Not Wrong | Just Different

The best martial artists are those with open minds.  While every person has a style that speaks to them it is hard to be respected as a person or martial artist if there is not acceptance of others' ways and an openness to learning new approaches and methods.

It is commendable and demanding of respect when a person decides to dedicate themselves to a specific art and work within that sect of the martial arts community.  Yet it is deplorable when this same person scoffs and sneers at others efforts within a different sect.

While it is no doubt true that certain styles or approaches are more effective there is still validity within the practice of those so-called "less effective" styles.  Each person must decide for themselves why it is they practice.  After all, Bruce Lee did say that in the end all knowledge is self knowledge, including knowledge of martial arts.  Upon continued dedication the practitioner learns about himself in ways of which he was previously ignorant.  For example you will learn by taking just one kickboxing class how flexible / inflexible you are.

Getting back on point, when it comes to the different approaches, styles and training methods of different martial arts it is of course still another thing all together to come to blows and to fight.  That is to say that there can be a big difference between what you train for and the way a fight can go, especially out in the real world where there are any number of objects within the environment let alone the possibility of concealed weapons or firearms.

Now I could go on and say how useless it is for someone to spend their life learning empty hand forms and that they should instead take krav maga or Aikido to learn about disarming and control through joint manipulation.  But it would be against common sense to say that it is useless to learn a form.  For it has its own beauty and use there within.  Discipline, control, learning body mechanics through movement and developing strength, power, flexibility and muscle memory of technique and perhaps the public performance of this form would even inspire others to seek out and enjoy the world of martial arts.

So what is the best and most effective martial art?  It is a trick question.  First you must ask yourself, "What is my goal through practice?"  From there you poke around and decide which art is a good fit for you.  Take note now as well and don't let yourself get brainwashed as so many do within their own space.  The first martial art you dive into will forever be a large part of your life but don't let it weigh you down or cloud your mind when branching out to something new or conversing with someone with background in a different style.  There is much to be learned but it is difficult for that learning to occur through closed doors.

Take your knowledge from school to school always filling your cup more and more.  Remember what you learn and be open to receiving more and more.  Again, when two martial artists meet it is not that there is one wrong and one right.  They are simply different and it is through appreciation and acceptance of this difference that both can learn and grow.

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

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Exhausted Lifestyle and Unhealthy Diet Cause Depression to Be More Severe

You are exhausted but you have so many problems that you cannot afford to be exhausted, so what do you do?

It’s very simple, flip the switch to the “mental” part of your brain. Now that the mental part is active you must tell yourself four things:

“
- I am a determined person

-  I have desire

-   I can make decisions and

-    I have the passion to do what I do best.
”
Besides the mental, another thing must be on your mind and that is the "physical". If you only turn on the mental, you will probably be able to function for a while but eventually you will crash at some point because that physical part is turned off.

When the physical is turned off it means you are weak, unhealthy, and you are going back to being exhausted or easily exhausted. With this it is all getting worse and it is getting so bad that it is bringing you down into depression.

We do not take depression as seriously as we should, it is one of the worst illnesses a human can have.

When a person is depressed, life means nothing to them. 

A depressed person could hear about another person jumping off a bridge; to the depressed person it is just something that happened and it has no effect on them at all.  That is because their brain is not functioning the way it should. There is no mental control, they are still unhealthy, they are still eating bad food, and they cannot look and see forward; that there is life ahead of them.  If a very depressed person could see just a small sample of their future they would not do anything to cause themselves harm but usually by the time they realize they made a mistake, it is too late.

For example, if a depressed person decides to take his or her own life by jumping off a bridge, that feeling in the air must be a terrorizing one. If someone could freeze time and suspend that person in mid air and give them the choice again that person would choose to go back and not jump.

Being healthy, meaning having a good diet and exercising regularly, is a huge step in the right direction towards helping people to better cope with depression.

You can be a very determined person with desire, talent and lots of passion, but if you are unhealthy because you do nothing physically sooner or later you will crash and burn. Crashing is like going into depression, besides, when you crash it means that a hint of depression already existed in you to begin with.  

But that's okay!  Depression is very common and it manifests itself in different ways and can crop up for many different reasons including through something as simple as inaction!  And if you are suffering, or think you might be suffering from depression please don't hesitate to seek professional help!  Remember, seeking the help you need is a sign of strength, not weakness!  It is popular now for people to correct the imbalance through chemical medication and it is a testament to the creativity and brilliance of the human mind that such a development in the field of medicine is even possible.  Some might even say a miracle.  While it may be a necessary, helpful and a 100% proper solution for some it is not a blanket solution and should not be taken lightly!  Mind altering drugs are just that and the full extent of their impact is truly hard to judge keeping in mind the existence of unknown unknowns on top of all the scientific evidence that may or may not be available.  

In the end one must weigh the pros and cons for themselves and act accordingly.

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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"

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Calasanz Martial Arts

507 Westport Avenue

Norwalk, CT 06851

203-846-3321
203-847-6528

Prevention and Longevity

"As you go along you'll probably find this a very very nice topic to write because it helps people to understand that we are not just martial artists or whatever. We are people who know more than just that. Live longer. Prevent."

Taken from an audio recording of Calasanz

==========

You know, there is something that I respect in the way my Father thinks and in the way his mind works.  He's always had the belief of preventing problems.  He's the kind of guy who would do whatever it takes to prevent a tragedy.  If he has to yell he's going to yell.  If he has to spank he's going to spank.  Just prevent at all costs.  And I respect that.  His approach is just completely logical and then, even if an accident happens he has a mindset that I just respect.

Okay.  You're going to love this.  When I was young, about 10 years old, I would go to gather wood.  At that point there wasn't the prevalence of technology that there is today.  I would take the machete, chop the wood and bring it home to make a fire so that we could cook.  I probably had about five years like that before technology started appearing all over and finally reached all these places.  And just to get you a perspective, just to let you know we were living at that time as middle class without a stove.

So I went out to gather some wood.  I got to the tree and started cutting.  For just one swing I was not paying attention 100% and  *Boom*  I chopped my hand below the thumb.  The blade nearly went clean through.  My entire thumb was opened up and I held it bleeding as I ran home.



Now, if I went to my mother she would be screaming and crying "Oh my God! My son is going to die! Oh my God!  Oh my God!"  But my father, in his own kind of genius reacted differently.  He took my hand immediately, "Let me see."  he said.  And went to work.

"Hold on Jose.  That is nothing.  It's already done, we're gonna cure."  he said almost shocked that I wasn't screaming or anything.  He goes and takes salt, lemon, a variety of medicinal tree extracts or whatever and wraps it up.  My entire thumb was open, almost completely gone.  I did not care what he did.  I had already cut it.  He dressed it with those things, wrapped it up to protect it and within three days I was healed.  No scars, no marks no nothing.  No doctors, no anastesia.  You know, it was like the Wild West or the Revolutionary War where they would amputate or treat or whatever.

Hah, I can hear my mother now screaming, "Oh my God!  Oh my God my son is dying!" and my father yelling back.  "Shut up!  It's already done!  Now we're gonna cure!  What?!  No screaming!  No crying!  For what?!  It's already done!"

So, that is the mindset of my father and I respect that about him a lot.

So these are the facts about preventing.  You do everything you can to prevent, but when something goes completely wrong you jump and get to fixing it.

It's like when I spoke with you about depression.  People don't take it seriously.  Your parents see you depressed and they say, "Ah, get yourself to work."  Look, if you see your kids depressed, you jump.  If you see your friend depressed, you jump.  Do something.  Depression is the worst illness on the face of the Earth but nobody cares.  Anxiety is the same.  Why?  Because everybody one way or the other gets depressed.  Everybody one way or the other gets anxiety.  But did your mother ask you, "How long does your anxiety last?"  Did she ask you how long the depression lasts?

Look, right now if I get depressed I'm gonna kick it out in 10 minutes.  Why?  Because I am in shape.  Being in shape and eating well gets you out of that.  But what about if you are eating like shit?  Those people when they get depressed how long does it last?  1 day?  2 days?  A week?  Months?  Longer than that?  What about people born to be depressed?  Still their parents don't care until they drop dead or kill themselves or whatever.

You remember that I mentioned to you about J.S.? [Name abbreviated for privacy]  She's the only lady that in 1 day learned the entire 20 arm dummy.  I tried with Charles but I had to stop because his mind was blowing up.  J.S. 's mind was going and going and going and going and going and going.  She is the daughter of one of those famous inventors from Westport.  Since she was 15 I would call her all the time.  "Are you okay?  Are you okay?"  She was the first in her family to train Martial Arts with me and then she told me about her mother.  They called her the most beautiful person in Westport.  She was like a model.  Beautiful but depressed.  Divorced.  I could never get her here.  I told you before about her.  The day I scheduled her was on Monday and I had her scheduled for Thursday morning I believe about 10 o'clock.  So she had several days to get it together and get here.  I was waiting and waiting and waiting.  I tried to get her here earlier but I decided just to wait.

