"Sometimes the mentor needs mentoring!"
-Master Samuel DeJesus
One of my personal mentors, Master Samuel DeJesus was preparing for his 5th Degree Black Belt test. I was so excited for him! It's a goal I have set for myself in three years from now. Every person who tests for Black Belt finds a new mastery within themselves for each Black Belt test they take. The journey to Black Belt is a personal journey for each individual. What you put into it, what it represents, and what you learn is totally different for each person.
For me personally my first Black Belt test was mastering the basics. I learned the very broad view of what basics covered not only physically but mentally. My 1st Degree test was about my technique, the improvement I made in my technique in such a short time was incredible and it set the stage for what I was to master going toward my 2nd Degree which was the master of mindset. The 3rd Degree was about mastering Self, as my training took a brand new turn in a psychoanalytic perspective. And 4th Degree was mastering the art. I think my training toward 5th Degree for me is Master of Spirit.
I love Master DeJesus. He is fierce in training mode, but has a very good, kind, and light heart. He trains for his students and pushes himself so he can push them. If he does not grow, his students won't grow, and I have the very same philosophy. He trains in other martial arts that compliments different aspects of his training. And for every Black Belt test, we say "Expect the unexpected."
And that's what Master DeJesus did for his upcoming 5th Degree Black Belt test which he was preparing for under Master Balon. One of the challenges he set for himself was to learn the I.T.F traditional Black Belt forms, just in case he was asked to do them on his test. You never know what a 7th Degree like Master Balon could ask! He pulled a "Balon surprise" on my 4th Degree test, taking out his old 4th Dan and tested us on whether we could decipher old names of techniques and present them to him. It was fun, but an example of expect the unexpected!
I have to say, I was honored to help Master DeJesus, but I was also thrilled. First off, it's not every day you get to work with a Master like he and teaching a master something is so different then teaching an everyday student. The mindset is different, the amount being done is different, the way it's being explained is different, the material in itself is being taught different.
I think when training under Sifu and mentoring under Master Balon, that was an eye opener for me. Sifu was teaching me beginning Hung Ga Kung Fu but as a 4th Degree Black Belt, much of the conceptual aspects that takes years of beginning training to grasp. When I train with Master Balon, he teaches me in such great detail but challenges my thinking to understanding how different types of learners and levels would understand the same material. It was very eye opening to me.
SO Master DeJesus was right on the money in how to prepare himself for his test and he wanted to challenge himself by learning as much of the Black Belt traditional I.T.F forms. He knew the three 1st Degree forms, and he was familiar with a few other ones, but he relearned them. We did the four 2nd Degree Black Belt forms.
Now up to this past year, Andrew Kranich was the only person I taught Choong Jang, the second of the 2nd Degree Black Belt forms. I have never taught these traditional higher ranking forms to anyone before, with the exception of a 3rd Degree form to George Valentino. Master DeJesus never knew the third 2nd Dan form, Ko Dang, and he is the first person I have ever taught it to.
When doing my forms, I can actually go through my whole life timeline. I remember where I was in my lifetime when I learned these forms, practiced these forms, who I taught these forms too, etc. Ko Dang was the last form my original master taught to me before I began teaching myself the forms on my own. The last of the 2nd Dan forms, Juche, Master DeJesus was familiar with, but he was also the first person I had ever taught it to, and it was the first form I ever taught to myself when training on my own.
I was getting a lot of deja vu and going through a time portal, while simultaneously enjoying practicing forms with my mentor. We also began the 3rd Degree forms, Sam Il being the first one which he has never done, and he's the first person I taught it to. He was familiar with Yoo Sin, the second one. And he learned Choi Yong, the last of the 3rd Degree forms. I even taught him the first of the three 4th Dan forms, Yong Gae.
Do you realize how many forms that is and how many techniques he had to learn within one week? It was about 400 techniques in a particular sequence and order. Some people have trouble remembering less than 20! But that's why he's the master!
