"I want to make the world a better place through martial arts"

Eindhoven native Sem Wacanno struggled with his applied psychology studies. About a year ago, he opted for the brand-new Start-Up School. Now, he's developing into an entrepreneur in a surprisingly practical way. "I help people make the world a better place through martial arts."

Admittedly, it wasn't his own idea. In fact, his girlfriend Pascalle's father had read about the new Start-Up School in the newspaper. "I was immediately enthusiastic," says Sem Wacanno (21) from Blixembosch in Eindhoven-Noord. "It immediately seemed like a natural way to turn my hobby, martial arts, into a business."

Sem glances around a communal area of the Microlab in Strijp-S, home to the Start-Up School, part of Summa College. "This is an inspiring environment," he says. "It's bustling with activity. The Microlab is home to many creative businesses, often one-man businesses. Because the school seeks connections with entrepreneurs, we can learn a lot from our immediate surroundings."

Rules and textbooks

Born and raised in Woensel, Sem almost automatically went to Stedelijk College. He started in HAVO (senior general secondary education), but eventually ended up in MAVO (pre-vocational secondary education). "From a young age, I struggled with stereotypical schools, the rules, the textbooks, the constant pressure to do everything… That's why, after MAVO, I chose Novalis College (a free school) to get my HAVO diploma. I was in my element there." Applied psychology at Fontys seemed like an inspiring study.

"Although I had more freedom, I ran into rules again, lots of rules," Sem says. "Partly because of that, I wasn't feeling well. Fortunately, my study advisor was very supportive. Hats off to him. And that's how I ended up using martial arts as an outlet. I started practicing it very intensively, much more than before. It really helped me." Things went so well that he was later allowed to mentor the grandson of his spiritual coach at Fontys. "The boy was suffering greatly from his parents' divorce. He was actually my first client."

Taekwondo

Martial arts weren't new to the Eindhoven native. "I was already doing Taekwondo when I was ten," he says. Later, Sem gained experience in boxing, Jiu Jitsu, and Wing Chun, a variation of Kung Fu. That's how Wacanno came up with the idea of starting a martial arts school. "I currently teach boxing at the Wing Chun Federation in Eindhoven." One thing he's learned in recent years is that martial arts have a spiritual therapeutic effect. "It gives people peace, and at the same time, it's an outlet."

So when his "father-in-law" from Lieshout suggested attending the Start-Up School last year, and his girlfriend also signed up, the decision was easy. "I don't regret it one bit," says Sem. "Unlike the Fontys program, this is a lot of doing. I get so much energy here. I really couldn't imagine it before, but I even come back here on weekends to finish projects. This year, we started in February, it just happened naturally. Very naturally. That's partly due to the environment, but also the school's philosophy: Planet, People, Profit. Making the world a little better—that really resonates with my mindset."

Training daily

Sem trains daily. "That's helped me. I feel valued again," he says. The students at the Start-Up School receive guidance not only from teachers but also from a personal coach. "He's inspired me. Martial arts isn't a passing fad. I want to continue. With building a business. With the sport. And with helping people. My coach is really teaching me how to discover and utilize my talents. To become a coach myself. And I find that very valuable."

For the Start-Up School A new academic year begins in February. Sem Wacanno is one of the students who will be telling interested parties about the program during an information meeting at Microlab on December 22nd.