The Women's Self-Defense Special

At my school I have been doing these ten week Specials of a certain class for specific topics people want to experience and learn in the short term. My first Special was a Women's Self Defense Course. I developed some very simple yet effective system that covered a little bit of everything. Self-Defense does not have to fancy, it just has to work.

Over the years I have had some great self-defense training, not only physical training but verbal training and a training in higher level of awareness of situations. I have done extensive research on all types of bullying and harassment and have been on many school counsels for policy making against bullying.

I have written many blogs about how I am a big advocate of the "woman warriors" as I have trained with many myself, and trained many as well. I think all women should learn to defend themselves. There is this misconception that women are weaker than men and are easy targets. From what I know in my field, I will always argue that. Also, it is not the strongest person who stays safe, it is the smartest. That being said, learning effective, leverage based self-defense system can be dead useful, and conditioning the body over time to build the muscle memory is all one needs to do. You don't need a Black Belt to know self-defense and to protect yourself. Many Black Belts get beat up because of this lack of understanding!

The other part is Ego. Ego has it's place in life, but the Ego can be one's worst enemy, especially in a confrontational situation. During the course we did basic hand movements for low and high level attacks, effective striking, drills to condition the body to using these strategies, drills adding stress to the situation to add an element of realism, ground defenses, gun defenses, and a few knife defenses.

The course was not only hands on but they also learned a great deal of information which they all knew through my methods of repetition in my teaching. I asked every few weeks for an assessment and they gave great feedback. I had two sessions and a great turnout and they really learned something and felt more confident and knowledgeable, and they were surprised with what they could do by the end of the ten weeks.  The only thing they felt a little eerie about was the weapon defenses, which is something I will have to adjust, that's all.

I will be doing more of these 10 week specials. Next week I am starting a 10 week Qigong Course, which will do several sets using postures, poses, and breathing methods that can help improve health, vitality, mental clarity, and spiritual enlightenment. My students LOVE it and others will as well. In September, I am doing a 10 Week Zumba class with two sessions to choose from, which is a fun dance fitness class. And in October I will be implementing Yoga and a Cardio Defense class.

Self-Defense is a major reason why people learn martial arts. I have the best mentor when it comes to self-defense training, Master Samuel DeJesus. But it's always a treat to learn from the mentor's mentor! The FOUNDER of the Haganah martial art self-defense system is coming to town this weekend at Rockaway Fight Center in New Jersey! If you're interested, call 973-983-0807. You don't need martial arts experience to do this seminar! And it's not every day you get to work with the FOUNDER of a system.

No matter what way it is being taught, it is always a good idea to learn self-defense and learn from different systems and methods to build if nothing else, confidence. THAT is your biggest line of defense. No attacker wants to attack a confident person. And if they wanted to kill you, they'd kill you. An attacker wants either information, an item, or your body. But they go after the "perceived weak" targets. Confidence is your focefield against negativity in all it's ugliness! (BOWS)

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO

Aaron Coaching

Masters Aaron and Leeann Morris

This is Master Aaron Morris and his wife Master Leeann Morris, I call her MMM or "triple M" (Miss Master Morris-LOL). A couple years ago, there was a tournament coming up in Pennsylvania, and my mentor Master Balon was letting the New Jersey clubs know about it. Well! If Master Balon says it's good to go to, it's good to go to! SO I spoke to Master Morris on the phone introducing myself and told him I would love to go to his tournament, and that me and two other people from my school would be officiating at his tournament and would help him in any way we could.

So I first formally met Master Morris at Master Balon's New Jersey AAU State tournament in April 2013. He greeted me with a big warm smile and a one arm hug. I liked him immediately. So the next time we would meet was at his tournament that following month. I was still new at officiating but the New Jersey officials were very helpful with Olympic sparring division. We were so happy to help.

I kept in touch with Master Morris here and there on Facebook and the occasional phone calls. Sometimes we would see each other at the other AAU tournaments and nationals. This past year I went back to his tournament to officiate and chose his tournament to be my first competition to ever try Point Sparring which I am proud to have won Gold. I wish I got the nice Pennsylvania medal though!

