A Martial Artist's Revenge : A True Story

Revenge is an emotional reaction that is hard for the offended to resist feeling.  At times leading to extreme and unnatural action.  We have all felt wronged and wished for righteous retribution and know that something burns within until it is quelled with appropriate recompense.  Calasanz recounts one of his experiences with revenge and how it changed him as a person and as a martial artist.

This story taken from an audio recording with Calasanz talking about his experience:



By the time I decided to return to learning Hapkido and Taekwondo I was a very powerful guy, very strong.  But even with all my power I was still not the fastest guy.  After a few lessons with Master Lee in Darien I ended up sparring with fellow student Gary.  As we moved around no one in the building could have predicted the sort of kick that he was going to put on me.  He delivered a hook kick with everything he had, to this day, still one of the strongest kicks I've encountered, and he got me.

I mean he really got me.


After that kick had been delivered I was ready to fight.  Especially as a younger man with little patience.  When I was an adolescent in the Dominican Republic I was known for two things.  They would say, "Don't hit him if you want to win.  Don't sweep him if you want to win."  I was ready to fight, but immediately after it landed Master Lee came from the office and stopped us.  He must have heard the kick land on me all the way in the back.  I was furious.


After my encounter, with Gary, class ended and I left.  It was a Saturday on a holiday weekend, with plenty of time on my hands I would spend the next 3 days training intensely.  I started kicking and I didn't stop.  Saturday and Sunday, all day kicking.  Sunday night, all night kicking.  Monday, all day kicking, I didn't stop until Tuesday morning at 5 o'clock in the morning when I had to go to work.  In those three days I had trained my kick to be as fast as anyone's.  I kicked over 10,000 times with 2 1/2 pound ankle weights on both of my legs.  My kick after those three days became lightning fast and brutally strong.  I wanted to be ready for Gary.  Months later chiropractors would tell me my joints had all been destroyed and I'm certain that this was a contributing factor to that, accordingly I wouldn't recommend this intense training to any of my students now, but I was crazy and I was angry.
 
The next 4 weekends I spent going to the Taekwondo school just to go, just to have a chance to get even.  Saturday at 1 o'clock I would go.  Later in class the students would be sparring but as soon as it came to be my turn the instructor would end it saying, "Okay, class is over, everybody bow."  Next week I would go, Saturday at 1 o'clock and the same thing.  For 4 weeks in a row I would go for a chance to face Gary once more to get my revenge.  Never would I get the chance.



But I had proven a point.  I was so out of control and so focused that Gary did not want to fight with me, and even the instructors were reluctant to pit us against one another.  Gary and I never squared off again, and never did that fight happen.  Every time I went to my Taekwondo school after taking that kick I went to make sure that I could get even, but instead a respect between us grew.  I was like a monster, a behemoth.  My body and my ability were so beyond that we couldn't fight.  We had to become good friends.  Gary would actually be the one to give me the name "super power" while I would end up being the one to inspire him to take ballet.  We remain on good terms to this day.

Inspired by Calasanz
Written by Alan Wedell