Pasi Laurén is an inspiring master athlete

Name: Pasi Laurén

Age: 54y

Profession: Doctor, Dance teacher, Dancer

Pasi Laurén moved from Judo Tatami mats to the dance floors 24 years ago when he was 30 years old. Ever since, all his training and activities have been serving the purpose of finding his best form in dancing, especially Argentine tango. About a year ago, however, Lauren decided to step onto the Tatami again after a lengthy break. Before switching disciplines, Lauren represented Finland in men’s national Judo team for eight years, fought three years in the Judo Bundesliga in Germany and was a part of Team Finland in the 1996 Olympic Games.

Laurén became the world champion in the men’s age group M5 at the World Judo Veterans’ Competition in Krakow on September 10, 2022.

Pasi Laurén is an inspiring, exemplary masters athlete, who never limited himself to just one discipline

“Staying healthy is a great priority of mine, which is a huge challenge in martial arts. At the same time, shifting the focus from winning to training has been liberating. The most important thing is to find the kind of discipline that is intriguing to you individually. Then you won’t lose interest, but are able to experience moments of clarity and understanding, even epiphanies, during training. Exercising and staying active are such important things to us adults on many levels. Exercise gives us bodily experiences, which might happen less regularly after our younger years. We humans are physical beings after all, and that physicalness is also a major psychic experience and an important part of mental health and maintaining a good quality of life.”