Owen's Maintenance

This past Saturday, my school held it's first junior Black Belt Maintenance Test for my student Owen Hagmaier, who had a very full year in Taekwondo. This past September, he took a three day junior Black Belt test for his Deputy Black Belt. You can read all about it HERE. What happens next is that there is a six to eight month probation period where the candidate trains before testing again for their 1st Degree Black Belt.

Between those eight months, Owen has not only received his Deputy Junior Black Belt, but he has competed in forms for five competitions, done point sparring in a traditional Taekwondo tournament, he had qualified in the 10 year old division at the AAU Adirondack Qualifying Championship, and got gold in forms AND in point sparring at the New Jersey AAU Qualifying Championship! He was also written up in the Bergen Record newspaper for his accomplishments.

The maintenance test is a one day test for junior Black Belts, and it's purpose is to see if the student has maintained what they have learned mentally and physically. Not only show what they maintained but perform at levels beyond that. This is not a level test like in Janaury where you just run through the curriculum and given feedback for the upcoming levels or tests. This is a BELT test and it does not matter how old you are, junior or adult, the test is designed to challenge you in every way.

A lot of people from the past have gained poor attitude on the maintenance test, thinking it is much easier and a breeze, thinking it should be much easier than the first. Well my adult maintenance tests are three days which is like the six day original test put into three, with judges and challenges at the end. The junior maintenance is one day which is like the original three days put together in one, which has judges and challenges as well. There are standards and expectations that must be met.

Owen's was the 35th Black Belt test I was a part of, and the seventh or eighth test I've done for TMAFC. Each one brings a new experience, and every test truly is different because the candidates are all different. My tests are notorious for being difficult, but not treacherous. So I do not know why people still get surprised to see what they see. But I will agree, a BLACK BELT test is never easy to see. But my clients whom I have worked with for over 5 years by this point, trust my judgment and trust how I manage my tests. Owen's went great, and Owen himself did magnificently.

Owen was nervous from the get-go, which of course is normal. But his nervousness can limit to what he can do if he does not conquer it. It now becomes A PART of the test. He had to perform all of his traditional forms, his Olympic forms, then his two Black Belt forms. HE demonstrated general knowledge of the history of his forms, and questions the judges has asked him, and then went on to physical challenges the judges had him perform, to see if he will continue to control his composure, focus, and purpose as he performed the challenge.

Sparring was next, I declared the rules from the beginning of the test, and then Owen did about five 1 min and 30 sec rounds of sparring. He kept holding his hogu (chest protector) while sparring and I told him every time he held his hogu, I would kick him. And I meant it. Every time his hand were not up and they held onto his chest protector, I threw a kick. Not enough to not him on his rear-end or to knock the wind out of him, but after four times, he felt the kick and the tears began. I thought of how Master DeJesus was kicking his student at the Krav Maga test. I was doing nothing like that, but at the level for a nine year old junior Black Belt, it was just right.

He had to spar against two people for a few rounds, and again for three. He made himself nervous, again it is part of the test, and at the very end, he threw up a little. It happens. Owen, got right back out on the mats to continue. He then had to perform all his escapes and then keep himself safe while doing rapid fire self-defense where three people attacked him at the same time. Owen knew what his objective was and did just what he needed to do. Then we ended with breaking. At this point his body was telling him no, but he needed to take control. I wrote a blog how breaking is mostly mental. Well by this point of the test a lot of people were cheering Owen on, throwing out advice, and even the judges.

Even earlier than this, I began to keep my mouth shut, because I was what was happening: NOISE. The thing about noise is that people think they are helping and encouraging and giving Owen what he needs to hear, BUT, when there's a lot of noise, you don't hear anything, therefore don't listen to what anyone is saying. You don't listen to the LOUDEST noise, and you go toward the silence where you might find the right answer. Once again, it becomes part of the test. How will Owen deal with the NOISE. He was challenged on each break, on top of being physically exhausted. But once he decided to get in there and do what he needed to do, he persevered. The last challenge, which was on his last test, was the five board sliding side kick. He took him several tries but he eventually succeeded!

Owen created a phenomenal standard to which all future junior Black Belts who will be maintenance testing in the future must uphold. I am very proud of him, and am so proud to have seen him grow up, from the little three year old who used to imitate me, to the state champion we saw last month, Owen has learned lessons that most adults cannot grasp. He is a true Black Belt in mind and spirit, and that is where the true essence of a Black Belt. Owen, you represent so well!

Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO

Surprised Breaking!

The one thing I can say I do not practice enough is breaking. The reason why martial artists practice board breaking, according to Master Doug Cook when I met him at a Black Belt test, is simply to measure one's power. But there are not only power breaks, there are also speed breaks, and believe it or not, board breaking is more mental than physical.

Here's the thing: You have to have ONE thought and ONE thought only when board breaking. And that is, the board is already broken. If you were to have fifty thoughts in your head, your focus is split to like 2% on each thought. Not a lot of focus at all. But if you were to file the thoughts out of your head and organize them one by one, like in a filing cabinet, you can then take one thought at a time and put 100% focus on it. Then you move on to the next one quicker and get more things done, hence the secret to being productive. Life moves forward doing one thing at a time (Jack Canfield reference).

BUT, if one little itsy bisty thought enters your mind with that one thought, no matter how big the thought is, your focus is split 50%! I half! That's HUGE! So you can think "I'm gonna break it! I'm gonna break it! It's broken!" But that one thought in the back says "But will I get hurt?" You won't break the board.

Board breaking is about follow through, just going right through the board. No stopping! And like anything, the more you do it, the better you are, the better you feel, and less doubt and fear. When I apprenticed under my old master, I didn't get to do a lot of board breaking because I was the one holding for everyone else, I didn't get to practice it a lot, and I would go long periods of time not breaking boards. It was the ONE and only thing I lacked in my training.

HOWEVER! Training with my master long enough, he got me to understand that all our training is interconnected. When I was practicing basic components of one area like self-defense, it was also improving my forms in some way, which was improving my sparring in some way, which is why the way I was trained and the way I train others is SOOO effective. I could have students doing one thing, but they are actually working a number of things simultaneously! It was beyond effective! I think Randy Pausch called that a "head fake".

I understood this very young! When I trained my students in basements and backyards, we couldn't do board breaking. The first time they did board breaking was on my first Black Belt test I conducted, and it would be the first time in a year since they broke. I KNEW they would be fine, but they couldn't understand how they were really prepared, based on the drills in the other curriculum things I would do with them. I asked them to just trust me.

A lot of parents couldn't understand it either. "How could they break if they don't practice breaking! It's not fair!" But they're not martial artists, and don't understand what I know. When the test came, they did fantastic!

I now run into the same thing. I have not done breaking since my 3rd Degree test three years ago. Oh yes I have trained extensively, but not actually done the board breaking. And I set three goals for myself with the breaking. Tuesday night, I had one of my Black Belts hold for me, and I chose to do, for the first time in years a few very challenging breaks. I was expecting very little from myself, to be honest, and was expecting some bruises and ouchies.

The first thing I did was a three board SPEED turning back hook kick, where I spin around kicking three one inch sized boards where it's being held only at the top. I haven't done this break in over four years. Tuesday night, I did it in ONE shot, and guess what? I didn't feel a thing! I couldn't believe how easy it was for me. I thought something was wrong at first. How could that not have hurt me? Well let's try something else! I did a three board sliding side kick where I slide and use my heel. the boards were again one inch thick but wider than before, like a 10 inches vs eight, which adds up. Three of those boards is equivalent to five one inch boards of 8 inches wide, which is my goal #I'veDoneItInThePast.

I broke THOSE boards with absolute ease. I couldn't believe how I was surprising myself. Then I was going to do something I NEVER done before. Four board speed ridgehand, with the side of my hand. NOW I am expecting big bruises and bumps from something like this. After all, my lower body is MUCH better than my upper body. And I've NEVER done this, nor practiced it, why should I be able to break this!?

Well lo and behold I did it, with the exception of one board because I held back. And NO bruises! If I had enough boards I would have done it again. I amazed myself. It gave me some confidence in myself and it reminded me all the OTHER work trickled into this type of work and paid off. Now to increase the level of difficulty....it's time!

My final break on my 3rd Degree Black Belt Test

Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO

Ground Surivival

Last Sunday I attended a five hour seminar at my mentor's school in Rockaway. Master DeJesus was teaching these never before seen, brand new ground survival defenses. I am still brand new to this world so everything is brand new to me. I am getting comfortable with the open hand defenses and the gun defenses, still a little shaky with some of the knife defenses, but I have not yet covered ground so this was great!

Years ago I trained with a Black Belt named Mike Duke, and he LOVED training in self-defense. Whenever we would learn some devastating technique or defense, breaking something or whatnot, he would pretend to cry and say "It's like Christmas morning!" as if he was a young child so excited about all the new toys Santa brought to him. Well if Mike came to this seminar, he would have been in heaven!

In Haganah, from the point of reference, depending on the circumstances you are in, you reach one of three objective points: Restrain, Incapacitate, or Terminate. It was interesting to see how to do this not only on the ground but with weapons involved. We did five different angles on the ground with the gun, four different angles on the ground involving the knife then adding some stress upon with the standing knife defenses, and Master DeJesus included a few "bonuses" for us going over a couple "trench" style defenses (will figure that out shortly).

