TMAFC's first Haganah Test

The first TMAFC HaganaH Yellow Belts

I began training in HaganaH F.I.G.H.T In 2012 with my mentor Master Samuel DeJesus. He did it on our Taekwondo Black Belt test and I told him I wanted him to teach it to me one day. I originally did it to challenge myself, do something I felt which was of higher level in self-defense, to better myself toward my master test, and because I believed it to be a very practical system. I never intended on necessarily becoming an instructor, ranking in it, let alone teaching it.

But you never know where you're going until you get there. Monthyl I would train with Master DeJesus and I even got to meet the founder, Mike Lee Kanarek, who I would later train with as well. Master DeJesus always opened me to new experiences, as any good mentor should do. I remember when he invited me to watch a Yellow Belt HaganaH test. I couldn't believe it! I will never forget the doubt I had in myself just WATCHING the test. I think it was a year later he said to me "Ready for your test?" My smile dropped. "I...uh...eh...um...what!?" I tested in winter time a year later.

I think it was an additional year later, Master DeJesus told me that there was going to be an Instructor Certification, first one done not by Mike Lee and in Pennsylvania. He told me I should do it. "Me?!" Yes you, he said. He told me an instructor's point of view in the system will also add benefit to my training. So of course I knew that, and so I did it. It was on the gun system of the Gen 2 F.I.G.H.T. Prior to that I had interviewed Mike Lee Kanarek for The Martial Way, my channel and for a documentary project which I am still working on. That spring Mike Lee invited me to the tenth HaganaH conference where he finished my certification on the empty hand and knife part of Gen 2 system and I became a Generation 2 F.I.G.H.T Instructor by Mike Lee Kanarek. I went to his school that following summer for his Battle Ready Kickboxing Certification. After that I had asked him if he felt I could do a program at my school, but I would only do it if the founder felt I could do it. He believed I could and TMAFC became an authorized training center.

I began the program in July 2015. It started with four students. The program has grown since then, I have done a few more certifications with MLK since, as I also continue to train with my own instructor and mentor Master DeJesus. After six months, my school was ready to hold its first testing.

Five of the students who have trained very hard and consistently were ready to test. I had consulted with MLK, my mentor, and a few HaganaH Black Belts weeks prior, asking for advice and figuring it out, since as an instructor I've never facilitated a test before, but at the same time, I wanted these guys to set a standard to uphold the integrity of the system, and also challenge them in a way that not only would they have to earn this belt, but not limit their abilities if they could do more as well. 

A HaganaH F.I.G.H.T test is a testing process unlike any other I have ever seen before. I think my Taekwondo students who do both programs were shell shocked compared to what they have tested before, and my Taekwondo tests aren't easy either. The purebred HaganaH students were definitely surprised at how challenging the test was, they expected to be challenged, but they all said the same thing, they were not expecting the level of difficulty it actually was!

But these guys have great heart, and they LOVE the system. They work hard, they're focused, and they have the right mindset which is everything. You cannot get through this test without being physically ready, which the classes help you with that too, but the mind makes the body do more than what most realize. Not only did they do what was expected for a Yellow Belt, but THEN some. 

My mentor, Master DeJesus was there with his student Austin. I told him "Sir, the mats are yours!" He was welcome to doing whatever he wanted and ask of the candidates whatever he wanted. After a few drills and rounds, I think he was able to get an idea of who they were and what they were able to do, then he added a flare to the test that was absolutely wonderful! I wanted these guys to get a taste of what my mentor was about, not just in a challenging way but idealistically in the lesson that was being provided.

We definitely added more to the test, but not to the point where we exhausted anything for the future, that's pretty impossible to do with this system. I hope my mentor was proud of me. If it weren't for Master DeJesus I wouldn't be doing this. I hope I upheld Mike Lee Kanarek's standards. Master DeJesus and I are two of his "ambassadors", the leadership carrying out his system. I am so proud of my students and think they did a fantastic job on their first test. I believe they set a bar that really needs to be met for all tests to come afterward. The next F.I.G.H.T test at my school will be in July. I am very excited for these guys to continue their training and for the next crew to move on up, as the program continues to grow!

Special thanks to Mr. Austin for volunteering his time and jumping in and helping with the testing. A Very special thank you to my mentor Master Sam DeJesus for contributing such a great deal to the testing. Thanks to Sifu Dave and Ed Du Plessis for their help weeks prior to the testing. And of course a special thanks to the man himself, Master Mike Lee Kanarek for the creation and development to this system that we believe in and love. (BOWS)

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO