Calasanz Martial Arts Center has been in Norwalk for over 3 decades. When you set out to get started learning a martial art either for sport or for recreation you have to ask yourself why it is you would go to any particular school.
Let me be honest here. No matter what school you go to your first visit to a school / gym / dojo is going to be exciting and you're going to be very excited to get started. There is something inside every person that is awakened when you bear witness to and experience these different activities. You automatically can think to yourself, "Wow, I can do that!" or perhaps more inquisitively you might ask yourself "That looks so easy, why don't I do that?" and let me tell you, it is very simple. It is no secret as to how or why people are capable of what they do. It is just a matter of setting the mind to do it and going to do it. Even if you start out with very little skill keep in mind that everyone crawls before they walk and walks before they run. The only difference between those who can and those who can't is action. It is not so difficult to understand what makes someone great at what they do. It is, simply put, a matter of continued discipline, dedication and revision.
What makes our approach so effective and the reason why our school has been able to remain here is because of the simplicity and the approach we take to training. Come to Calasanz to take something home with you. Train to beat the competitor without competing. Learn the basics. Keep your training simple. Calasanz has been teaching and working with people and within the martial arts exclusively for decades and his skill and knowledge cannot be denied. If you want to come somewhere to learn something right this is the place. It is somewhere you will learn about yourself and you will learn the methods to improving your coordination, flexibility, power, grounding and technique developed by Calasanz over his career.
Countless people have come through to learn something here and left with something they will remember forever. Fledgling athletes improving their balance and coordination come to excel in their sport after training here for periods as short as 2 months. Great athletes even come here to improve and to become dominant on the field and court. Martial Artists come here to improve their fighting skill and broaden their horizons becoming well balanced and more open. There is something for you here no matter what you're looking for.
So when you want to learn how to kick, when you want to get into kickboxing for example, when you want to try something new and branch out to a new style of martial art, this is your school. You can learn it all here. We have trainers who teach Karate, Kung Fu, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, BJJ, Fitness and Self Defense. There are countless avenues to take with your training all ready to be taken. Take the first step and call or email to schedule a free trial or just stop by during business hours. We are open 7 days a week!
Showing posts with label Boxing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boxing. Show all posts
Monday, April 13, 2015
Friday, March 6, 2015
The Beauty of Style
Before we go on and talk about styles, what is the best or worst out there it is important to understand what is real. What is pretty. What is the best. And why. But above all it is important understand what is style, beauty, and reality.
The martial arts, fitness, and boxing can all be compiled into one. But still the only way you can succeed in your goals is by carrying on through a formula which will become the center point of a system or style.
Bruce Lee, Larry Homes, Mohammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Holyfield and many others like the Sugar Ray Lenoard, Tommy Herns, Macho Camacho, Roberto Duran, Oscar Dela Hoya all become what they are by bringing something unique to what they did.
These fighters could not bring it all, but they brought a lot. The Calasanz system is the most well balanced system in the world by incorporating it all. It has the beauty of kung fu, the brutality of karate, the grace of boxing, the endurance of muay thai and the effectiveness of a reality based style. You can answer the question yourself as this truth by following youtube and the vast video archives available documenting the well-roundedness of Calasanz and his system.
Again, all of these people are inspirations to me and to many others out there. The Calasanz system is here to stay, it is not something that will vanish or disappear after the main person is gone. It will stay, because we did and we have what it takes for this system or style to stay, all based on letting a formula and this formula must be simple. And it is simple.
You are good, but still you can be better. Sugar Ray said that when you shadow box look in the mirror. Love the mirror. The meaning is to know what you are doing, to know what you show the audience in your punch and being able to show the beauty of it.
Practice your moves not just to make them better or correct them, but to make them real. Make them effective. Make them prettier and prettier. As you look at mirror to see how they look understand what it is you portray. All of this comes by starting with that great foundation and then they become great.
Don’t let a gift that was given to you from birth, that natural skill you've been born with be taken from you. Control your skill. Be smart. You can be yourself or you can let others manage you until you can comprehend who you are.
Myself I could not let anybody be in charge of me for very long. When I did it was nearly disaster. But I came out of it. I remembered and took charge and responsibility for who I was. I decided to work my hardest so as not to let the skill knowledge and reality be lost.
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The martial arts, fitness, and boxing can all be compiled into one. But still the only way you can succeed in your goals is by carrying on through a formula which will become the center point of a system or style.
Bruce Lee, Larry Homes, Mohammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Holyfield and many others like the Sugar Ray Lenoard, Tommy Herns, Macho Camacho, Roberto Duran, Oscar Dela Hoya all become what they are by bringing something unique to what they did.
These fighters could not bring it all, but they brought a lot. The Calasanz system is the most well balanced system in the world by incorporating it all. It has the beauty of kung fu, the brutality of karate, the grace of boxing, the endurance of muay thai and the effectiveness of a reality based style. You can answer the question yourself as this truth by following youtube and the vast video archives available documenting the well-roundedness of Calasanz and his system.
Again, all of these people are inspirations to me and to many others out there. The Calasanz system is here to stay, it is not something that will vanish or disappear after the main person is gone. It will stay, because we did and we have what it takes for this system or style to stay, all based on letting a formula and this formula must be simple. And it is simple.
All the fame, skill, character and personality comes from one thing. Knowing yourself. By understanding why you are being seen by an audience and captivating them.
You are good, but still you can be better. Sugar Ray said that when you shadow box look in the mirror. Love the mirror. The meaning is to know what you are doing, to know what you show the audience in your punch and being able to show the beauty of it.
Practice your moves not just to make them better or correct them, but to make them real. Make them effective. Make them prettier and prettier. As you look at mirror to see how they look understand what it is you portray. All of this comes by starting with that great foundation and then they become great.
Don’t let a gift that was given to you from birth, that natural skill you've been born with be taken from you. Control your skill. Be smart. You can be yourself or you can let others manage you until you can comprehend who you are.
Myself I could not let anybody be in charge of me for very long. When I did it was nearly disaster. But I came out of it. I remembered and took charge and responsibility for who I was. I decided to work my hardest so as not to let the skill knowledge and reality be lost.
Address: 1A9tTQ14gwJcH8QAsL6eQNc5XhcEFUd9VY
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
How Much Do You Want to Learn?
Would you like to approach your training in a multifaceted way by learning the Calasanz System Combined? Depending on your learning ability and experience this could be better for you. Or would you prefer to learn something in a more specific capacity? Such as: Boxing, Karate (Goju Ryu), Wing Chun Kung Fu, Chinise Boxng, Recreational Boxing, Cheng Chuang Long Fist, or Pau Fa-Yoga.