That same day, I believe, was the day that she hanged herself.

I was calling and calling and calling.  7 days later was when they found her.  Up to today I believe that if she would have opened the door and trained with me she would still be alive today.  If her daughter, J.S., would not have come over here for 3 or 4 years probably she would not be alive today.  Not long ago she called me, "Calasanz I am working out.  I am good.  I am healthy and eating well."  J.S. is going to be about 35 this year I believe.

 Okay?  So preventing.  Preventing.

Another example.  It just happened here in town locally.  Three kids just in high school died.  This is the thing that makes me angry, seeing how they died.  These kids were doing everything right, wearing seat belts, not drinking.  Probably the only thing was they didn't have parents telling them, "When its snowing go in the right lane.  Don't follow the trucks when it's snowing.  They have good tires and you do not.  They don't care, they just have a destination.  Stay safe.  Don't go so fast that if you start to slide you cannot stop the car because if you do you know you're going to crash." or whatever.  You know...  Probably I couldn't go on the road because I'd drive so slow everybody would be honking, "Hey move it!" slamming their horns.

You will see it.  If you go to channel 12 you will see it.  People doing it just like that.  It's snowing and slippery and everyone is going 40 or 50 miles per hour.  Some maybe more.  If it's snowing and slippery I don't care what sorts of tires I have, I would go 30... 20... 25... 15... heck, probably I would leave the car behind and go walking.  I'm gonna prevent that accident.  But is that a real life to live?  Probably not, but that is my belief that parents do not talk to their kids about preventing or at least not enough.  Parents must go reminding at all times.  There was no reason for that accident of those three kids.  Now one kid, very popular, from Staples is dead at what... 17?  18?  And two more of his friends.

I remember when I left the farm to go to the city.  About 90% of the children followed me and came with me.  That was the love that the people in my community had for me.  When I got to the city my father would be calling at all times.  "Don't do this.  Be careful.  Don't go to that place.  If you go, you go protected.  Go with someone.  Okay, be careful, be careful, be careful.  But remember if they call me that you are sick, or you have an accident the first thing I'm going to ask is, 'Does he live?'"  If yes, okay he would get onto the horse or into the car depending where he is immediately and go.  If somebody would call him that I had an accident that wasn't prevented or whatever, "Okay, I'll be there in the next 2 days or so."

Thinking on this topic I am reminded of one of my friends.  One of my best students, P.M. [name abbreviated for privacy]  He was one of the first to invest in my school, in my name.  He was from a family in New Canaan.  This guy was the best guy.  Alan, he did it all for me.  I mean the guy just loved me.  He would drive me wherever , hold boards, he'd do anything for me.  And for me to know that he is dead because the family gave up on him.  It's very hard to take.  He was into carpentry with one of the best families in the town, but his family did not care.  When I finally heard that he overdosed I called the family and they hung up the phone on me because they gave up on him.  "Better of dead." they said.  They said, "You die or put it together."  And it was very hard to take.  The family gave up on him.

This is America you see?  When you are in the DR it's a different story than being an American.  In America they just move on.  They let you go.  They take care of you at first but if you go doing drugs they're gonna try to help you.  They're gonna try.  But it gets to a point that the typical American person is gonna say, "You know what?  Survive.  If you survive and use your brain then you're gonna be very successful."

If I have a kid I'm gonna try.  I'm gonna try to do the best I can and never give up. 
If I give up it's because I'm gonna put him in jail or... I'm not going to say it here...

So you see, that is my belief.  If I'm gonna give up could be that I say, "You know what son, I want you dying happy.  What is that you're doing?"

"Dad, I'm addicted to drugs."

"How much drugs do you want today son?"

"Dad I want one pound."

"Oh.  Here you are.  Come get it.  Do you want to take it all at once?"

You know.  Like that.

But when it comes to the American approach there's something very smart about it.  You know, some one just being in that condition, being depressed or an addict or whatever, they can bring 3 or 4 people with them.  You can kill your mother.  You can kill your dad.  You can kill your sister.  Even when they are just trying to cure you.

And that is a smart way if you look at how Americans work.  If you look at it, it is not that they are doing something very wrong.  All they're saying is, "All of us are going to drop dead trying to cure you because we feel that you don't have a cure.  So what about if we survive and we let you decide for your life."  Nothing is wrong with that.  But my judgement is that I do not give up.  And when I give up then I want the person to go happy.

Today I am part of one of the largest families in the DR.  In my family I was one of eleven children and now all of my sisters have 3 or 4 kids and my brothers all with children of their own.  Then we can count the grandchildren, probably there are 35 or more in our family in all and up to today it is a pure family.  There hasn't been one tragedy.  No one has been in trouble with the police or the law or whatever.  It is a pure family to this day and all is based on one thing:  

Preventing.

==========  

Inspired by: Calasanz

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.

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

So I went to Moy Yat.  I went to his school in China Town and immediately paid $50 dollars.  They put me in front of the mirror...  I remember it so clearly.  We were in front of the mirror and they put me into a stance like a pigeon, the traditional Wing Chun stance, and showed me the first few techniques.  The lesson was Tan Shuo, with the left hand, heun, and chamber and then the same with the right hand.

"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.

*Boom*  

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.


So I paid Moy Yat what he asked along with a $500 dollar fee which was what he charged anyone just to touch the dummy.  Normally nobody can see the dummy.  It was kept in a back room; maybe you could see it looking through a crack in the door, but it was kept away from the main area.  The minute anyone gave him the payment he led them to the room, took a key and locked the door.  I remember he led me there and locked the door and turned to me and said, "Okay Calasanz.  Now we go."  I'll never forget that.  At this point I am being trained privately by Moy Yat.  A lot of people who used to go there say, "But I never saw Calasanz there."  It's because I was in the back room working on the dummy.  The first day he gave me 'section 1' of the dummy and said, "Do section 1 as many times as you can.  Spend one week on section 1, then I can give you the entire dummy in 1 day if you want."  Exactly like that.

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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Alignment through Bodily Awareness and Martial Art

It is no secret that Bodily Awareness and Martial Art go hand in hand.  From continued practice any student can develop proprioception, exteroception, balance and grounding to an astounding degree over time.

Hand-eye coordination will become greatly enhanced.  Awareness will be amplified.   Awareness not only of yourself but also of your surroundings will pour in and be reflected through your action.  Confidence will radiate from you naturally through how you carry yourself.

When it comes to Calasanz' Physical Arts exercises these qualities are being absorbed and developed during concentrated and focused training.  Again, you must be careful.  As you train pay attention to your body and the signals it is giving you.  While a bit of "pain" normally accompanies the exertion and eventual exhaustion of muscles and tendons it is important to remain cognizant of what is too much or too far or too incorrect.  Stubbornness, ignorance and negligence will lead to injury.  Train smart.  Listen to your body.  Make adjustments.  Keep your wits about you and do not take anything on blind faith or false belief alone.  Revisit your technique regularly with honesty and integrity towards improvement and perfection.

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Evaluate Your Training and What to Look For to Find A Quality Instructor

When we talk about someone that is new to martial art and 'shopping around' for a quality instructor or simply looking to avoid an inexperienced one we are talking about someone who has little to no idea of what they are really looking for and often not even conscious of what to avoid.  We can make the analogy of a carpenter who is first trying his hand at musical composition with no concept of rhythm, harmony, tune or time.

What do you look for in an instructor?  Is it size?  Is it ability?  Is it personality?  Do you wonder if they really are knowledgeable?  Are their techniques sporadic or is there a certain degree of control?  Are you actually learning something useful from your instructor? ...CAN you learn from your instructor?

One should remember that even as an eager student attending a martial arts center one must remain a diligent consumer of self-thought and critical thinking.  One must verily be an active participant in his training FROM DAY ONE.  While submission to an instructor is a necessary step in order to create the "teacher <> student / student <> teacher" relationship it is not necessary to remain submissive or blindly faithful should the training bring about a grave disagreement, or culminate into either direct or indirect permanent bodily harm.

Should this occur we are now talking about either an inexperienced instructor or a new student not caring about what they do to another human being.  So be aware, and remember there are always more schools and more instructors out there.