I have had many coaches over the years of competition in Taekwondo. Of course I began competing right after I got my Black Belt, never color belt. For six years my original master was the only person I had in the seat. After a four year hiatus from competition, I returned to rebuild that experience, get back in the game, challenge myself as an adult since I didn't have the transition, and  to show my kids I was on the journey with them. My student and friend Robert Lisciandrello began learning to coach and would coach me.

My friend Master Crespo sat in for me once, Master Toledo once sat in for me, I even had Miss Sue coach me for my Point Sparring match! But at nationals I had no coach prepared, which was fine because I didn't have one last year and there have been just as many competitions I had been coachless as  have actually had a coach. But this year at nationals, for Olympic sparring, when Master Morris knew I didn't have a coach, he volunteered his time to come and coach me.

Master Morris knew that I have had a rough year. He also knew that I continued to push myself, probably even when I shouldn't have. But that just wouldn't have been me. But I never had a coach like Master Morris. Of course as we are sitting waiting for my division to go up, I do what I always do and here I am doing a small pre-interview with Master Morris (He'll one day get the full scale Barbara Walters one from me LOL). I enjoyed hearing about his competition experience, as we exchange the names of the people we knew from competing over the years and our own past experiences.

But I learned a lot not only as a competitor but as a coach as well. Master Morris is calm yet direct, have an excellent eye, and was able to put nerves into perspective and confidence in his directions. I was nervous, but he made me feel at ease. I watched him coach other people as well and observed him closely. He has an excellent coaching style, and I saw something else that was very clear to me. He was sparring to. He was IN the ring. Not literally, but he was channeling himself through his competitors from the chair as if he were sparring. I don't know if anyone can understand that, but I saw it as clear as day.

And honestly, that's what a good coach does. They don't just bark orders and directions. They guide, they point out opportunities, but it's in an energetic way that they are also doing the competition through you as well. And you can actually feel that. I felt very comfortable on those mats again. And another thing, I heard every thing he said. This may not seem like much, but I have always had a hard time hearing my coaches in the past. But I heard everything clearly and it's not that he has a booming voice or anything like that. He was screaming his commands. But I believe he had a great ability to connect and something about that allowed me to hear everything he said. Take it as you will, that's what I believe.

I believe Master Morris is now the Mid-Atlantic District Director for the AAU Taekwondo Program. And no wonder. I am very happy to have met Master Morris, but even happier to call him friend, as well as triple "M" (Miss Master Morris). They are good, kind people and I enjoy my time with them every time I see them. I want to personally thank Master Morris for taking the time out of his day to come coach me, as well as Mr. Austin from Rockaway Fight Center, and for his friendship =) . (BOWS)

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO

Team Point Sparring

Something new I have added to my Taekwondo training is Point Sparring. The AAU have a wonderful program and event for point sparring which has been upgraded from it's original Karate Kid style of three points win. The regulations for gears, techniques valid to use, time usage, and rules structure have been upgraded in a fantastic event.

I have done Olympic style sparring for sixteen years. I was a great Olympic sparring competitor from 13 years old to 18 years old, with the then USTU, now USAT. I won state and regional titles, as well as competed three times at the USAT Junior Olympics. I have sparred Steven Lopez, Steven Lin, Jayson Grant, and countless other names in Olympic sparring. But when I was JUST beginning to become the age for adult competition, my master decided to stop bringing us to competitions. The transition to adult level competition I never had that experience. I years later returned cold turkey. It took a year and a half to "get used" to it.

Olympic sparring has been constantly changing over the years. Every year it seems there is something new with the gear, the rules, and the technology. Honestly, I have not done as well as I used to. Sometimes I get discouraged and think, I missed my chance. Other times I am very motivated. My sparring mentor, Master Peter Bardatsos keeps up with the sparring wonderfully but I wonder what he thinks a lot of the times too.

