The World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (WAKO) is cooperating with Onkokids organization in Germany to develop a program that provides exercise opportunities and sports support for children and young people living with or recovering from cancer.
In early 2025, Hannah Stalff (Onkokids and Goethe University in Frankfurt), Oliver Hahl (President of WAKO Germany), and Daniel Zitek (lawyer from Munich) came up with the idea. Since then, Hannah and Oliver have developed a pilot workshop, successfully launched in Darmstadt in collaboration with the dedicated DUMUSSTKÄMPFEN team.
Children, parents, Onkokids specialists, and three highly committed WAKO kickboxing athletes came together for a five-hour kickboxing workshop. With 25 participants in total, the event was a success: the children enjoyed themselves, the parents were enthusiastic, and the coaches did an outstanding job.
Oliver Hahl, WAKO Germany president, who co-developed the workshop, expressed his excitement: “This project takes WAKO Germany into new and very valuable territory — exactly where I would like us to develop more activities.”
Hannah Stalff, the driving force and inspiration behind the workshop, emphasized: “Sport and programs like this are an essential and extremely valuable part of helping children and young adults overcome the trauma of cancer.”
Daniel Zitek, one of the initiators of the project, is confident this is only the beginning of a promising journey. The next step will take place in Leipzig, where the results will be presented at the therapists’ congress in November 2025.
Name: WAKO Europe