For example, here at Calasanz Physical Arts we have always taught training without brutality.  There is, however, a long history of military and police personnel training here.  Some of them have been kind and dedicated enough to help at our school.  As officers, of course, they rise to the occasion.  They are trained to be like that.  To be a force.  They have to be like that.  They have to have courage.  Two officers, each about 250 / 260 pounds were working out together in the ring one day and tried to perform a suplex without any instruction, training, or practice one of these giant men tried to lift the other above his head and fall backwards.  Calasanz says, "When I captured that from the office I just could not believe it."





They tried it once.








Still to this day we are told by other officers that still they suffer.  Probably that day the officer completely lost his life of fitness.  This sort of technique experimentation and training that was brutally done without thinking took his entire life of fitness away from him.  Probably he was never physical again, but to this day the guy does not complain.

And we have more stories like that.  Another example was with a Kyokushinkai instructor.  Not that he did anything wrong, its just that he trained Kyokushinkai.  Kyokushinkai guys are different.  An instructor would have no qualms about tossing a student down 5 feet onto his head on hard concrete and the student would practically be expected to get up and say "Thank you.  Thanks for that."

But the people, especially new people, are not ready for that.  This instructor lined up several students.  If you don't know, the Kyokushinkai guys during class would yell, "HOLD THE BREATH!"  and then as the students are standing there would deliver hard punches to them just standing there.  So our instructor did that with a line of students.  Two of the students ended up on the floor.  Two wonderful private students, gone...  Never came back.

Let this be a reminder to those just getting in-to martial art or looking to get started.  Keep your head on your shoulders and be sure to really agree with the training that you are signing up for.  And for those already in the mix, be sure you agree with the training that you are currently doing.

 

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Calasanz Origins : Childhood in the DR

Taken From An Interview with Calasanz

For any of those who know Calasanz or have spent time with him personally know how his mind works.  Here he has recounted a bit of his history and childhood growing up for us to delve a bit deeper into his personality and past so we might better understand where he came from and who he is.

 

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"When you go to interview my family in the Dominican Republic, probably someday you will go there.  You will find out when they tell you that since the age of 3 I was a grown up guy.  I didn't dance with the little girls.  No, I danced with the 15, 20, 30 years old girls.  You see this little baby dancing with the grown ups.  ... I remember that. I remember me moving like a little... like I didn't even know where I was.  Everyone there they must have been out of their minds watching me.

How can anyone believe this?  There would be parties and there I was, a kid, and you are gonna have a party with the kids over playing around and then there is Jose.  Calasanz is at the party with the adults.  You don't find him at the party with the kids because he cannot be around kids, he was already beyond.  There he was at the party being around with the adults.

How I can talk to a kid? A kid was too stupid, too dumb.  "Look at that.. you're dumb... what is this you kids are playing with?  A doll? ...No, go take up the machete and work.  Milk the cow, go and harvest a plant, cut the tree.  This was me even at that young age. 

There was me, this little baby planting trees, coconuts... Still I believe my father has coconut trees that I planted there as a child.  "The minute I saw rain coming I would grab my father's tools and go to plant."  My mother couldn't find me around the house. 


So I was grown up as a kid since day one.  I could have done anything, anything at the age of 3, be whatever I wanted, anything I wanted already. 


O my god O my god O my god O my god.  I cannot fucking believe this what I am remembering now.  Make sure that when you get to this point you probably write about it because... you know that when I went to school they sent me to the afternoon.

When I was sent to school my teacher Natalia moved me immediately to the afternoon class.  In my town, Jessica, we had a school and the older kids would wake up to work on the farm and attend school in the afternoon while the younger kids would go in the morning.

I was different, I went directly to the afternoon class for the older kids.   The younger kids were taught during the morning hours and I was probably 4 or 5 years old.  On the farm at that age you get up in the morning to go to school and then after 1, 2 or 3 years you mature a bit and go to the afternoon. Not this guy. This guy was immediately transferred to the afternoon because he could not be with the kids because I could never talk to a kid.

They couldn't put me with the kids because mentally I was an adult already.  You see?

 

 

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Taken from an Audio Recording of Calasanz

Commit Yourself To REAL Learning and REAL Fitness

Calasanz Explains His Approach to Training : Commitment

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

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"The reason that I work through commitment is that I don't like to hold anything back.  I am not Chinese or Japanese.  I am not Asian.  I like to give it to you to take it home with you.  I like to give it to you without holding back. That is one of the reasons why I teach anyone.


"Look, if you are going to spend 12 or 15 thousand dollars a year training here privately I am going to make sure that you learn.  But besides that, anyone can train with me for less; it's all based on what they get, how they get it and how much they get in a way that they can do it themselves.


"That is the way I work.  By commitment.  If you commit to a 1 year program under me I will  train you.  If you are committed I will give everything to you, I don't care anymore.  But remember, I train you not just by leading you, not just by sitting down and leading you.  We can do it that way if you like.  I can give you a personal trainer for half an hour once a week.  I can give you that even for one hour.  The person will lead you and you will get a good workout, and get fit.  But me, I don't work like that, I don't lead anyone because then I am not really teaching them.  But this is the American way... and this is what is called private training.  Lots of people spend tons of money every year because they don't want to think.  They just want to be led.  Which is good, but that does not mean that tomorrow if they stopped going to their trainer that they know anything.  By doing it that way they don't learn or know how to be responsible and do it themselves.  And that is not the Ancient or Asian or Oriental way.


"So I work under commitment.  You see with a commitment I can teach anyone.  For example, if I give someone 3 techniques per month for one year at the end of the year they will have 36 techniques.  Do you know how much 36 techniques is if you're doing it for one year on the 20 arm wooden dummy or the traditional wooden dummy?  What else do you need?  By that time you have accomplished everything you need to fight.  Again, it is not how many forms or katas or movements you learn, it is how often you are active and continue to do those movements.

"Another example : hitting the dummy creates endurance.  You can have that endurance with only 5 or 6 movements, which was what I did or what I was doing before I even knew that Wing Chun existed.  I was known as the guy being all over the place, hitting the tree.  I was known even on the farm and most of the kids knew me and saw me getting ready for a fight just hitting a tree or a pole.  I didn't know that I was doing Wing Chun.  There is a secret over there, that if people discover that 'secret' the game is up.

"That is one of the reasons that when I was training in New York City with Moyat... a story I repeat over and over...  I would go over there and I would over power everybody.  I had more endurance than anyone over there from my time hitting and hitting.  The other students had all the techniques and they would touch me all over the place using Wing Chun, but they had no power, no endurance.  Moyat wouldn't allow them even to see the dummy; and there is no Wing Chun without the dummy.  Ip man knew only 3 sections of the dummy and a little bit of Siu Lim Tau when he became the champion in Hong Kong.  Because he trained by repeating sections 1, 2 and 3 on the dummy over and over and over for hours and hours and hours.

"One thing that I say is that I don't take ANYTHING to the grave.  I leave it here because I know what I have and I know what I could have been by now if I had been organized.  You see, there are thousands of people who are good.  That doesn't mean that just 1 person is good "Oh yeah, Calasanz is good. No body else, everybody else is bad." No, far from it.  There are millions of good talented people around.  Millions of champions.  You know?  So, commitment is my way.  I like to get people committed so they can learn and develop.  That they can really get something out of their time here.  I hope that by the time that I get a little older that I can have that established like it used to be.


"I used to have a minimum of 3 years commitment to the school.  This gave me the time to really teach someone my martial arts.  You know, it used to be very expensive, but only very expensive for those that could pay.  For those who could not pay they would compensate by going and promoting the name by fighting and competing; so they almost got it for free.  That was how I created one of the most scary and reputable names in the mid 80's, by training those who could use it and go to represent me.  And they did.  And they won.  The guy who pays doesn't want to represent anyone.  He just wants to learn and to be in shape.  So... that is why I prefer to train by commitment.

"I will work with anyone and they don't have to spend ludicrous amounts of money.  But, if they want me to lead them then we are back to the old way.  Up until about 2008 I trained people and it was very expensive.  But now I've reworked the prices and the programs and we are back... if you train 1 on 1 at the upper level you are going to pay good money per hour.  That is the rules, that is just simple.  How many people are out there as personal trainers and say, "Oh I charge $250 per hour to sit down and tell a person, 'Lift.  Do curls.  Go use that machine.'" ... Great... Great learning... $250 an hour.  There are a lot of people who still do that, and there are even more people that still pay for it.

"What I give people when they train with me for one hour, it doesn't even compare.  I remember that when someone came in who I wanted to sign as a 1 on 1 student all I had to do was tell them, 'Today I'm going to give you 1 hour at the value of $380; then you tell me at the end if you want to do a private program or not.  Just talk to me after.'  Probably 90% of the people that I have done that with end up signing and making the commitment in order to get it at half or one third the price.

"But... what will you get in those hours?  You are taught to learn, to be coordinated.  Just now I am training a girl.  She has it all.  What I did for that girl in 2 weeks is the equivalent of what any other school would give her over 2 years.  A guy who has trained with me a long time came in while I was mid-session with her and he didn't know how long she has been training here.  I asked him, "Hey [N].  How long do you think she has been training here?" As she was training, kicking and punching in front of him.  He said, "5 years?  4 years?" and I said, "No, 2 weeks."  I did that for her.  I had plans for her to do a solo commercial for us.  Just her.  It was going to be played on T.V.  But then... Good news Bad news.  After doing those two weeks of hard work with her she found out that her college owns her.  She has a scholarship through her college rowing team and they own her.  So unfortunately she cannot do that for me.

"So that is the story of commitment.  I can do anything.  I can do anything in the martial art.  I can take you further than ever and further than anyone else.  Another example, Joe a young student here, his father signed him up for 3 months.  I said, "Give me a year membership and I will train your kid privately.  Otherwise he can come at 7 o'clock at night for the group classes."  He replied, "No, no, no Calasanz I will sign him up for the year."  and then he got trained by me.  So, that is what is going on.  Understand.  Commitment.  You want to see a change in your kid?  You want to see a change in yourself and you don't want to complain that you spend 7, 8, 10, 15, 20 thousand dollars?  Commit yourself to a period of time that I can have to work with you and you will see that change.  In that time you will understand what real fitness training, real martial art and real learning is."

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Calasanz Physical Arts                                         www.calasanz.com
Norwalk, CT 06851
507 Westport Avenue
203-663-6651
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Taken from an Audio Recording of Calasanz
Transcribed and Developed by Alan Wedell 

News Flash! Karate and Kung Fu : Not So Different

Teaching Traditionally

Don't Teach : Teach How To Learn

Transcribed from an Audio Recording of Calasanz

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I just finished with a student, [we will call him R for privacy].  R is a guy who comes and works out over here and has signed up on a 3 month commitment.  He comes here to work out several days a week.  I go giving him several techniques every other day or so.  He already has about 9 techniques on the 20 arm wooden dummy.  Today I went to teach him one of the techniques where you go into a front stance and block with the bong shou.  He has to get into a front stance and block using the bong shou block, the middle block.  In karate middle block is a bong shou.  In Chinese Wing Chun bong shou is a middle block.

Bruce Lee called it the intercepting fist.  You block the fist then you attack.  It's also known in Wing Chun as Lop Sau.  As I explain to him for about 2 minutes and repeat the movement for him he is looking directly at my eyes, and I am watching that.  When I told him to go ahead and replicate it I watched as he went and did something completely differently.  I mean, he went and did something really, very different.

Wing Chun : Bong Shou

Karate : Middle Block

I said, "R... How you could have gotten that, because you were watching straight to my eyes."  It's like Bruce Lee said, "Don't concentrate on the finger or you lose all the heavenly glory."  You have to look, visualize, observe and capture the entire person.

Now, I said to him as a joke, "You want to bet?  You know what, we're gonna bet.  I need 10 dollars, we're gonna bet 10 dollars because I need it for food."  So he laughed and then I said, "All you gonna do is that you're gonna go into a front stance.  Look and visualize me.  Now, bring the right hand to block the fist.  And that is all you're gonna do, in a front stance."  It took about 10 to 15 seconds.  He went to perform it again; this time it was perfectly done.


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This is a little example about what traditional learning is except as you can see we are speeding up the process.  The Chinese Master would teach the student a technique.   If the student did it wrong he would not teach the student more and would order so many more iterations of the technique until the student became exhausted, gave up, or became proficient and got it right.  The master knowing all-the-while that even just spending that time has improved not only the student's ability to perform the technique & kept the student working out all day; but has also given the student a slew of physical benefits increasing endurance, balance, flexibility and coordination just to name a few.  Here we don't want to waste that time.  We have the best exercises and movements for these benefits and will teach them to you such that you learn it well enough to take it home with you.

Ancient Techniques with a Modern Approach at:

Calasanz Physical Arts
Norwalk, CT 06851
507 Westport Avenue
203-663-6651

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