Regardless of what you choose to study or how you decide to approach your own training we always give as the core of our training and the #1 method that is unique to our training and our school, Physical Art. This is a unique and all inclusive approach to elite fitness ability and training designed to improve the body in a multitude of aspects through the movements and exercises. Physical Art has proven effective in improving balance, breathing, coordination, strength, power, grounding and flexibility. It is what makes our school unique. All of our students regardless of their program learn to some degree these methods of training. Improve your ability on all levels and reap the benefits of an all inclusive exercise regimen.
He was born with a gift all based on the logical understanding of the human body, that is based on the core, the power of the core and movements all used for their different purposes.
How much do you want to work out? It is very important to understand that Calasanz as a trainer teaches you how to work out, and how to do it smart. Come to Calasanz because you want to take something home with you. This is a place of 15,000 square feet. We have a huge space for people to come train whatever they choose. We welcome all styles and schools of training. Come here to learn something, to be yourself and most of all to take something home with you!
Call or Contact : 1-203-454-2699 / / / www.calasanz.com/contact
Address: 1A9tTQ14gwJcH8QAsL6eQNc5XhcEFUd9VY
Monday, January 12, 2015
"Take Something Home With You"
Under the Calasanz General System which we call the Pressure Points Program, it does not matter where you are located, far from his local center, another State or internationally you can still train and learn from him through our video archives by watching and absorbing the information we have to offer. You can come to train privately, semi-privately, as part of a class, take a camp, under a supervised program etc etc. All of this is based on the fact that many already have heard about the Calasanz System, especially towards the purpose of studying it. Studying under the Calasanz System means that you are doing it in order to “Take something home with you”, this is the real purpose of this system.
Let us give you an example, lets say you know somebody who is very fit, works out everyday and has done all sorts of private training. Now this person comes to Calasanz to learn and he notices he is off or out of sync with regard to his breathing, his flexibility, his coordination, and his body alignment. His posture is wrong, his core is very weak and so on. Now, Calasanz takes this student for one month and as is often the case he is not really sure what he is getting into, but after learning and doing the exercises catered to him he cannot believe how he looks and feels. His posture improves, his core strength is up and he finds himself better coordinated and more in tune with himself. Calasanz has seen and done this thousands of times for thousands of people over his long career as an instructor. There are countless examples of clients coming to Calasanz with sports injuries, sustained injuries from car accidents and from other sources only to find their range of motion, strength and ability improved drastically after learning and following some of his movements and exercises.
Calasanz allows his students to divide his system into items by learning certain, very specific skill sets or movement techniques from different systems to give the student exactly what he wants and what he needs. All of them come together to be a system where you can get what we call a Black Belt Equivalency or Certification. BLACK BELT EQUIVALENCY is based on the main items, of which there can be as many as 400. Understand, certifications are nearly infinite in this system. The meaning of everything is the fact of being able to challenge a student for a life time, yet still you can train more specifically in what you enjoy the most. Calasanz' skill and knowledge allows him to challenge you for life. All of this falls into the most important item which is called Calasanz Physical Arts. It is designed to tailor a training regimen to anybody regardless of age, physical ability, injuries, size, disability ect...
Call or Contact : 203-454-2699 / / / www.calasanz.com/contact
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Monday, December 8, 2014
What is Physical Arts?
Let us make it simple here. 98% of those who go to a gym or do any other sort of training are not in touch with their age.
If you are 18, 20, 23, etc... you can do anything, but still young people can get hurt if they do not do it right or are careless. What happens here is the fact that there are many people over 40, 50 and 60 years old. If you are older you cannot do all the things that young people are doing here.
Just for you to know, learn how to do it right. Learn about your body. Then remember and don't forget, there is not age. Just train properly. Learn to know your limit. Learn to do it right and take it home with you. It is in fact very important and it is what makes Calasanz and his system so unique. Come to Calasanz because you want to take something home with you.
The first link on this post, I can never get enough of it or her. I can watch it her all day. Why? She is the type of person that listened. She respected what she was learning, she wanted to learn it and she knew how much it did for her. Many others did the same, but she was unique in respect to style and character. She is remembered at Calasanz forever.
Today there are many who have learned and continue learning the skill and concept of Physical Art under Calasanz.
Long ago men started also training and doing these movements the same as the women I trained. Physical Arts for a while was done mostly by women, primarily on the 90's. Today physical art is being done by men, women and children.
"Come to Calasanz because you want to be coordinated, you want to be strong, balanced, poised, grounded etc. Come and Learn Physical Arts under the Calasanz System"
www.calasanz.com
www.westportboxing.com
Calasanz Martial Arts
507 Westport Avenue
Norwalk, CT 06851
203-846-3321
203-847-6528
203-846-3321
203-847-6528
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Style Development (Pt. 1)
When it comes to developing a style or more accurately when it comes to developing YOUR style we are not talking about a certain school of thought or training regarding Martial Art. We are talking more broadly about expression.
As you undertake, for example, the study of a traditional Martial Art such as Karate you will learn how to express a punch in a certain way. Someone who is learning from a boxing coach will also learn how to throw a punch but it will be expressed differently according to the rules and norms of boxing.
Students of any Martial Art can show you a leading hand attack within the realm of that Martial Art be it a closed fist punch of Karate, open hand strike of any particular Kung Fu or the darting finger of Wing Chun. Each strike has its purpose and usefulness in any given scenario yet the core movement and basics of each strike remain the same while the differences are expressed in the delivery into that space to be occupied furthest from the body. That means that 98% of the movement is the same. The difference is the hand or structure that is breaching that open space and initiating contact.
Strict adherence to a particular style is necessary when formally learning Martial Art and should be followed if tradition is where you place value. After all, many schools and masters have been training within certain parameters for quite some time and their practice and knowledge is not to be brushed away without thought. However, it is important to separate formal learning from the reality of a fight. A formal Karate practitioner would have a great time getting his teeth kicked in if he were to go into a fight and expect to win by going through the specific set of movements executed in the specific order he learned in training. Remember, traditional forms are simply the building blocks and tools to be used during a fight. It is up to the practitioner to put the proper movements and techniques in their proper place and in proper time during those fleeting moments of combat to become victorious.
But this still begs the question. How do you develop YOUR style? The best advice I can offer is that you start with something that interests you. Start with something that you like. Don't get hung up on the usefulness or lack there-of of a particular style. If you like it and you are practicing with focus there are more personal benefits that come with regular practice than can be written here. Master something. It takes time, patience, drive, discipline, determination and consistency; all of which are necessary in order to express something well and all will be useful qualities when/if you do decide to branch out to other styles or schools.
One pitfall that is very common, especially within those formal traditions, is the strict adherence to said tradition. You cannot develop a style within a person unless they want it. Yes, you've been perfecting your boxing punch for years and it is phenomenal. But that does not discredit or devalue the expression of a Karate punch. It is not a question of one being wrong and the other right. They are both right within their own realms. Despite their being at least 80% the same they are just different punches.
