Leuphana student Lasse Bo Leuers takes part in kickboxing world championships in Canada

In a few days, Lasse Bo Leuers will compete at the World Kickboxing Championships in Calgary, Canada. He has been preparing for this very special week for months: "I have completely cut weight training out of the training schedule and have done a lot of exercises for speed, reaction speed and precision. And then it's all about repetition - doing everything as often as you can." He has been training six to seven times a week and has been fighting his way through the qualifying phase since November last year. He has been to a total of six tournaments, won gold five times and silver once.

Since then, Lasse Bo Leuers has been part of the WKU's German national squad and was accepted into Leuphana's top athlete programme. Now he gets more support to be able to pursue his competitive sport. For example, it is easier for him to postpone exams if they overlap with sporting events, or he has preselection rights when choosing courses. But even before that, he always received a lot of support from the university sports department, where he also works: "Because I'm in the university sports team, I always got everything I needed. Be it the training rooms that I was allowed to take or I was able to take advantage of support and advice without any problems."

Nevertheless, it is not always easy to combine studies and competitive sport, says Lasse Bo Leuers. He is in his seventh semester of psychology and wants to start his bachelor's thesis soon. "It is definitely not easy and you have to have a certain time management, but then also separate it." Kung Fu helps him here too, he says - discipline and diligence are the key. That's why he works with to-do lists and time frames: "I tell myself when I get on my bike to train that university is over now. Tomorrow is another day.

In the winter semester of 2022/23, Lasse Bo Leuers also gave a course at the university sports centre: "Martial arts for all skill levels".  He wanted to address more advanced fighters in particular. He himself started martial arts as a child: "The biggest constant in my life besides family and friends has always been martial arts, because it shows me that I can achieve things I didn't think were possible.

The World Championships in Calgary, Canada, will now officially start on Monday 16 October. However, Lasse Bo Leuer's first World Cup fights will not take place until Thursday. "If you compare the World Kickboxing Championships to football, it's like one semi-final stage. There is always only one fight. If you lose, you are out. So you have to win every fight," he explains. His big goal: He wants to make at least third place. Until then, he would have to win five to seven fights. He doesn't know his opponents because they are drawn by lot. "So I think a lot will be decided by my first fight - whether I manage to empty my head so much that I can then deliver well." So it's all-or-nothing, win or lose - but Lasse Bo Leuers knows that anything is possible in martial arts.