The Mentors

I trained under a master for ten years. He was a great martial artist and taught such wonderful things. But he had a history and reputation of not being able to practice what he preached. He has hurt many many people whom I still talk to today due to his actions and choices, where in the end our goals and philosophies were just not in alignment. That's being nice about that.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of my old instructor. And I do accredit him for the type of student that I can be, because after we went our separate ways, I have successfully been training myself and did such great things in my training. But with this new journey to masterhood, and bringing myself to a whole new level of my life, I need people to set me in the right path. After my experience with my old master, it's very hard and very personal trying to find a new one and I am not ready to go there. HOWEVER, I have selected five mentors to guide me in the right direction and to keep me on my toes. They are the BEST at what they do, people whom I trust, and people that I believe in.

The five areas in my martial arts training that I broke down would be your basic martial arts, Taekwondo sparring, self-defense, physical fitness and conditioning, and mental conditioning and spiritual enlightenment. Over the years I have met plenty of gurus and experts, but I truly have the best of the best here. They are my "A-Team"! HAHAHA!

A few months after leaving my old instructor I began searching for a way to test for my 3rd Degree Black Belt and get the proper certifications an owner of the martial arts business would be expected to have. One benefit of my previous training is that I was well trained in BOTH Olympic Taekwondo (W.T.F) and traditional Taekwondo (I.T.F). I will explain the difference another time. SO MUCH TO BLOG! =D

Well I came across a national organization called AAU Taekwondo. You might have heard of the AAU before. I think it stands for Amateur Athletic Union. It's been around for a hundred years and has 30 other sports affiliated with it, Taekwondo being one of them. Well AAU Taekwondo recognizes BOTH types of Taekwondo and was able to certify me nationally and internationally and offers so much more than other organizations I was a part of. It's extremely organized as well, yet not political. LOVE IT!

The President of the New Jersey AAU Taekwondo as well as the tri-state district was Master Kevin Balon, 6th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. I called him and bombarded him with thousands of questions and before you knew it, I went down to his school in Spotswood, New Jersey, about 40 minutes away from me, not bad. I took a few lessons with him and I LOVED the amount of detail work he had in store for me in my forms and technique, as well as his knowledge of Taekwondo History. It was like Christmas morning for me to see everything he had to show me!

Well Master Balon is not only the New Jersey District Director but a national chairman for the entire USA! I did not realize this until much later. He is a great go-to person and has helped me with certain certifications for my students that I am unable to get, not being a master yet, and has given me great advice on a business level also. Well to keep me consistent and up to par with my level of knowledge and technique, I choose Master Balon as my martial arts mentor. Not my master, but my mentor. I plan on visiting quite often to touch base for my training. Kind of like training check points. And a man of his level will know exactly where I am going with my training. In fact, it's at Master Balon's school I will be taking my 4th Degree Black Belt test. He gave me my 3rd Degree, and I will be taking my 4th under him as well. I am very grateful.

Every Black Belt test that you take with someone, it is a connection and a special bond you have that keeps you connected forever and for the most part, a relationship that you have forever. I have that for every test. My 3rd Degree Black Belt test was my first test without my master and out of my usual environment. But I did meet another student that from the get-go, I knew I made a friend for life. His name was Samuel DeJesus. he was testing for 4th Degree when I was testing for 3rd.

He has his own school in Rockaway, New Jersey and I absolutely admire him. We had a blast testing together and during the time I tried opening my school we kind of lot touch. Then I contacted him and we spoke for a couple of hours on the phone. The delight to be speaking of someone who is just as passionate about martial arts as me! Cannot even tell you how much joy I got out of our conversation.

What I love about Master DeJesus is, like me, he trains in various disciplines, he is always a student and the learning never stops! He loves his students just as much as I love my own, and he lives, breathes, east, and drinks martial arts, just as I do. He made his business a family business where everyone is involved from his wife to his in-laws! How admirable!

At our test back in June 2009, we had a self-defense portion of our test where we needed to demonstrate our knowledge of how to protect ourselves. One of the best aspects of my training with my old master was an AWESOME and well balanced system of self-defnese which was not any style but leverage based techniques that WORK, dealing with low and high levels of difficulty and interchanging from one to the other. I am very confident in my systems and always try to build on them.

Master DeJesus (I cannot bring myself to call him Samuel, I respect him too much as a martial arts master), asked me if I could help with his demonstration. I of course agreed and I ended up being the dummy to get beat up on. Oh, how I loved every second of it! He demonstrated Krav Maga, or Haganah, self-defense. When I understand the difference, I will explain, hahahaha. It was extremely impressive and I was in awe and wanted to learn very much.

I of course explained to Master DeJesus my year's mission and journey and he graciously agreed to mentor me in my self-defense and bring me to a whole new level as best as he can. I know I am going to have the time of my life and if anyone can help me build up the confidence and share the love of the art, it is him! So excited!

For many years I competed in Olympic Taekwondo. I got many medals and trophies, and one great thing about Taekwondo is the conditioning. You get amazing lower body and speed and agility work, I do not think any other martial arts has the level of work as Taekwondo. Not that the others don't, and I may be a little biased, but I have done other arts as well. So I kind of know what I am talking about =P.

In Queens, New York there is a six time national coach named Master Peter Bardatsos. When you hear New York and Taekwondo, you think of his name. EVERYONE knows Captain Bardatsos. He is one of the best Taekwondo coaches in the world! He actually gave my former master his 4th Degree belt! When I was younger I would go like once a month to his school in Queens and get the living daylights beat out of me! It was freakin awesome!

Well I decided I wanted to compete this year and not for the medals, just to have a great time! Getting back out there and putting the work behind what I can do. But I want to be sparring with the elite! And that would be Bardatsos Taekwondo! So like I did when I was young, I will be returning on a consistent basis to Queens to learn from the best there is, while being pummeled into shape, to the level a true master should be at! I am so excited! I may even have him come to my own school to do a seminar or two for my students....oooohhh the possibilities!

Physically, I am very hard on myself. I am stronger and faster and smarter than your average Joe, I need to acknowledge that. There are things I can do physically that not many athletes can do. But that is not enough for me. Of course that is not enough for me! Especially with my setbacks this year, I really needed somebody to push me and keep me on my toes when it comes to my will power, motivation, and to challenge me physically like I have never been challenged before. That person is Charlene Scarcella.

Charlene and I go way back. I was teaching cardio classes at my old martial arts studio for my master, and Charlene used to take my classes. When she heard I was no longer there, she tried to get me to come teach at her gym that she worked at. Well she didn't only train people there and teach classes, she was the general manager and ran that gym with an iron fist! I kept pushing it off until finally eight months later, I began working at Strive Health and Fitness gym in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. It was there I was given a new home to train in until I opened my own school. I had a job teaching, gaining more experience, and meeting a lot of great new people and trainers. She even allowed me to use the gym to teach major belt tests for my own students since I didn't have my own school at the time.

She always loved my style of teaching cardio kickboxing and always took my classes. But you know something. You know when you are always with a person and you don't realize the caliber of that person. That is Charlene for me. I never realized what an endorsement it was to have Charlene come to take my classes because she truly is the best of the best. Every gym in Passaic, Hudson, and Bergen county knows of her. Bottom line: Charlene knows her Sh*t.

It was an obvious choice when I hired Charlene to personal train me. I told her I wanted to crawl and cry coming out of the gym. She knows exactly what my goals are, what I am expecting of myself, and she will keep me on my toes. Her knowledge is untouchable, and I have had three workouts with her so far and I have to meet her tomorrow morning at 6:45AM and I am soooooooooooo looking forward to it!

A lot of physical preparation. But you know, the mental and spiritual training can be more exhausting. I realized that when I did mental training younger. And going to newer heights with it, OY VEY! Well this person has the hardest job and probably the most important for me. Because the INTENSITY of this training is ultimately going to affect EVERYTHING else I do in preparation for the test and all my personal and business goals.

Back in 2008, I was in a World Religions Class at Montclair State University. It was there that I met, Lisa Sargese, professor of religion and psychology, also a daily blogger. She is one of the reasons I decided to do this blog. When I was in her class, I was absolutely inspired by her. Right away I recognized she was not only one of he most awesome people I would ever come to meet, but she was a master educator. Her techniques of repetition and association I identified with right away, taking the same approach when I teach. Her stories and connections she makes are remarkable.

She also has a fantastic story of her own, being a weight loss surgery survivor. You can check out her blog HERE. I can say so much about Lisa, but I have to tell you a true thing and I can laugh about it now. When I met her in 2008, I said to myself that this person will be the person who can mentor me in my life in my positive mental training. I KNEW IT THEN! I am not lying when I tell you I said this to myself! It's amazing how we just KNOW things and when the time comes for it to be true, it comes to fruition. After I left her class, the next couple semesters I would just drop into her class for a hug, and I always checked on her blog and facebook. Then when my business began, our interaction was a few comments and "likes" on Facebook.

Well I must have known where I was going to go in my life subconsciously because G*d brought us together again. I do not know what possessed me but I was in a moment of unbelievable gratitude and I messaged her on Facebook, letting her know what an inspiration she was to me. During my journey to open my martial arts studio I always went back to some lesson on higher levels of thinking and controlling positive mindset, that go me through some tough challenges. She came to see my school and we have met several times and it is like no time has ever gone by, and as if we have known each other for hundreds of years or something!

I had breakfast with her the week after my birthday and told her of my goals and my journey to this new level of spiritual enlightenment of Empty Self toward masterhood. She embodies intensity! And she is going to be the fuel behind everything, whether she knows it or not. She has already put me in an awesome direction when she invited me to a Qi Gong Mediation session last Saturday which I cannot wait to tell you all about! In fact, I think she found me my new master of martial arts, and that is BIG for me to say. But she has not only done so much for me as a mentor, but as a friend. Lisa is a true gift to all who come in contact to her.

So there you go! I am covered! These are the mentors I have chosen who will keep me on my toes. They are the main characters to my story, so pay attention! =D, seriously it is exciting and this positive energy from them is overwhelming and this year is going to be dynamite!

Yours in service,
A TRENTO