So when you go developing it is important to use what you've learned and apply it to anything else you might take up. You meld them. Can you be a great boxer and go through a beginner Karate form? Yes. It doesn't make you any less of a boxer, it just means you have more tools at your disposal mentally and physically. If you take boxing lessons and close your mind completely to the possibility of another style being valid or valued it is like a self inflicted lobotomy and only limiting development.
=====
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As you undertake, for example, the study of a traditional Martial Art such as Karate you will learn how to express a punch in a certain way. Someone who is learning from a boxing coach will also learn how to throw a punch but it will be expressed differently according to the rules and norms of boxing.
Students of any Martial Art can show you a leading hand attack within the realm of that Martial Art be it a closed fist punch of Karate, open hand strike of any particular Kung Fu or the darting finger of Wing Chun. Each strike has its purpose and usefulness in any given scenario yet the core movement and basics of each strike remain the same while the differences are expressed in the delivery into that space to be occupied furthest from the body. That means that 98% of the movement is the same. The difference is the hand or structure that is breaching that open space and initiating contact.
Strict adherence to a particular style is necessary when formally learning Martial Art and should be followed if tradition is where you place value. After all, many schools and masters have been training within certain parameters for quite some time and their practice and knowledge is not to be brushed away without thought. However, it is important to separate formal learning from the reality of a fight. A formal Karate practitioner would have a great time getting his teeth kicked in if he were to go into a fight and expect to win by going through the specific set of movements executed in the specific order he learned in training. Remember, traditional forms are simply the building blocks and tools to be used during a fight. It is up to the practitioner to put the proper movements and techniques in their proper place and in proper time during those fleeting moments of combat to become victorious.
But this still begs the question. How do you develop YOUR style? The best advice I can offer is that you start with something that interests you. Start with something that you like. Don't get hung up on the usefulness or lack there-of of a particular style. If you like it and you are practicing with focus there are more personal benefits that come with regular practice than can be written here. Master something. It takes time, patience, drive, discipline, determination and consistency; all of which are necessary in order to express something well and all will be useful qualities when/if you do decide to branch out to other styles or schools.
One pitfall that is very common, especially within those formal traditions, is the strict adherence to said tradition. You cannot develop a style within a person unless they want it. Yes, you've been perfecting your boxing punch for years and it is phenomenal. But that does not discredit or devalue the expression of a Karate punch. It is not a question of one being wrong and the other right. They are both right within their own realms. Despite their being at least 80% the same they are just different punches.
So when you go developing it is important to use what you've learned and apply it to anything else you might take up. You meld them. Can you be a great boxer and go through a beginner Karate form? Yes. It doesn't make you any less of a boxer, it just means you have more tools at your disposal mentally and physically. If you take boxing lessons and close your mind completely to the possibility of another style being valid or valued it is like a self inflicted lobotomy and only limiting development.
=====
Download The Calasanz System
Address: 1A9tTQ14gwJcH8QAsL6eQNc5XhcEFUd9VY
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Calasanz' Students Go to Olympic Trials : Win Gold and Silver
Taken From an Audio Recording from one of Calasanz' Students.
(names removed for privacy)
==========
"Calasanz' knowledge... Calasanz has so much knowledge in the Martial Arts man. He told _____, 'You're not ready for the tournament. You're not going.' See he didn't want to take no for an answer. He insisted. Even the day before the tournament I was sparring with him. He was going crazy trying to kick me and trying to... you know. And I was there just blocking. Calasanz got mad at me and gave me ... I think it was 50 push-ups because I didn't want to counter punch. I didn't want to hurt ____ to stop him from going to the tournament. It was crazy man."
"Spinning roundhouse kick... I saw the kick coming miles away. I could have called him on the phone and said, '____, you got a spinning roundhouse coming. Get your hands up.' But it was too late. I mean I saw the kick coming when the guy was lined up and then the first spin.... I like the guy, but... if you can't walk the walk don't talk the talk. You understand?"
"When did you go?"
"When? Ehhh ... What year was it? 1996.
"It was nice man. I was fearless. I didn't care. The fights were pretty much easy 'cause the system and the way we fight and in tae kwon do, the way they fight it's different you know. They rely a lot on their kicks. I tried to play their games for the first 2 seconds. The guy started jumping around.
The first one started jumping around and I just countered him. He went with a spinning kick which is very popular in tae kwon do and I hit him with a counter round kick. Boom. I knocked him out."
"To the head?"
"Yeah."
"The second one was the same thing. The second one I move up to him, I shuffled. I shuffled. We used to do a lot of shuffling here. I shuffled and hit him with a round kick. He went down."
"The third one threw a kick at me. I blocked it. Then I hit him with a round kick. It was all round kicks. It was 3 round kicks. 3 knockouts."
"The 4th guy I was supposed to fight was a guy from here because he was beating everyone from his end and he bowed out to me because Calasanz didn't want us to fight. So I ended up with the first place. The gold. He got the bronze medal. Excuse me, the silver. Yeah, [the forth guy was a student from Calasanz and he bowed out to me because we had a rule that whenever we end up facing each other at a tournament, the student who had been training the longest gets bowed out to and get the points.]"
"That was the trial, did you end up going to the Olympics though?"
"I didn't go because I tore my ACL playing soccer. I had to have a surgery on my left knee."
"Did anybody else go (to the Olympics) from here?"
"I was the guy with the first place. The other guy won the silver medal.. you know what's crazy I think they found out that he was from here, they didn't give him the medal. They said they ran out. If you know you're supposed to have so many fights how can you not have enough medals? It's all bullshit."
"Was it because they didn't like the fact he was training here?"
"Well they knew we were students from here. But we didn't go to the tournament under this school because it was a strictly Korean tournament; Tae Kwon Do tournament."
"How many went?"
"4 of us... 5. Yeah."
(names removed for privacy)
==========
"Calasanz' knowledge... Calasanz has so much knowledge in the Martial Arts man. He told _____, 'You're not ready for the tournament. You're not going.' See he didn't want to take no for an answer. He insisted. Even the day before the tournament I was sparring with him. He was going crazy trying to kick me and trying to... you know. And I was there just blocking. Calasanz got mad at me and gave me ... I think it was 50 push-ups because I didn't want to counter punch. I didn't want to hurt ____ to stop him from going to the tournament. It was crazy man."
"Spinning roundhouse kick... I saw the kick coming miles away. I could have called him on the phone and said, '____, you got a spinning roundhouse coming. Get your hands up.' But it was too late. I mean I saw the kick coming when the guy was lined up and then the first spin.... I like the guy, but... if you can't walk the walk don't talk the talk. You understand?"
"When did you go?"
"When? Ehhh ... What year was it? 1996.
"To the head?"
