If "Budora" published a magazine or a newspaper, this text would be best described by the combination of words "Editorial section". It seems to me that telling the story of the journey of how we came to a particular decision is important because it shows that what we are doing is real, lived and weighed. So, in this text, I will briefly tell you how "Budora" decided to "speak" about healthy lifestyle topics, and the fact that I accompanied "Budora" throughout this journey, I believe, will help me better reveal all this.

In the fall of 2017, the founder of the company Donatas Imbras, inviting me to join the "Budora" team, told me about his desire to create something more than what it is now, to expand the company's activities and to be more than a karate club. So, without waiting long, together with several long-time club coaches and Donatas, we started looking for answers to the questions: "how and where do we want to go? What should be the long-term vision of Budora?"

A long journey towards a new vision

The team had many different ideas, so at one point we realized it was time to stop and come back to the search for an answer later. Although we postponed active discussions about the long-term vision of Budora, the question "was around" all those years in various forms - in thoughts, discussions, implemented projects, etc.

In the 2020-2021 training season came the realization that we are ready to look for an answer (and answer a question) about the long-term vision of the club. Therefore, in the spring of 2021, together with several experienced club employees - Brigita Gustaitytė, Simona Naubetchanovienė, Viktorija Liepienė and Paulius Norkus - we gathered in a team and with the support of Donatas we started strategic discussions about the future of Budora. 

On the "journey" towards the long-term vision of Budora, we experienced everything from stormy discussions, unanimous consensus, and doubts, but we achieved the result and we know for sure that Budora's long-term goal is to become experts in healthy lifestyles, helping to grow a physically active and healthy society.

You might ask, how does a healthy lifestyle relate to karate? I will start the answer to this question by discussing the phrase "healthy lifestyle". If you were to ask 100 people what a healthy lifestyle is, you would very likely get 100 different answers. Most likely, each answer and the totality of all answers would be correct. So, how do we understand a healthy lifestyle in Budora? We looked at different definitions and decided that this definition: "A healthy lifestyle is a balanced diet, physical activity, mental balance, the general state of the body and the absence of bad habits" best represents what we think.

And what is the connection between karate and a healthy lifestyle? During the discussion, we first asked this question to the coach and head of the sports section, Brigita Gustaitytė. Brigita's answer was "of course, related" and she began to mention that she takes care of her diet, her daily routine and the quality of her sleep, and her emotional health and strengthening her physical qualities, because all of this is important to her both as an athlete and as a person. Brigita's sharing encouraged us to further consider the integration of the idea of a healthy lifestyle into Budora's activities. 

How is a healthy lifestyle reflected in Budora's activities?

Since February 2023, we have been sharing knowledge about a healthy lifestyle with the sports club community. "Budora" trainers work with children and youth, so we first of all share knowledge about the healthy lifestyle of children and youth. We want to help both parents and children to better understand the importance and principles of a healthy lifestyle, and to share the experience accumulated by Budora. So, starting in February, we'll be sharing articles or videos each month that explore topics related to physical activity for children and youth, injury prevention, healthy eating, or emotional health. 

In the future, we will integrate the elements of a healthy lifestyle into Budora's activities:

• We won and implemented the project initiated by the Ministry of Health. We started this season by implementing a project initiated by the Ministry of Health, during which, together with the help of internal club and external experts, we created an interactive "Healthy Lifestyle Education Guide for School-age Children". In addition, during this project, the trainers of the club conducted educational sessions about health-friendly nutrition, emotional health and the benefits of physical activity for children participating in sports at the Baltupių pro-gymnasium (total of 8 groups). And internal and external experts shared knowledge about the healthy lifestyle of children and youth with parents of children playing sports in the club.
• A focused physical education program for younger children. At the beginning of this season, we included targeted training of physical qualities in the karate education program for younger children (we are grateful to the physical training coach Ričardas Pupeikis for the program), and older athletes and team members can develop physical qualities in additional physical training training for more than the first year. 
• During the training, the trainers share knowledge about healthy lifestyle and personal qualities with the children being trained. Starting February 1, based on methodologies developed by internal and external experts, coaches in 16 groups talk to children about the importance of personal qualities and a healthy lifestyle.

New logo and website. Not only the inside is changing, but the outside, or Budora's long-term goals are also reflected in the logo and the new website.

These are the first, but far from the last, changes you'll notice in Budora's operations. We hope that the journey through the world of healthy living will be interesting and useful for everyone!

Lina Svirnelienė, business development manager