However, Point Sparring is VERY new to me. NEW is exciting to me. And I feel I can be much better at it than Olympic. However the style is different and I get to use my hands more. So of course, I asked my mentor Master Balon to introduce me to Point Sparring. He is also known to be excellent in Point style. SO a few of our lessons we did drills, and he taught me the rules, and the different strategies, and I even sparred him a little bit. Back in May, I decided to try to do Point Sparring for the very first time ever. I obviously need the experience if I am going to teach it and help my own students. I was happy to win Gold in Pennsylvania.

But I needed the experience. I needed more. With my hectic schedule I wasn't able to travel much for training. But I did do qualify and sign up for it at the AAU Nationals. SO the next time I would do Point sparring would be at the Nationals. It would be the second time I EVER do point sparring.

WELL! There was a new event at the nationals this year called Team Point Sparring. There were teams of five people and the rules were this: two rounds of five minutes, each player had to fight one minute each the first round, the second round was tag team. Well one team was short a player or two, so Master Bobby Stone came over to my ring and asked if anyone wanted to be on the team. AT first I shook me head "nuh uh!" But after a minute, I decided to walk on over to the head table and volunteered to do the Team Point sparring.

I did it for a few reasons. One, I was here to compete and get experience, so here was an opportunity to do so. Two, I wanted to represent New Jersey in every which way I could (I wanted to make Master Balon proud). Three, I wanted to prove to the higher referees that I would do anything they ask. I will go on the mats for anything they asked me to, even if it were to mop them.

So here I was, the second time I would EVER do Point Sparring in my life, at the nationals Team Point Sparring event debut.  It was a lot of fun to watch, and even more fun to do. Apparently I took a nice shot to the face that sent me to the ground. I don't remember, because if that ever happens, I just get back up and keep going on. That's how I have been trained. But I enjoyed it.

I am not all about showcasing. I do not showcase myself, I like to put myself in positions to show my humanity. I am human, I have difficulties, I struggle, I succeed, I fail, I make good decisions, I make mistakes. I am never afraid to put myself in a position to learn, even if it's in front of people. I believe that is something that makes me real. I hope I accomplished that, and I am happy to volunteer anyway I can! (BOWS)

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO

Picture Worthy!

The above picture is of Master Mark Williams. Anyone who is anyone who trains in Taekwondo knows who he is! If you haven't heard of Mark "the Shark" Williams, then you don't know Taekwondo! Master Williams is a great Taekwondo coach, instructor, and a fantastic competitor himself. You can YouTube him and you'll find a few great videos of some of his early fights. Master Williams is presently inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame and was for YEARS the President for New Jersey USTU, later USAT.

I met Master Williams when I was 13 years old. I just became a Black Belt and began competing for the first time in the THEN USTU (United States Taekwondo Union) tournaments. He used to hold Regional Center of Excellence seminars all over New Jersey in different schools to help bring together the New Jersey schools and help the next generations of students improve in sport Taekwondo. I went to many of them when I was a teenager, and competed at his tournaments as well. I have competed in his Grand Prix Winternationals twice and my first State USAT Gold medal in sparring was when he was President of the New Jersey USAT. I am very proud of that.

I even brought a couple of my own students to his seminars when I was still apprenticing under my old master, and later with some when I opened my own school only a few years ago. I learned a great Deal from Master Williams, especially when it came to note taking and studying, which I do to this very day and preach to my students EVERY DAY. I quote him quite a bit, not only philosophically but in sparring class as well. If he is reading this, I just want to say Mount Everest!

Master Williams has recently begun a new venture that he has always wanted to do. If you're a school owner or train in a martial art, listen closely. Going through the ranks, I have absolutely NO pictures of me as a color belt. Once in a while will a vintage Trento picture emerge of me as a color belt. Otherwise, my four years as a color belt don't exist in photo form. There are so many moments and viewing of the journey that gets missed when not archived in pictures. Well Master Williams has a solution to that.

Another passion of Master Williams is photography. Anyone who knows him, knows he never travels without his camera. And over the years he has taken a few photos at tournaments and will give them to friends, but some of those friends keep those pictures up for decades plus after! They say pictures speak a thousand words, but pictures with your martial arts related to it, can tell an entire story. Master Williams can go to your school during classes and promotion tests and capture the Taekwondo moments that are only ingrained in memory. Imagine having those moments on camera? Do you know how many sparring moments in class, or successes in forms training, or my first throw in self defense that could have been caught?