"Yeah."
"The second one was the same thing. The second one I move up to him, I shuffled. I shuffled. We used to do a lot of shuffling here. I shuffled and hit him with a round kick. He went down."
"The third one threw a kick at me. I blocked it. Then I hit him with a round kick. It was all round kicks. It was 3 round kicks. 3 knockouts."
"The 4th guy I was supposed to fight was a guy from here because he was beating everyone from his end and he bowed out to me because Calasanz didn't want us to fight. So I ended up with the first place. The gold. He got the bronze medal. Excuse me, the silver. Yeah, [the forth guy was a student from Calasanz and he bowed out to me because we had a rule that whenever we end up facing each other at a tournament, the student who had been training the longest gets bowed out to and get the points.]"
"That was the trial, did you end up going to the Olympics though?"
"I didn't go because I tore my ACL playing soccer. I had to have a surgery on my left knee."
"Did anybody else go (to the Olympics) from here?"
"I was the guy with the first place. The other guy won the silver medal.. you know what's crazy I think they found out that he was from here, they didn't give him the medal. They said they ran out. If you know you're supposed to have so many fights how can you not have enough medals? It's all bullshit."
"Was it because they didn't like the fact he was training here?"
"Well they knew we were students from here. But we didn't go to the tournament under this school because it was a strictly Korean tournament; Tae Kwon Do tournament."
"How many went?"
"4 of us... 5. Yeah."
==========
Friday, June 20, 2014
The Simple Way
Taken from an audio recording of Calasanz
==========
This is uh... something that I want to talk about first of all to bring it to the attention of Frank Dux even if I don't mention his name I just want to be able to tell him, "Read it."
Just like how ________________ has written before about me as a kid, I knew probably Martial Art since I was born but didn't know that it was Martial Art or Boxing that I was doing until I got to the city when I was 14 or 15. That was the time that I first went to a school and took my first class. As I was watching, everything that they were teaching did not make sense to me because it was just brutal. They were just hitting each other. The first day I remember sparring and they would throw a front kick or round kick at me and I was using techniques of closing the gap to block them. Lifting my leg and blocking the kicks. For me it was nothing new. It was something that I realized later on that I was born with.
I did not go back to take a class at the school or to train with Rafael Martinez their Master / head trainer or any of the other trainers there for about 3 months. After I came back from 3 months I could beat anyone there, but I could have beaten anyone there even on my first day.
You see, on my own I was already doing movements within the traditional forms and katas. I remember including some of those movements in a kata I put together in 1987 for a form we call "Bojitsu Ni". I remember Matellen Coves was performing a weapons kata put together by Tameyoshi Sakamoto, Bojitsu Ichi, but traditionally it was just too short. He was performing it perfectly but it was just too short and he was not winning. So I took that same form or kata that was related to kobudo and I elaborated on it to put together the Bojitsu Ni. In less than one year, or probably 3 or 4 tournaments he was number one in weapons Nationally and number one in New England for many of the other things that he was doing.
Now, Belts.
So, belts are not so important for me, but it is important and I do use them in our system. You want to have a black belt in Physical Arts under our system. Why? Because that is just a little taste of what is the most well balanced system in the world. Anything that we do we can divide a belt into whatever; 14, 300, 400... we can divide our belt system into any number of different levels by using our skill to bring people to the equivalent of a black belt and that could be in Karate, Kung Fu, Chinese Boxing, American Boxing, Wing Chun Ground Fighting... even for Boxing we have a black belt equivalent over here.
So belts are more of a respect for me. I respect the Martial Arts more than anyone out there. I spent a fortune in Martial Arts just out of respect for the teacher. "Here you are Moy Yat. I'm gonna give you a lot of money because you're teaching me the Wing Chun system. Then I am going to teach it." We had worked it out such that I knew that after three months of training under Moy Yat I would be certified to teach, and I did. And Moy Yat did not care because he knew what was the skill that I had.
He said, "No, no, no. Why put Calasanz in a class to pay $50 and spend 10...15 years doing 小念頭?" No. Somebody sent me to 梅逸 (Moy Yat) and in 1 year I had the system of Wing Chun. Even myself, I had many students teaching 3 months after learning Wing Chun, Patrick Wilson, Pamela and many others. So belts are important for me as a respect. So many instructors like Mr. Chow in Wing Chun. Frank Dux in all that he did. Lee... in reality I retract that word, I don't want to mention that guy... but many others.
Whenever I went to a new school I had a way of talking with and working with their head instructors and owners. They would say, "Oh, Calasanz, why don't you get a black belt in our system?" You see, I can be a black belt in one day. My obsession was so excessive and my skill was so beyond that I could reach that level in a very short time. I remember when I went to Lee, I talked to George and taught him some of my skill and then he gave me in just one week all of their forms of Tae Kwon Do. It was easy for me because I did TKD in the DR and I knew how to deliver all the kicks as TKD as well as in the style of Goju Ryu karate.
So when I went to this guy on the Post Road to learn Hapkido the first thing I said was, "I want to do this because I came to this country to be Bruce Lee. I want to be well balanced. I am good at Goju Ryu but I don't want to confuse what I learned. I want to be at least the equivalent of a brown belt."
But I could be the equivalent of a brown belt of any system if I wanted because that was my skill. I was born with it. I spent a lot of time in school but I devoted to this after my formal study for the love of it. I have 24 diplomas in all sorts of different fields. But I devoted myself to Martial Arts because its what I wanted to do. It was my obsession and my passion over anything else.
Now, all these writings and recordings that I am doing here are related to one thing. Respect. I love to have a belt from many different systems just to have it out of respect. But the fact is that belts are not so important for me, however, I like the respect of it. And that is one thing that I want people to understand. If someone offers me a belt, I want it. But at this moment I have a system. I have a system that I need and for me to accomplish my system and to leave it here; to give it to the world before I am gone I would need probably... easily, 10 lives. If I am going to be 90 years old then I need another 90, another 90, another 90 and so on in order to leave it.
So I am concentrated on what I am today and on what I know today and this is the skill that I want to leave in the world. Then to the world I leave those names that I respect and there are many of them, but one of them is Frank Dux. Another, Moy Yat. Another, Tameyoshi Sakamoto. Another, Victor Lillianao and of course ____________. But anyway, this is the fact of belts. I don't mind getting a belt from anyone. I don't mind learning today. Today is June 12th 2014. I do not want to learn a new self defense technique. I have so much already that if I could leave behind at least one percent I would be so happy in life. I want to talk about skillful people like Frank Dux for example, who is for real. Moy Yat if he would be alive. Tameyoshi if he would be alive. Rafael Martinez. Rafael Alvarez and many others. I love to share. I love kata. That I want to learn a new form or a new self defense technique or a new elbow.... look, I can portray an elbow strike in 20 / 30 different directions. But there is only one direction that is going to be done and delivered and that is the simple way.
We created our name by delivering 1 punch and 1 kick. A side kick that no one, no one could block and no matter who it would be, an MMA fighter in the UFC... we could apply that sidekick to any fighter beautifully. The System Kick we called it. A kick coming from a short distance with lightning speed and power with the heel. My guys just made people... you could call it shit. Maybe there is a different word that Alan can find but... that just made them... it was a kick delivered to the gut that just made them... you know. This is how we created the name. So we don't need so much about that, but again, respect.
Anybody tomorrow that contacts me, "Oh let me get a belt in your system." and I will spend 1 hour with you and give you a belt. But the belt is really not what is helping you. It is of course the time spent and what gets retained that is really important. Anyone can wear a belt, not everyone can throw a good kick. I don't have to do that but I respect those that love the Martial Arts. I respect those that love the Martial Arts and do the Martial Arts for real. No bull-shit.
Still I expect that this be written in a way that does not offend anyone. Bull-shit could be misinterpreted as someone who is not too good as a fighter but is good at teaching and helping kids to be confident at something. We don't criticize anyone. And certainly teachers such as that are not bull-shit. Martial Arts can be a lot of things.
It's like I told Kenny Lamara who said to me, "Calasanz, my kid goes to this school. I don't know why I didn't send him to you."
I said, "Kenny if you sent him to me he wouldn't be with me." He wouldn't have stayed with me because in those times I was tough on them. I was tough an anyone. It didn't matter their age or anything. So those schools over there that take their time to teach a kid just how to feel it. It's okay. Its okay. Good luck. It's like Bas Rutten said, "I respect you." You have a 3rd degree black belt in ____________, and I respect that. But I wouldn't respect you if you say now you're gonna step into the UFC or if you want to step into the ring with me because that would be an offense. You don't have to be a killer in order to have a black belt and have another Martial Art as a hobby. You don't have to be a killer. You can just be. You can enjoy. You can enjoy the Martial Art. You can do the Martial Art soft but you must be careful when you open your big mouth. [jokingly] You know, don't say that. But yes....
You know, this is what Bas Ruttan said. Alan, the minute you see and follow him you will be inspired by him. Every word that comes from his mouth is something that you want to save. He is one guy that is the same type as me. That is just logical. Everything works. Don't criticize some school because the guy just throws a kick and didn't do anything with the kick. No. They are enjoying that. You see? That helps them. That is what makes TKD today. That is why there is the big killer TKD and the other ones. Okay?
So that is related Alan, that is what I want and probably I give you some time tomorrow, I want that you write that and even words can come even from your own development; your own skill.
I respect.
I don't want belts. I do not want to learn anything. I just want to see if I can leave before I am gone to the world 10 to 15 percent of the most simple Martial Arts in the world. This is all I care about today. But I do care about respect. I do care about sharing with people and so on. This is what I want.
==========
Download The Calasanz System
"But there is only one direction that is going to be done and delivered and that is the simple way."
- Calasanz
==========
This is uh... something that I want to talk about first of all to bring it to the attention of Frank Dux even if I don't mention his name I just want to be able to tell him, "Read it."
Just like how ________________ has written before about me as a kid, I knew probably Martial Art since I was born but didn't know that it was Martial Art or Boxing that I was doing until I got to the city when I was 14 or 15. That was the time that I first went to a school and took my first class. As I was watching, everything that they were teaching did not make sense to me because it was just brutal. They were just hitting each other. The first day I remember sparring and they would throw a front kick or round kick at me and I was using techniques of closing the gap to block them. Lifting my leg and blocking the kicks. For me it was nothing new. It was something that I realized later on that I was born with.
I did not go back to take a class at the school or to train with Rafael Martinez their Master / head trainer or any of the other trainers there for about 3 months. After I came back from 3 months I could beat anyone there, but I could have beaten anyone there even on my first day.
You see, on my own I was already doing movements within the traditional forms and katas. I remember including some of those movements in a kata I put together in 1987 for a form we call "Bojitsu Ni". I remember Matellen Coves was performing a weapons kata put together by Tameyoshi Sakamoto, Bojitsu Ichi, but traditionally it was just too short. He was performing it perfectly but it was just too short and he was not winning. So I took that same form or kata that was related to kobudo and I elaborated on it to put together the Bojitsu Ni. In less than one year, or probably 3 or 4 tournaments he was number one in weapons Nationally and number one in New England for many of the other things that he was doing.Now, Belts.
So, belts are not so important for me, but it is important and I do use them in our system. You want to have a black belt in Physical Arts under our system. Why? Because that is just a little taste of what is the most well balanced system in the world. Anything that we do we can divide a belt into whatever; 14, 300, 400... we can divide our belt system into any number of different levels by using our skill to bring people to the equivalent of a black belt and that could be in Karate, Kung Fu, Chinese Boxing, American Boxing, Wing Chun Ground Fighting... even for Boxing we have a black belt equivalent over here.
So belts are more of a respect for me. I respect the Martial Arts more than anyone out there. I spent a fortune in Martial Arts just out of respect for the teacher. "Here you are Moy Yat. I'm gonna give you a lot of money because you're teaching me the Wing Chun system. Then I am going to teach it." We had worked it out such that I knew that after three months of training under Moy Yat I would be certified to teach, and I did. And Moy Yat did not care because he knew what was the skill that I had.
He said, "No, no, no. Why put Calasanz in a class to pay $50 and spend 10...15 years doing 小念頭?" No. Somebody sent me to 梅逸 (Moy Yat) and in 1 year I had the system of Wing Chun. Even myself, I had many students teaching 3 months after learning Wing Chun, Patrick Wilson, Pamela and many others. So belts are important for me as a respect. So many instructors like Mr. Chow in Wing Chun. Frank Dux in all that he did. Lee... in reality I retract that word, I don't want to mention that guy... but many others.
Whenever I went to a new school I had a way of talking with and working with their head instructors and owners. They would say, "Oh, Calasanz, why don't you get a black belt in our system?" You see, I can be a black belt in one day. My obsession was so excessive and my skill was so beyond that I could reach that level in a very short time. I remember when I went to Lee, I talked to George and taught him some of my skill and then he gave me in just one week all of their forms of Tae Kwon Do. It was easy for me because I did TKD in the DR and I knew how to deliver all the kicks as TKD as well as in the style of Goju Ryu karate.
So when I went to this guy on the Post Road to learn Hapkido the first thing I said was, "I want to do this because I came to this country to be Bruce Lee. I want to be well balanced. I am good at Goju Ryu but I don't want to confuse what I learned. I want to be at least the equivalent of a brown belt."