But I also enjoyed getting to hear about Master DeJesus's past training and Black Belt tests. You don't get to hear other people's experiences sometimes. I love hearing about other people's journeys from testing and how they became to be who they are now and where they are now. I continued to be excited for him, and inspired to see him go for his 5th Degree test. He sent me a text thanking me one day and said "Even mentors need mentoring." I was flattered. =D
Yours in service,
MASTER TRENTO
For me personally my first Black Belt test was mastering the basics. I learned the very broad view of what basics covered not only physically but mentally. My 1st Degree test was about my technique, the improvement I made in my technique in such a short time was incredible and it set the stage for what I was to master going toward my 2nd Degree which was the master of mindset. The 3rd Degree was about mastering Self, as my training took a brand new turn in a psychoanalytic perspective. And 4th Degree was mastering the art. I think my training toward 5th Degree for me is Master of Spirit.
I love Master DeJesus. He is fierce in training mode, but has a very good, kind, and light heart. He trains for his students and pushes himself so he can push them. If he does not grow, his students won't grow, and I have the very same philosophy. He trains in other martial arts that compliments different aspects of his training. And for every Black Belt test, we say "Expect the unexpected."
And that's what Master DeJesus did for his upcoming 5th Degree Black Belt test which he was preparing for under Master Balon. One of the challenges he set for himself was to learn the I.T.F traditional Black Belt forms, just in case he was asked to do them on his test. You never know what a 7th Degree like Master Balon could ask! He pulled a "Balon surprise" on my 4th Degree test, taking out his old 4th Dan and tested us on whether we could decipher old names of techniques and present them to him. It was fun, but an example of expect the unexpected!
I have to say, I was honored to help Master DeJesus, but I was also thrilled. First off, it's not every day you get to work with a Master like he and teaching a master something is so different then teaching an everyday student. The mindset is different, the amount being done is different, the way it's being explained is different, the material in itself is being taught different.
I think when training under Sifu and mentoring under Master Balon, that was an eye opener for me. Sifu was teaching me beginning Hung Ga Kung Fu but as a 4th Degree Black Belt, much of the conceptual aspects that takes years of beginning training to grasp. When I train with Master Balon, he teaches me in such great detail but challenges my thinking to understanding how different types of learners and levels would understand the same material. It was very eye opening to me.
SO Master DeJesus was right on the money in how to prepare himself for his test and he wanted to challenge himself by learning as much of the Black Belt traditional I.T.F forms. He knew the three 1st Degree forms, and he was familiar with a few other ones, but he relearned them. We did the four 2nd Degree Black Belt forms.
Now up to this past year, Andrew Kranich was the only person I taught Choong Jang, the second of the 2nd Degree Black Belt forms. I have never taught these traditional higher ranking forms to anyone before, with the exception of a 3rd Degree form to George Valentino. Master DeJesus never knew the third 2nd Dan form, Ko Dang, and he is the first person I have ever taught it to.
When doing my forms, I can actually go through my whole life timeline. I remember where I was in my lifetime when I learned these forms, practiced these forms, who I taught these forms too, etc. Ko Dang was the last form my original master taught to me before I began teaching myself the forms on my own. The last of the 2nd Dan forms, Juche, Master DeJesus was familiar with, but he was also the first person I had ever taught it to, and it was the first form I ever taught to myself when training on my own.
I was getting a lot of deja vu and going through a time portal, while simultaneously enjoying practicing forms with my mentor. We also began the 3rd Degree forms, Sam Il being the first one which he has never done, and he's the first person I taught it to. He was familiar with Yoo Sin, the second one. And he learned Choi Yong, the last of the 3rd Degree forms. I even taught him the first of the three 4th Dan forms, Yong Gae.
Do you realize how many forms that is and how many techniques he had to learn within one week? It was about 400 techniques in a particular sequence and order. Some people have trouble remembering less than 20! But that's why he's the master!
But I also enjoyed getting to hear about Master DeJesus's past training and Black Belt tests. You don't get to hear other people's experiences sometimes. I love hearing about other people's journeys from testing and how they became to be who they are now and where they are now. I continued to be excited for him, and inspired to see him go for his 5th Degree test. He sent me a text thanking me one day and said "Even mentors need mentoring." I was flattered. =D
Yours in service,
MASTER TRENTO
Never underestimate the power, strength and life long attributes a good mentor bestows on an individual.
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