This is a phenomenal opportunity to catch those moments. Below are a few pictures he has taken at my own school with my own students:

My student Aram and I learning the side kick.

My student Tomasz figuring out his new form.

My student Samantha learning the Taeguek forms for the first time ever!

William Stiehl taking his high red belt test before AAU Nationals!

Armina working hard for her high green belt. She finally got her hands correct!

Megan Ouellette's last color belt test before Black Belt as she does a head shot in sparring!

Aram, who has been working on his flexibility so he can compete in forms next year.

Sade testing for her intermediate level rank.

I was very happy when a few parents took advantage of the opportunity to have Master Williams photograph their kids. One of the parents called her husband in excitement "You won't believe what's going on here! We have to get these!"

A tradition at my school, because I believe in picture taking so greatly, is before Black Belt testing, the candidates make a poster collage of all their years training and it's fun to see them grow up and advance through the years on the road to Black Belt. Something like this is absolutely amazing to have. Master Williams can arrange to come take pictures during a busy day of classes, promotion tests, competitions! This is something as parents, students, and even school owners should take advantage of. You can email Master Williams at mwilliamstsk@yahoo.com or call him at 201-245-2209, after 9pm is the best time.

I want to thank Master Williams personally for taking on this beautiful venture and look forward to his presence at our future events, and hope all my fellow school owners from all over contact Master Williams for this wonderful opportunity! (BOWS)

The last TMAFC beginner/intermediate belt testing group.

 

 

 

 

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO

William's Success

This is my student William Stiehl. He was referred to me by my good friend Mike Grella. In 2010 after I opened my school, Mike was in Dr. Mary Ellen Stiehl's psychology class and it was very apparent how much this woman loved her son. So Mike was a big advocate for my new business and told her that her son William should do martial arts. After a few times of telling her about my school, Mike (who can be a master of pushing buttons) said to Mary Ellen "If you really love your son, you would take him." WELL! Knowing Mary Ellen today, that is ALL he needed to say. Challenging her love for her son! That did it!

So little five year old William began his martial arts training. Mary Ellen, the proud mother, took pictures throughout the entire first class, and she also observed me very closely as well. William at the time came once a week. Then he gradually came twice a week. He was an excellent listener and he also caught on very quick for his age. He was also very cute LOL.

After a year I put together a team for competition. William was on our team for forms. He constantly won gold at the local levels, and as a yellow belt won his first AAU medal to qualify for the Nationals. He also won Gold at the New Jersey tournament that year, and won bronze at the 2012 AAU Taekwondo nationals. He was in the finals with Master Balon's student Kyle Cooke (another fantastic young competitor from the Force One Team). William has pretty much mastered the state level of competition, and has experience with Olympic style sparring as well, but forms is indeed his forte.

William is very naturally talented in forms. That comes with it's pros and cons. My challenge with him to always keep him hungry to do better, and to be consistent with the level of performance he needs for a national level competition. This was his first year competing as an advance belt. William has it in him to win the gold, but at his age still needs some experience in his understanding of competition. This year he had a fantastic experience at the Nationals.

William and Mary Ellen are very dedicated. I include Mary Ellen because the parents have to do just as much and she is a single parent who is a damn good trooper. She travels farther than any of my other members to come to my school, she believes in what I do, and is willing to do anything and everything required. In short: the Stiehls are team players. William was the only student of mine competing this year at nationals and deservedly so. He has worked hard and wanted to compete, and he got it.

I had the pleasure of spending a few days with the Stiehls, and I had such a great time with them. As if I wasn't already having such a blast with my new friends from officiating, I had equally a great time with William in the pool and I can talk to Mary Ellen all day. She is a brilliant woman, very intelligent, one of the best psychoanalysts you'll ever meet, and a great teacher. But above all, she is also a fantastic mother who loves her son to no end, and in turn William adores his mother.