But I could be the equivalent of a brown belt of any system if I wanted because that was my skill. I was born with it. I spent a lot of time in school but I devoted to this after my formal study for the love of it. I have 24 diplomas in all sorts of different fields. But I devoted myself to Martial Arts because its what I wanted to do. It was my obsession and my passion over anything else.
Now, all these writings and recordings that I am doing here are related to one thing. Respect. I love to have a belt from many different systems just to have it out of respect. But the fact is that belts are not so important for me, however, I like the respect of it. And that is one thing that I want people to understand. If someone offers me a belt, I want it. But at this moment I have a system. I have a system that I need and for me to accomplish my system and to leave it here; to give it to the world before I am gone I would need probably... easily, 10 lives. If I am going to be 90 years old then I need another 90, another 90, another 90 and so on in order to leave it.
 | |
| Calasanz and Tameyoshi |
We created our name by delivering 1 punch and 1 kick. A side kick that no one, no one could block and no matter who it would be, an MMA fighter in the UFC... we could apply that sidekick to any fighter beautifully. The System Kick we called it. A kick coming from a short distance with lightning speed and power with the heel. My guys just made people... you could call it shit. Maybe there is a different word that Alan can find but... that just made them... it was a kick delivered to the gut that just made them... you know. This is how we created the name. So we don't need so much about that, but again, respect.
Anybody tomorrow that contacts me, "Oh let me get a belt in your system." and I will spend 1 hour with you and give you a belt. But the belt is really not what is helping you. It is of course the time spent and what gets retained that is really important. Anyone can wear a belt, not everyone can throw a good kick. I don't have to do that but I respect those that love the Martial Arts. I respect those that love the Martial Arts and do the Martial Arts for real. No bull-shit.
Still I expect that this be written in a way that does not offend anyone. Bull-shit could be misinterpreted as someone who is not too good as a fighter but is good at teaching and helping kids to be confident at something. We don't criticize anyone. And certainly teachers such as that are not bull-shit. Martial Arts can be a lot of things.
It's like I told Kenny Lamara who said to me, "Calasanz, my kid goes to this school. I don't know why I didn't send him to you."
I said, "Kenny if you sent him to me he wouldn't be with me." He wouldn't have stayed with me because in those times I was tough on them. I was tough an anyone. It didn't matter their age or anything. So those schools over there that take their time to teach a kid just how to feel it. It's okay. Its okay. Good luck. It's like Bas Rutten said, "I respect you." You have a 3rd degree black belt in ____________, and I respect that. But I wouldn't respect you if you say now you're gonna step into the UFC or if you want to step into the ring with me because that would be an offense. You don't have to be a killer in order to have a black belt and have another Martial Art as a hobby. You don't have to be a killer. You can just be. You can enjoy. You can enjoy the Martial Art. You can do the Martial Art soft but you must be careful when you open your big mouth. [jokingly] You know, don't say that. But yes....
You know, this is what Bas Ruttan said. Alan, the minute you see and follow him you will be inspired by him. Every word that comes from his mouth is something that you want to save. He is one guy that is the same type as me. That is just logical. Everything works. Don't criticize some school because the guy just throws a kick and didn't do anything with the kick. No. They are enjoying that. You see? That helps them. That is what makes TKD today. That is why there is the big killer TKD and the other ones. Okay?
So that is related Alan, that is what I want and probably I give you some time tomorrow, I want that you write that and even words can come even from your own development; your own skill.
I respect.
I don't want belts. I do not want to learn anything. I just want to see if I can leave before I am gone to the world 10 to 15 percent of the most simple Martial Arts in the world. This is all I care about today. But I do care about respect. I do care about sharing with people and so on. This is what I want.
==========
Download The Calasanz System
Monday, May 5, 2014
Intuition and Self - Defense
Intuition is something that comes to us spontaneously by definition.
As defined it is :
1. the power of knowing immediately and without conscious reasoning
2. the power or faculty of gaining direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought
and inference
3. a natural ability or power that makes it possible to know something
without any proof or evidence : a feeling that
guides a person to act a
certain way without fully understanding why
As it applies to Self-Defense, upon finding ourselves in a compromised or violent situation there is little to no thought or conscious reasoning that needs be performed. In the act of fighting, or real combat, physical intuition takes full control. We can imagine graphing these moments on a continuum. On one end is the highest degree of 'mindlessness' and is most purely expressed during fits of "blind rage" or during "rage blackouts". Often times those who suffer from this type of anger problem report seeing a light at the end of a tunnel which then gets snuffed out and will then "come to" in time as the rage passes either after some act has occurred or, as we would hope to happen, the person has been subdued or restrained during the episode in the spirit of maintaining the safety of all parties and standers-by. The other end of the continuum is seen as complete and total submission or even paralysis like a deer in headlights.
While we all hope to never be in a situation where fighting were necessary it is an unfortunate reality that there are still those in this world with evil intent and ignorant directives sometimes even disguised as divine righteousness or civil privilege. So how can we prepare? How can you be ready?
Simple, you must train your body physically to be capable of reacting. Prior to physical confrontation you're going to need to give your physical body a tool-kit or some sort of background to fall back on should the mind get shut off. This is where Martial Art comes in. As you train Martial Art it is not for the purpose of going out and beating somebody up. It is for the purpose of sustaining your person in the event that your health and well-being may be compromised by another. It is to give the cells in your body a sort of physical memory or "physical intuition" should your consciousness flee in a time of severe distress. The body's physical cells do have a certain capacity to store memories of their own. To flush this out let's take a pianist to use as an example.
When someone first starts learning how to play they have to look and focus very hard on each keystroke to be sure they are producing what is written on their musical sheet. After some practice pressing the proper notes in proper order and on time becomes second nature. Now, if you ask the finger "Where is the 'G' key?" While it doesn't have the proper equipment to speak back to you to tell you "Its between the 'F' and the 'A'." It can perform the act of pressing the 'G' key easily, repetitively and on time when sitting down to play. No longer does he have to think about "Now I will press the 'G' key." every time he goes to press it. This finger now holds within it a certain 'physical intuition' as to where the 'G' key is and when it needs to be pressed to make the proper expression.
So getting back to Self-Defense we can perhaps understand a little bit now as to what is going on when you set out to learn a form or a certain style. You are giving your cells and your body a "physical intuition" on how they move, how to move and what they're capable of. If you go to practice a form 1000 times this is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Not only are you staying out of the Devil's play-pen for several hours, but you're putting in good work on yourself. You are improving your awareness and your ability. Just knowing what your body is capable of (or incapable of) is valuable information that could be the difference between a great counter-punch and getting knocked out. Mentally the benefits are there too. If you have the discipline and mental focus to perform something 1000 times, that strong mindedness is guaranteed to bleed into the other aspects of your life. Going through repetitions and movements to that degree will automatically make you more proficient and in tune with your body and all of your extremities. Your limbs. Your fingers. Your toes. Your trunk. Your brain. Your heart. Your entire body through and through.
