Are you Italian? Girls in Russia love Italian guys. Just saying :-)

Ahah, thanks for the tip. Yes, I'm Italian, but I have a bit of prejudice against Russian girls, they seem to search more the money and relocation possibility offered by gullible Italians. I might just suggest them to go for German guys, they just live in a better economy, plus it's still Europe ;)

For gaining confidence, I recommend any full contact sport.

I've always been fascinated by them, but with my fitness level at the moment I can only hope for Kung fu Panda style fighting.