I get motivated every time I learn and practice these on my own. I did find that I am shaky with a few of the knife defenses so I need to brush up on them. My Black Belts that I practice with don't like these defenses (or maybe just practicing with me). But what I do like most of all is that there is ALWAYS new material. Matser DeJesus said to me every year there is something new and he is ALWAYS blown away by what is added to the material. That's a sign of a great system. It works, you don't get bored, and your skills are continuously being challenged.

Recently, three people who train with Master DeJesus went to a conference to become certified Haganah Instructors. I had the honor to have worked with each of them when going to work with Master DeJesus for my masters test. I can only imagine all the awesome things they got to go through and learn on their way through their evaluations. Brian, Steve, and Rick all came home with their certificates!

Brian, Steve, and Rick are now certified Haganah Instructors!

Once again, my eyes turn to something more for me to do. I don't want to overwhelm myself, just yet. But this is something I am really enjoying and it's brand new. I did a lot of self-defense with my old master, and he did get me quite confident in being able to protect myself. The basics are solid I think. Now I am working at an entirely new advance level, a level a master should be able to do. And there is no one better than Master DeJesus who can get me on that right path.

He made mention how learning Haganah really gave him a deep appreciation for militant training that he never had before. I can really see how that has transformed how he trains. I don't remember how long he has been doing it for, but I remember when I first met him at my 3rd Degree Test and he demonstrated it for his self-defense portion of his test, it was the first time I ever saw it and I remember thinking, "I'm going to learn that with him!" So it's even more thrilling for me to be rolling on the ground, avoiding guns and knives at his school. And it challenges me! There's always something to learn and I am always happy when I am learning!

Master DeJesus demonstrating ground survival defense on me =D

Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO

Battle of the Mentors

Nothing amuses me more than seeing one of my own mentors go up against one of their own former mentors. For me, it's like watching an all out sparring match, but this was not just any sparring match. This was the battle of the intellectuals and the Gods were rumbling in the heavens! You could hear them! And they too wanted in on what was going on because there was such an amazing fog present that night!

Last Thursday I did a two hour talk for one of Lisa's classes at Montclair State University. As you know, especially those who keep up with this blog, Professor Lisa Sargese, professor of religion and psychology, mentors me in my mental training and is one of my most dearest friends. I fell in love with her when I met her in 2008, when I was a student in her class. She captivated the classroom and I noticed I was dealing with a master educator.

Back then she was on this high of motivational speaking and lost 140 pounds and was just loving life! Then shortly after life threw her a few bumps and bruises and then Lisa found herself in a wheelchair for a few years and damaged knees.

Like my experience with my school, there were MANY people who told Lisa that she would never be able to walk again. even after she got both knee replacements, she was told by so many that she'd never walk again. And one of those people who told her that was a mentor of hers, now former. I can only imagine the hurt to hear something like that come from someone you looked up to for so long and be put down or found lack of faith from. Well I have heard so many stories about this mentor of hers, not all bad, a lot of good things too. After all, he IS a brilliant scholar and a magnificent mind. I've heard a lot about him from her friends and other colleagues as well. I also understand what a role he played in the "making of Lisa" in her life.

Well after my talk in her class, I joined her for a department lecture on Pragmatism and Cosmopolitanism (don't ask me what the hell it was about! Interesting, yes, however I wanted to stick needles in my eyes). HOWEVER, THE former mentor would be in attendance. This was HUGE for me. A MAJOR character in the life of Lisa. After this interesting talk, which it was don't get me wrong, just very dense in my opinion, there was a reception held at his house for all who attended. O.M.G. I was going to the home of this mentor.

Well afterwards I followed her to his home where there was very expensive and luxurious pieces of artwork all over. At first I felt a little intimidated being in the presence of all these intellectuals, needless to say in front of him too. But I was so proud of Lisa WALKING in there so confidently (after this mentor said she wouldn't). Then finally at one point the mentor sat near both Lisa and I and a conversation began.

It was a conversation about religion (duh) and something came up and a debate over Baptism and Catholicism broached. Now I was taught years ago that philosopher's jobs were to ARGUE. WELL! Before I knew it I was sitting between these two BRILLIANT minds watching them spar back and forth. It was not an argument by any means. It was simply a debate. A battle of the minds between two intellectuals. I was in AWE. I am sure it was equivalent for Lisa watching me spar Steven Lin or something. I was in my glory. To see MY mentor up against one of HER former mentors who until up to this point has only been a name to me who've I heard so much about, watching her best him! Stunning!

One of my favorite moments was when the former mentor made a statement and Lisa had this astounded face and she just said in an exasperated voice "Who am I speaking to?!" LOVED IT! If I were to watch Master Balon compete his forms against his former teacher, or watch Master Bardatsos spar against his old coach, or watch Master DeJesus fight his former master, or see Charlene out bench press her old trainer, this moment right here was one for the books for me! To see Lisa go toe to toe with her former mentor! Bravo Lisa! Bravo! As if she didn't already just by WALKING into his home!

Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO

A Change of Style

Master Balon with my junior Black Belt Owen Hagmaier

This past Thursday, I had some mentor time with Master Balon to go over my 2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt forms before my upcoming test. Working with Master Balon is an absolute treat. He is a true forms guru and every time I leave a session with him, I am left with a plethora of information and notes from our workout. I remember being amazed years ago with how much detail my old master had with my forms. Well once I met Master Balon three years ago, the amount of detail work I get with him blows the work I did years ago out of the water!

We started with the 2nd Degree traditional Taekwondo forms. There are four forms for 2nd Degree and three 3rd Degree forms. Right on the first form did I get several pointers of how to improve my form. From the ready stance, to where the feet are pointed, how the preparation of my hands should be, to which legs step, where to go fast, where to go slow, I was in heaven!

One of the things I hold dear from my prior training from the old master is my deep appreciation for details. The forms guru Master Balon is, is everything I want to be when it comes to my forms. I know my students think I am already, but they'll just have to wait and see what I am going to become! What I do feel I am getting better at is breaking away from things I have been taught by my old master and doing the new style of training. From I what I have learned and observed with all these new gurus is that my old master was quite stuck in the past of how things were done and never kept up with the new up-to-date ways of doing things. Some things were inconsistent and not by the book at all!

Not only does Master Balon know everything there is, but he also does not pretend to know everything there is either. He has no problem taking out the textbooks and looking something up, just so not to tell me the wrong thing, or to show me something that I can refer to, and give me another option to either learn or debate. He always welcomes debate, because he himself used to do that as a student.

The second form had the most changes and was a struggle since I "re-learned" it three years ago. We really dissected the heck out of Choong Jang, and at one point Master Balon pointed something out that I began to learn three years ago. The way I execute a technique has a particular style to it. But depending on how it is executed, depends on the type of style I am using. I have mixed styles. I go really strong and tight in one portion, then all of a sudden I have these big flashy movements which goes a little slower paced. Neither is wrong, but choose one or the other.

When I made the change, he called me out and he thought I contradicted myself. When he asked me why I did what I did, my answer was simply "Because we just talked about it so I changed it." He had a surprised look and acknowledged he understood. I don't think he expected me to make such a change so fast. Like, that was immediate change. Normally my body conditioning would take me several repetitions to make a change like that. For me, it was a symbol of how I truly am allowing myself to be open to new things and break away from old teachings that do not apply today anymore.

Master Balon continued on with the other two 2nd Degree forms, and then we went through  the 3rd Degree. I am always impressed at the smallest things he picks up on like whether my knee is turned in a particular direction or the proportion of my weight in a stance, or my favorite is his knowledge of the application of the movements of the forms. That is pretty cool and a goal of mine for my "master training."

One change of style I did have was how I do my front kicks. Years ago I would win competition because my front kicks were high and I was able to demonstrate control by sticking the kick for a few seconds at the extension and demonstrate a full retraction of the kick. Master Balon questioned how the front kick would actually be applied and I answered correctly saying using the ball of the foot and then questioned, then why would I use the instep. My answer to him was that I teach to do the same kick in several variations, making me and my students a more well-rounded martial artist, forcing them to pay attention more and to have the ability to have the power to change how they execute a kick.

He accepted my answer but had encouraged me to try using the ball of the foot and a quicker pull back to make it look for applicable. Now this is my first year doing AAU competitions. Maybe this is something they look for? Master Balon also encouraged me to ask other judges and masters I meet at the competitions to get a better handle of what is looked for. For me, it's bitter sweet because I remember the work I put into learning how to do the front kick I do the way I do it, but I also think as a master in training, it is important to be able to break away from old habits and embrace new ones. I've been trying it out and honestly I like both variations. But which to do when I apply it...

I had a similar situation with the "back stance" or "L-stance", depending on who you're talking to. I trained myself and prided myself in being able to get very low and have most of the components of my stance when doing a form. But two important components Master Balon brought up to me was how my back knee, although bent and the foot pointed to the proper side, bends to the outside of my body instead of to the side. And the joints that should be lined up in my body aren't because of that. I always knew you should have 70% bend on the back leg and 30% in the front. I guess knowing it is not enough, I actually have to do it now! This is going to be harder to break away from, but I accept the challenge.

I love how Master Balon gives me a lieu of things to think about and he also keeps in mind how I teach other students of all ages. He explains to me how to teach or explain or have different age groups and skill levels do these forms and it makes ME a better teacher as well. As I get closer to the test I am getting more and more excited. And as he gives me more and more to practice, I only get more and more motivated!

Yours in service,

ANDREW TRENTO