So we train. We train to give ourselves a "physical intuition" that should a situation arise where physical confrontation is unavoidable we have some sort of tool-kit to fall back on. Whether that be Boxing, BJJ, Wing Chun, Karate, Aikido, Muay Thai, Krav Maga or some other Martial Art it is of little difference. The difference is if you have something to fall back on or if you are left floating on thin air.
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Getting back into intuition more closely the conscious-self is often well off the mark. But this should come as no surprise. As the definition tells us from before, intuition is the power of knowing prior to conscious reasoning. This implies an innate, natural and spontaneously, ever-presently occurring event that is "knowing without thought". The disrupting agent of intuition then is thought itself or conscious reasoning / "logic" / "rationality" (side note: rationality itself is often a perversion of reality in an attempt to accept and excuse partial or complete failure). Letting your intuition guide you is as difficult for some as hearing it. Many are deaf to its voice and more yet willingly disobey its selfless advice. At times I find myself included within that curious phenotype as I am learning. As we all are.
So listen to yourself, but at the same time remain critical. As the river of intuition flows on ever-more there are incredibly varying ways for it to reach the sea. While intuition as defined is "knowing prior to conscious reasoning" it is usually that which is most readily known that first pops up into thought.
Hark! Listen!
However, one must be wary as it is through both intuition and conscious reasoning that we can discover or recognize the river water as tainted. Duping one's self by exclaiming toxic water is pure is to hoodwink one's self and pretend it's a top hat. Moving forward still it is through changed action that we can purify the water, remove the hood and transform the flow of that river into the peaceful, transparent, shining image within our minds. Ebbing back again, our intuition alone is often smart enough to recognize a tainted flow and the crux again resides where it always has, in a willingness to really listen and truly pure, intuitive action.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Calasanz as an Instructor
Calasanz as an instructor has always had a unique and real way of training his students. Not only through teaching but also by making each of his students partially responsible and accountable for their own training and learning. Calasanz' approach to teaching created the fiercest and most feared competitors in the world of Martial Arts out of local, every-day people. It is simple fact that he could, can and did take anyone with the guts and dedication to achieve and made them superb Martial Artists. His system and style of teaching continues to evolve further beyond and above anything else out there as it always has incorporating Body, Mind and Spirit.
"Do not forget. Not everyone listens or wants to understand the real meaning of coming to a real and unique system like the Calasanz Physical Arts System." - Calasanz
You can research and answer for yourself how he did it. The way he created the name and the way he trained those who brought the name to the highest level of fighting was by using the people that he trained under intensive training programs. This means action. He did it by putting his most apt and well-trained students up against those who wanted to compete. It is an action based system and Calasanz always knew that discourse based learning within Martial Arts is severely limiting, is no way to become talented and will never make you superb outside of theory.
There are stories upon stories about Calasnaz' students. Those every day investors or scientists coming in looking for a hobby or to get an idea of how to defend themselves ended up being more skilled even than those training to compete. He would regularly pit competitors walking in against his students, even those with limited training, many of those training to compete would then buckle under the trauma of their iron shins, throw in the towel, or even end up hospitalized. Why? ...How? Because this is a system based on reality. Head movement. Power. Coordination. Technique. Grounding. Endurance. The results speak for themselves and show how Calasanz as an instructor knew how to do it then and knows how to do it even better today.
The methods. The training. They're effective. It's undeniable how capable and talented his pupils are and have become through their training and time spent here. The people, the history, the reality, they are impossible to ignore and cannot be dismissed. Understand, this is not like anything else ever seen before, at least on such a transparent and global level. This is the birth of a rooted, universal, modern and evolved Martial System happening before our very eyes without veil, smoke-screen or diversion. Sober up and open your eyes. Calasanz is not teaching some other person's system (although he has many he can draw from). He is creating one. His vast background of study, his lifetime of dedication to The Art, his extensive training and voluminous experience teaching thousands of others are actual facts, not fantastical stories. His experience and knowledge of the Martial Art is something that will be near impossible for anyone to surpass. Calasanz, with the revelation of his system, has completely let the cat out of the bag for the world to see and indeed it is a VERY big cat.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Calasanz Remembers Moy Yat
Taken from an audio Recording of Calasanz
==========
I remember I was looking for northern styles of Chinese kung fu. I already had read about Wing Chun Kung Fu and I knew that two of the main styles in China were Long Fist, that is Cheng Chuang Long Fist and of course Wing Chun I knew about because of Bruce Lee.
My friend Angel said to me, "No, no, no. Go to Moy Yat. He was a classmate along side Bruce Lee."
| Moy Yat |
"Okay, that's it for today." they said. I responded almost in disgust, "That's it for today? You must be kidding. You must not know who am I."
I started doing pushups, exercises... the incredible, doing all these things. They got angry, but they let me stay there.
You see, when I came to this country with that dream of being Bruce Lee nobody was going to stop me. Nobody stopped me. I was the craziest little bastard, little gorilla, chimpanzee, black cat, cheetah... unstoppable.
During my first few weeks at Moy Yat's school I became well known very quickly. People would come in to fight the Chinese; you know back then it was different from how it is now. I remember specifically two occasions. There was one guy, he must have been about 6' 4, easily 3 times my size. He came in and we ended up doing Chi Shuo. We were trapping and hitting each other for over an hour, but neither one of us said 'Uncle'. It was one of the only times I would take punishment, I delivered a fair share of punishment to him as well.
While I was doing Chi Shuo with this guy the Chinese were all around looking, talking, murmuring among themselves out of the sides of their mouths behind open hands. You see, at this point I was new at Moy Yat's school and didn't have any training in Chi Shuo, I was just reacting to him. Fortunately, I already had the necessary skills involved from training with George Wood. He would hold two sticks and I would rotate with the two sticks as he held them for me. So that gave me the ability of chi shuo. I must have ended up winning because the guy never came back.
The other occasion took place, when a guy came in, again, to fight the Chinese. He was sweeping and flipping them onto the floor like nothing. They were landing very hard. Luckily it was a wooden floor because they were landing very, very hard. He was unimpressed. "I come to Moy Yat and this is how they fight?" Understand, a lot of the people training there had never even seen the dummy, let alone hit it. They never did anything but Siu Nim Tau and rotating in chi shuo, so they couldn't take a shot, they could not fight. He came over to me and I said, "Try doing that to me. " When he came and delivered that kick to sweep me I did exactly what I did in the Dominican Republic. I grounded my leg. He came to sweep me but failed because I had grounded my leg so well and immediately I countered him.
You should have seen the Chinese when I came through the door the next day. They started whispering; I remember one lady, this one little girl in particular, I will never forget. She was the best of the best, probably only 75 pounds but she moved like a little cat. She watched me non-stop, but I hear her murmuring still to the others, 'wshewsewshs... 10th degree black belt.' as she looked at me out of the corners of her eyes. "This guy is black belt, he's 10th degree black belt, watch out for this guy shwhshsh." They just talked and talked and talked.
Later on, Jon, a guy who worked for Moy Yat and who was responsible for bringing some of the bigger names in Martial Arts at the time to the school, came to me and said, "Go talk to Moy Yat." So I went to the office and sat down there. Moy Yat tells me, "Calasanz, we already know the skill you have." He said, "Pay me this much and in 3 months you can teach, in one year you will have a certification and a picture with me." It was exactly like that.
I went directly to Steve James, my boss at Victoria Station. I said, "Steve, if you give me Saturday opening at 7 am and closing at 5 in the morning I can take wing chun with Moy Yat." At that point I was the number one bus boy / waiter / employee there. He said, "Of course Calasanz." And I worked. I worked all day and night, 22 hours. By the time it was 5 in the morning I had about 7 or 8 hundred dollars cash plus whatever my hourly pay was at the time. I had made the money for Moy Yat working at Victoria Station on a Saturday in just one day.
Here, this is a real story now. This is real. This is exactly how it happened. When I finished there I spent 3 days just hitting the dummy. I looked down at my arm there was nothing there. It's all gone, all the hair on my arm gone, the skin almost gone. It looked exactly how it looks when a snake peels its skin. All the skin is gone, just peeled. Think about it... hit the dummy for 1 day and still that is not going to happen. I spent three days hitting it. So now maybe you can understand what was the extent of the obsession that I had, that I hit the dummy enough to peel my arms entirely. That was me Mr. Alan. This is how, and that is the obsession that I had with being better than Bruce Lee.
Once I had completed that year we went to this cannoli place in Chinatown. He was supposed to bring the picture and the diploma but he must have forgotten them. Years later in 1988 I had him here for a seminar and even after calling him again and again to remind him, "Make sure you bring the diploma." he still didn't bring it. You know, maybe if we do everything we can it could be that it is still over there. Maybe someone in his family or someone over there has it because I know he would not break it or get rid of it.
Later on I figured out why he didn't want me to go and get the diploma. Previously I had paid him no insignificant sum of money for a video of him on a projector doing the 3 forms. Siu Nim Tao, Chum Kiu and Biu Tze. I have the projector sitting right here in my office. Not too long ago a good friend and long time student of mine, Mario, went to take a video of it from the projector so we could have it digital or whatever. Ends up that on it was one of his students, a child maybe 11 or 13 years old, who was studying there at the same time as me doing siu nim tao. So it wasn't even all three forms or done by him. I wouldn't mind getting the forms from a kid anyway but that was a lot of money for Moy Yat to do it. Anyway, probably he didn't want me coming and asking about that too if I went to get the diploma.
Moy Yat, he was a good instructor. He did what a good instructor does, you know. He realized who I was. He did not go and say, "Calasanz let me try to give you a lesson." and beat me up, not that he could have anyway at that point. I respect him but he never had the capacity of giving me a lesson like that. But he could have said that. Instead he called me and said, "I'm gonna teach you." That's what a good instructor does.
It's like me now. When I see someone like that, dedicated and has passion for the Art I don't go trying to beat them up. I want to raise them up. For example, now I am building some of the youngest and most well rounded martial artists, the youngest masters I call it. It's tremendous what someone with that sorts of mind-set, dedication, passion, desire and devotion to the Art is capable of learning and achieving even at a young age. It's Incredible.
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Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Calasanz' Contemporary Recounts the Past
"I was on the circuit myself for years and was competing in tournaments
and that's how I got to meet a lot of people throughout the country. Some
were real while some were just tackin' 'em in there."
An Ex-Instructor Describes His Experience with Calasanz
==========
Over the years we would host tournaments at the local YMCA for forms, fighting, weapons and breaking. Calasanz would perform in the breaking events to demonstrate his breaking ability which was pretty fantastic. He performed an incredible amount of breaks. At the time he did Ed Brown's tournament he did the most amount of breaks I have ever seen at any point in time in my life, it must have been some sort of record. I believe he broke a baseball bat with his shin and generally, anything I heard about Calasanz I usually took as true because I had seen what he would do and could do in real life.Ed would run these tournaments twice a year which would draw in the top competitors locally, and more than that. People would come from all over the North East. It gave the top competitors quality competition in those disciplines of: forms, fighting, breaking and weapons without having to travel into New York City. I first met Calasanz at one of these local tournaments.
Calasanz, as long as I've known has always been an innovator when it comes to martial arts. He was always working on developing new programs and classes; always trying to do something to better the martial arts. I remember he called me over to his school years ago to have a look at a new class he was running. He wanted to know what I thought about it. Today they call it "cardio - karate". He was an innovator of this and he had it going before all those names came out which I thought was really interesting, and again Mr. Calasanz as far as I was concerned was a quality, was a real martial artist. He was a guy that just kept doing, kept training, kept making his art and is someone I've always respected. He teaches martial art as something to be real, not just a place to pay money and get a 5th / 7th / 10th degree belt.
One of the hang-ups I had years ago was that you could have a school and if you were a real "traditional" martial arts instructor you weren't going to make any money. So a lot of those real teachers left the industry. The reason was that everyone wanted their kids to look like a black belt. They wanted their kids to be able to throw 55 different leg kicks. People didn't want to take the time to do what they needed. They needed forms, meditation, exercises... the real stuff.
Most places having anything to do with martial arts at that time was more for show and tell than anything else because it was such that in those times you could only survive by teaching a lot of kids, and that meant doing a lot of things that weren't so much the traditional way. There are still a lot of those places around that want to get 1000 students and keep them coming in for prizes [belts].
There were, however, at that time other instructors that really were teaching traditionally. I call them traditional martial artists, that really stuck to the old ways. They knew how a martial art was performed, how it was received and how it was really taught. I always think of "Karate Kid" you know, 'paint the fence'. I've always respected that Calasanz taught Martial Art as something to be real. But let's say you went to Japan to learn martial art. You would sit outside for months to get in and you would just sit outside waiting to get in.
So there was a difference between Martial Artists even before I was there. What I saw in Calasanz was a REAL martial artist. He was always real. He meant to perfect his craft, always trying to progress it.
He was a for real guy is what I am trying to say. A good guy. I really like him. He was one of the guys that had real fighting going on back then. He was having full contact fights at his school, [similar to MMA today], "Friday Night Fights" I think they called it. It wasn't so big because the laws of the times wouldn't allow you to openly do what they were doing; but I remember that at one time he was trying to get that going. The boxing commissioner was giving him the hardest time because they didn't want it to take away from Boxing's lime-light.
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