William has practiced and trained very hard. At the nationals William had to do his form six times before winning his bronze medal at the nationals. That is no easy task. William was not only a stern competitor but he also was a great team player, knowing other New Jersey competitors, was also making the time to see his fellow New Jersey competitors compete and cheering them on, even in his own division! William saw first hand what is looked upon in advance level competition. Some students were very by the book in their technique, and some had great interpretive style. Learning and seeing these things not only give William a great experience but it is something to bring back to tell his training buddies in class as well. That's how we grow. And that to me is a success for William in itself.

The AAU New Jersey competitors are a small family within itself. I am always happy to see my students cheering on their friends from other schools. A shout out to Kyle Cooke who has competed in all three events and has been moving through his competition career alongside William. The two sometimes compete against each other, but are also buddies. But on top of that, it was only Mary Ellen, William, and I from my own school this year. But the three of us as were a team in itself, regardless. I want to Thank Mary Ellen for her superb support, for looking out for me in Florida (my mother was having a heart attack with me in Florida by myself), and for her team spirit! And I want to congratulate William on his bronze medal, I am so proud of you young man, and the future will be very bright! Keep at it! Train hard, train smart! (BOWS)

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO

Forms No More

Me doing Moon Moo last year

I have competed in forms for twelve years or so. I absolutely love training in forms. I recently wrote a great blog recently on the magic power of forms training which I encourage any martial artist to read. When I began competition forms training when I was a teenager (not getting my age that easy!) When we used to compete, my friend Jessie used to video tape us, but I used to use those videos as a training tool. It really developed my eye for details and my first master always told me "great forms have great details."

My first two forms competitions I ever did I took 3rd place both times. After several months of doing forms training and getting my details down, which at the time transformed my forms completely, I was on a role. My first gold medal in forms was at Master Mark Williams's tournament, the US Grand Prix Winter Nationals in Jersey City, doing the 1st Degree ITF Form Po Ehn. (My mentor would shake his head today knowing I chose that form to compete with!- LOL)

I then went on a gold medal streak in forms and I even tapped into some of the WTF forms and competed with them. In 2004-2005 competition year I won 12 Gold medals straight in forms competition. I was happy, but never satisfied. I always strived to get better and better and better.  I always looked to improve my forms and was always open to change. Change of interpretation, change of style, and change of expression.

I have written countless blogs working with mentor Master Kevin Balon, 7th Dan Black Belt. There is no one better than this man. He always challenges me, always has something new to pass down to me, and has opened my horizons in forms work, and traditional Taekwondo in general. He is the perfect mentor to work with, when you think you can't get any better, you get better. I am so grateful to have him to work with.

I believe the AAU Taekwondo program has the best layout for forms competition. You can perform several times to making it to the finals. For example, my student William had to do his form six times at the nationals this week (Look for his blog soon). You can also change the form you do as long as it's regulated by your rank. The AAU is also the only place I have seen traditional ITF forms being performed where most everywhere else is graded forms and WTF style ONLY. I do know all the Taeguek, Palgwe, and Black Belt WTF forms as well, but I believe the ITF forms are superior and train the body better.

In 2012 I did my first AAU Taekwondo forms competition, centered by my friend today Nina Beauchaine. I was training for my 4th Dan and was a 3rd Dan at the time. I did the 3rd Dan form Choi Yong and performed it a few times to win the Gold. Winning in forms in the AAU I believed had much more value in any other competition. I used Yoo Sin at the 2012 Nationals to win Silver.

People often ask me what my favorite form is. The answer: The 4th Degree ITF form Moon Moo. After 2nd Dan, I taught myself all my new forms, including the WTF forms. But when it got to Moon Moo, I wanted someone else to teach it to me. Moon Moo was the first time I had someone teach me a form for five years, and of course it was taught to me fresh from my own mentor Master Balon himself. So you could only imagine when he happened to have centered the ring that I first did Moon Moo in competition with. I won first round and did Ul Ji, the second 4th Dan form for the Gold. I also won Gold at his tournament in 2013. The 2013 Nationals I won Gold with Moon Moo.

This year I was up against two 5th Dan Black Belts in forms at the AAU Nationals. One said he was from Korea. One was a master under Korean New York District Director. I was happy and proud to win the Gold in forms this year at the AAU nationals. I was emotional when I won, and I knew why.

This was my last forms competition. I made the decision earlier in the year that this would be it. As of this year's nationals, I am officially retiring from forms competition. It is time to move on. I will of course continue practicing my forms, as I do every day. Why every day, along with all the other things I train in? A master pianist plays piano every day. A master ice skater ice skates every day. A master painter paints every day. I would expect nothing less from myself with my forms. And I have a lot of work to do with Master Balon still. But I am a martial artist before anything else. A martial artist comes from a place of spirit, not ego.

I am going to focus on the things I struggle with and am not good at. Why? Well first off, most people don't do that. And why not? I want to get better! I want to improve. I want to learn. I want to experience. And that's what I'll do. I have some very big goals the next couple of years and a lot of work to do. And I plan on doing them all. I take my goals very seriously. But I have made my decision and will be sticking to it.

I want to thank all who have supported me and watched me compete in forms. But I especially want to thank Master Balon for all his help and hard work with me. It is his caliber of knowledge and performance that I strive for and for always pushing the envelope with me, as I know you will continue to do. And now, to move on. (BOWS)

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO

The Boat

ON the last day of the tournament, that Saturday night there was a dinner cruise for the officials of the AAU Taekwondo National tournament. I did not know about this until our first meeting that week. I remember thinking “Oh that’s nice.” Then as the week went on and I began making such wonderful friends from all over, I got even more excited about it!

For most of them, they were not nearly as excited as I was because they’ve done it so many times. But even if I did it as many times as them, I’d pretty much be just as excited because to spend a night dedicated to just being together was a thrill in itself! Earlier in the year I did a similar dinner cruise with friends and it was highly enjoyable.

I joined everyone in one of the hotel suites where like 20 or more people were already hanging out! It was wonderful spending time with them all again! Master Scott Fiorillo, the Maryland District Director, whom I have great respect for was there, along with Master Hasan, Master Stone and Stacey Stone, my friend Kelley and her daughter, The Hoopers, the Waufords, and so many others!

The Southeast were trying to get me to move down there and made fun of my “apparent” New York like accent LOL. My eyes a few times filled up with tears, and I hope no one noticed, but I knew that our time together was coming to a close soon. This was the last hoorah, and I really didn’t want it to end. I’m never like that, but for the first time I did not want to return. I was enjoying myself so much I could just bust. For the record, I didn’t LOL.

We walked over together to the dock where we got on this beautiful three tiered boat. Immediately I got a few drinks with my new friend Jeff Jenkins and his wife where we got to talking about some old times of him refereeing and situations he’s been in. He is a very honest man and very upfront. He says he is a required taste for other people and that he’s “calmed down” a bit over the years.

I really did enjoy Jeff’s company. I knew exactly what I was getting with him, and I respected his stand on his views and opinions. He also was good humored and we got along very well all week. I enjoyed working with him and he taught me a lot over the week as an official and I am very grateful.

I got to hang out with my friend from New York, Nina Beauchaine, who centered at my very first AAU tournament and would “grow up” with in the AAU competition plane. She’s my buddy and pal and we danced and laughed and took pictures together! It was so nice to spend that time with her and I finally met her husband after all these years! Of course I danced with my Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee friends! We had a ball together!

For dinner I sat with Master Hasan, Master Fiorillo, the Stones, and with Master David Leider and his wife Christy, and our friend Wendy from Georgia. I enjoyed very much their company and the laughs and good convos that came with it. Before I knew it, Jeff Jenkins was dragging me upstairs to dance with his wife and the dancing continued.

I couldn’t believe it when the boat had returned to the dock. Where did the time go?! I couldn’t believe it was over!! I also didn’t time it myself quite right because I certainly wasn’t ready to go home yet either, but we spent a couple hours later together until it was time for me to get going. They really looked out for me. Thanks to Bobby, Stacey, Wendy, and Joe for that!

I had the most magnificent time. I want to thank all of the officials I worked with, that I met along the way, and all the new friendships I made. I am forever grateful for the experience. I really couldn't get enough of everyone, I don't think I can wait until next year. I will have to find excuses to make a bunch of trips to visit them all, and they can't be soon enough! (BOWS)

Yours in service,

MASTER A TRENTO

An Unexpected "Official" Gift

As I recently blogged in my last post of my experiences officiating at the AAU Taekwondo Nationals. I got to center a lot as a referee and felt very confident in my calls, and was mentored greatly by Master Joe Hasan and Master Jeff Jenkins. They challenged me, gave me opportunities they felt I could manage, and also shared their own experiences and gave advice and tips that would make me better.

Nothing has more value than when experienced and well respected individuals, such as these masters, share with new upcoming people such as myself. I learned from other officials who have officiated a national tournament before as well, and I also got o observe a lot as well. Sharp hand signals, authoritative voice, how they moved around in the ring, how often they kept their eyes on the screen checking and verifying calls of the corner judges, paying attention to the coaches, and how they took control of the ring.

To be an official you have to have a really good eye. But as Master Pham repeated to us all, the more you do it, the better you get. As simple as that. And it’s the truth, for anything of course. Practice makes better. Nothing is ever perfect (except for my hair =P) but you can always get better. People who know me well are rolling their eyes reading this as I say this all the time. But it’s true.

Most people know I do not like my birthday. It is certainly not the most favorite day of the year. It has nothing to do with me getting older, nor am I in denial of my age. But it’s a day I never enjoyed for personal reasons so that’s that. People who know me best know I hate it even being acknowledged, I used to deactivate my Facebook account so no one could say anything. It has been a good many years now. But one thing I loved was that the AAU Nationals are always the week of my birthday. YES! A great reason to leave the state and NOT celebrate.

This year, what better thing for me to do than work! I loved it! I officiated sparring ALL day! From 8am start to about 5pm I officiated all day. It was wonderful. People ask me, don’t you get lonely on your birthday? Not at all. Especially after this year, solitude from this day was no problem for me. I remember leaving the convention center toward my car and before getting in the car I stood looking over at the water just taking a moment to relax. It was a simple moment, but had great meaning to just BE.

 After the day was over, I was invited to spend a little time with some of the other officials at their hotel. I opted to pay a visit before they left for dinner for a little bit. I did not spend a lot of time there, but the small amount of time I did spend was absolutely delightful. Bobby Stone and Stacey Stone were absolutely gracious along with Debbie and Jacob Hooper and Taylor Wauford. Before I knew it Joe Hasan joined in, and we all just chatted away and enjoyed each other’s company. We laughed a lot and had many a friendly conversation.

These guys have no idea how in that very moment how very happy I was just sitting there with them. I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. These guys made me feel so welcome and that I belonged there, it was a birthday gift I did not expect to receive. It was in that moment that I knew exactly what it was I wanted to do on my birthday each year, and that was to spend it like this with this group of people if I could. Because just being there with them in that room brought me such happiness, and I was very happy to have been included.

They invited me to dinner with them, but I had to respectfully declined. I really had to go and I did get to see that night Mary Ellen and William (more on them later).

I’m sure that hour or so had no where near the same significance for them as it did for me, but I want to thank them for such a wonderful time and for including me in their time. It brought me great happiness and was a gift I wasn’t expecting to receive. Thank you. (BOWS)

Yours in service,

MASTER A TRENTO

Officially Official with the Officials

 

Last week I went to Florida for the AAU National Taekwondo Championships. This would be my first trip that I have ever taken alone, first flight alone, first time officiating at the national tournament, and first time renting a car. I had mixed feelings about going. I was nervous for all the "firsts". I practically grew up on an airplane because my mother is a travel agent and we always traveled, but I always had a companion. Money made me very anxious. And I was also afraid of some bitterness, being reminded of my horrible ending of last year's Florida trip that had consequences that lasted me up to twelve months. In short: I wasn't sure how excited I really was to be going at all.

But I had to make it a positive one. I was hoping the getting away would help me recharge my batteries, clear my head, maybe work on my book, maybe read a book, and I wanted to enjoy my own participation in the tournament as a competitor and official. I wanted to do a good job across the board. Since I've been feeling better as of recent, working hard was a no brainer.

Other than some frustrations with the car rental, the trip itself was good. I forgot my flashdrive so I couldn't write so I read my Barbara Walters memoir. First day I did absolutely nothing and stayed in at my condo. It was actually quite pleasant. Not many people can stand doing things alone. Although I am certainly not a loner, I can definitely appreciate the solitude of being alone and being productive and enjoying my time alone. I've done it quite a bit over the years and it's no different to me. One day of solitude was good. The next day I had to drive to Ft. Lauderdale for a few meetings.

I drove each day about 45 min to an hour to and from for the tournament. I introduced myself to the head referee in charge, Master Chuong Pham. I wanted to make sure he knew who I was and thanked him for the opportunity to officiate this week. He told me that this year I was the only official from New Jersey. I told him confidently, I was trained well in New Jersey and would represent well. It was that night I had my visit with Franco and Mary.

I was to officiate three days of the competition. All three days were Olympic style Taekwondo sparring. I was in a ring with a young three young ladies. One was Kelley from Georgia. She was a proud mother and very experienced official who was as friendly as could be and made me feel very comfortable. Sheriana was from Florida and it was her first time officiating nationals as well and you could tell she wanted to do a really good job. And then there was another girl named Vic who was fantastic at what she did.

But over the course of those three days I got along very friendly with a man named Jeff Jenkins. He was an International Referee with a lot of experience. But what I liked about him the most was that he was real. He was what he was and if you didn't like it, too bad. I always respect people like Jeff. Says it how he sees it, stands by what he believes and makes sure he's heard, but also light-hearted with a little off-color, yet friendly humor. We hit it off right away, but I also learned a lot by watching him officiate, and he really pushed the envelope with me while officiating as well. As much of a good time he was, he was also a very fair official and I respect him for that. Apparently he is known for causing riffled feathers, but in my experience it's the ones who don't cause enough riffles that don't make enough of a difference. More on Jeff later.

The TA, the head of our ring I know very well. Master Joe Hasan, the Adirondack District Director who hosts the tournament in Troy, NY. HE mentored me throughout the three days and gave me a lot of opportunity to gain experience and I felt that he really believed in me. That gave me reassurance and made me very happy and confident in what I was doing. I do hope that I came through for him, as well as the rest of my team.

I met a great group of people from Georgia including Master Bobby Stone's wife, Stacey. She was full of good energy, always had a smile on her face, and so warm when she greeted you. She has a good heart and looked out for me while I was in Florida, knowing for the majority of the beginning of my trip I was solo. I have known Master Stone for a couple years now and he is as funny and witty as he is an excellent official. He has centered for me many times and did my upgrade when I ranked to a class "C" Official with the AAU. It's always a good time when you are in the presence of Bobby Stone. There was also Wendy, who I got along with right from the start. The Georgia crowd got my vote.

I enjoyed the company of the Tennessee martial artists including Debra Hooper and her children. Her son, Jacob worked with me a bit too during the week and we had a great time. Her daughter Payton recently got married I think. They were already setting up an itinerary for me for a visit. I think the Georgia crowd were battling with Tennessee and Texas to where I would come visit first. I loved it! They had me laughing the entire time. But when we worked, we worked. And we worked so well. I have not officiated a national tournament before but from what most people said, it was easily run and smoothly gone.

The bottom line was I utterly enjoyed myself. The only downfall to this experience was that my personal mentor, Master Balon, could not be in attendance this year due to a scheduled surgery he had on his foot that was causing him a great deal of pain. He was the one who got me started in all of this and it would have been such a treat to experience this with him. But I hope I made him proud of represented New Jersey for all it's worth.

I have a few more blogs to write about this group of people. But the real delight was that it has been such a long time that I had that much fun and for the first time I did not want to leave and go home. I really felt like I belonged where I was. Working side by side with these martial arts masters from across the nation, many whom I have known about and watched for years, was an absolute privilege. But an even greater honor to share the time I had with them. And they welcomed me with open arms. I sit here with tears in my eyes because of the gratitude I have in my heart for the experience they gave me. But more it to be said about my time with them all, next time.

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO