather, he is now motivated to keep going and attack again next year with more experience under his belt. He now wants to focus fully on grappling and leave his ambitions in full-contact martial arts (MMA) to rest for the time being.
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gain experience
He has now had his first taste of international competition and has gained a lot of great impressions. “We were welcomed like stars in Kazakhstan,” reports Sappidis. The sport has a completely different status there. It was also impressive for him to see how the big teams from Russia and America appeared at the World Cup, everything more professional, financially supported and with lots of supervisors, completely different to what is the case in Germany. In this country, the sport is considered a fringe sport.
“We still have to organize and pay for a lot of things ourselves,” says Rafail Sappidis. It is hardly possible to concentrate exclusively on sport and make a living from it. The 28-year-old pursues his sporting career primarily in his free time, mostly at his own expense and in parallel to his full-time position as a project manager in the field of medical technology. Sponsors could help you take a step further towards a professional career. But they are difficult to find.
The Grappling National Team at the World Championships in Astana (from left): Sandra Triebel, Emily Günzler, national squad coach Gamila Kanew, Nico Pulvermüller and Rafail Sappidis. | Image: Rafail Sappidis
Rafail Sappidis has also been wrestling for KSK Furtwangen for two years in order to gain more experience in this sport. The Oberliga games regularly involve playing against a wide variety of opponents. This also helps to improve. “A great club with very good, experienced coaches,” enthuses Sappidis. He has already learned a lot here. “And it’s fun,” he adds. Further advantages are that a similar set of rules applies and the mat surface is identical. The associations of both sports cooperate. And – a very important point: many top grappling fighters are extremely good wrestlers. Sappidis wants to take this advantage away from them.
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First recover, then qualify
He wants to take it easy and heal his shoulder until mid-November. Then the last league fights for KSK Furtwangen are on the agenda until the end of the year. “At the beginning of next year I want to qualify for the national grappling team again” so that I can fight for the European Championship and World Championship medals again for Germany. But then with the knowledge: He doesn’t have to be afraid of big names.
