Blog

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“Just a perspective and a way of thinking” (neither wrong nor right.)

Here is something to understand. Something very important. Something that can help you grow. Everyone has their own perspective. Their own brain, their own eyes, their own teaching, and their own understanding.

So by being able to let go and not be offended or feel we have to defend our position, we can make use of what they have.

When someone makes a comment they’re commenting based on those things mentioned above. They don’t know what we see, what we think, or what our understanding is. They can only comment based on what they know, and what they have.

This being said, in their comments, they’re telling on themselves. What they know or don’t know. But also sharing different ideas and concepts.

So don’t be offended or feel you have to defend anything. Be open and try to see through their eyes, try to understand what they understand. Get them to tell you, to show you, their understanding.

By doing this your knowledge can grow and you will have a deeper understanding of what you already know. Just don’t get distracted or confused.

Also in doing this, you will see the value of what you know and what you’re learning.

For example, a coin has two sides, but you can only see one side at a time.

When someone tells you that you’re wrong it’s not heads, it’s tails. You don’t argue with them. You understand, wait a minute. This guy has a different viewpoint and a different understanding. Maybe he sees something that I don’t.

This being said, that person will only know one side of the coin. His side, but since you have an open mind, and not offended, and don’t feel you have to defend your position. You can know what’s on both sides of the coin, heads, and tails. By borrowing his eyes.

So a wise man can learn from a speck of dust. Or maybe recognize that that speck of dust might be dust from gold.

So we want to free ourselves from our ego, from our self. Be open and learn, but understand what you’re learning and stick to it and you will grow. Don’t look down on others’ ideas as well.

One very important thing to understand and know. We don’t come to Martial Arts to learn how to fight most people do. They learn a little martial arts and now all of a sudden they feel like they are something. Now that is okay. Bless their hearts, but that’s not us. We already know how to fight we’re here for the Love of the art and to grow. So we don’t want to take away what little they have. But share in the wealth of what is.

So always be happy and don’t be bothered and continue to study with your teachers. Understand yourself. Know yourself, you are your number one teacher.

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HOPE, Not Fear!

In life, we come across difficulties. Sometimes the bush has more thorns than roses. We just have to do it sometimes. It may not be fun or nice. We may be scared, it may even hurt. You must learn how to win from losing. Facing, forward, center. Face the problem, attack and defend the center, in one motion, move forward, don’t run from it. Find its root cause and address it, in the most simple and direct way.

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My Thoughts And Ideas Only

Those who don’t have a stable mind will always be a slave to their old feelings. They will continue to fall victim to the past because the past becomes the present as they continually relive it in their mind.

Don’t bring the past to the current and impose it on the now.

Relax your mind and free your soul, release the warrior within!

Don’t hold on to your thoughts or feelings. Just watch them like the tide, as it rolls in and out. You cannot hold the tide even if you try. It comes and it goes. Observe it, don’t react to it, don’t base your life on it.

Focus your mind on your breath in and out, in and out. When the thoughts come, when the feelings come, refocus your mind again on your breath, in and out, in and out.

This is like a jar filled with sand. If you shake the jar the water is not clear. This would be like you reacting to the thoughts and feelings. Chasing the thoughts, reacting to the thoughts, becoming the thoughts.

Sit still and breathe, the sand will settle and you will see clear water.

It’s better to focus on your breathing, in and out, in and out, naturally. Just refocus your mind and watch it, observe it.

The thoughts and feelings will continue to come. That is okay. It’s like a game. The more you play the better you get. The less the thoughts and feelings will come. When they do come, they won’t bother you.

When the water is clear; when your mind is clear, that is your time to decide, that is your time to react and respond.

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Don’t Think, Feel!

Just focus on your breathing, like I taught you. Breathing is the beginning of life.

Always return to it. Also, focus just below your navel. That too is also a beginning of life. That area is close to your belly button. That is where you were connected to your mother and how you got fed before you were born.

All feelings are inside of you and you control them.

But for now, just focus on your breathing and just let your feeling come and go. Don’t hold on to them or react to them.

Always return your mind to the naval area and your breathing.

Watch and focus on your breath, the rise and fall, the in and out. Just focus on your breathing, like I taught you. Breathing is the beginning of life.

Always return to it.

Again, focus just below your navel. That too is also a beginning of life. That area is close to your belly button. That is where you were connected to your mother and how you got fed before you were born.

All feelings are inside of you and you control them.

But for now, just focus on your breathing and just let your feelings come and go. Don’t hold on to them or react to them.

Always return your mind to the naval area and your breathing.

Watch and focus on your breath, the rise and fall, the in and out. Just focus on your breathing, like I taught you. Breathing is the beginning of life.

Always return to it.

Also, focus just below your navel. That too is also the beginning of life. That area is close to your belly button. That is where you were connected to your mother and how you got fed before you were born.

Also, all feelings are inside of you and you control them.

But for now, just focus on your breathing and just let your feeling come and go. Don’t hold on to them or react to them.

Always return your mind to the naval area and your breathing.

Watch and focus on your breath, the rise and fall, the in and out.

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“Aleman Boxing” & “Acosta Boxing”

Back In The Day!

Two Young O.G.’s standing for a photo after the fights. More than likely it was 100 degrees hot !

My first day of training went for the routine run before practice. Went running with Eddie Rodriguez and Frank Aleman. I was about 15 years old.

They said we will see how long you last. Lots of guys come and go. Not many last long. Or something of that measure.

When they said that, it only put more glue underneath my shoes. This was a real boxing gym and we were the youngest. I was the newest and youngest of them all. That means no one cares about you generally . You are just in the way taking up space and you don’t know anything . Not a place to behave like a sissy.

It was a blood and sweat gym literally. For sports combat gyms, to say that may sound funny, because that is a norm. But for a regular person or hobbyist, that maybe a little to real and intense for them.

Busted lips and noses were a daily occurrence . Crying and quitting wasn’t

Later as I began to learn the ropes, I began to kick the older guys off the equipment, if I needed to use it. It turns out that a lot of the older guys were just there recreationally and they weren’t actively competing. When I saw them on the heavy bag playing around or saw that they couldn’t even hit it properly, if I needed to use it, I’d ask them if I could start my turn !

When you’re training you want your muscles to remain warm and you want your training to be continuous from start to finish. So there’s only so long I could jump up and down waiting for someone playing on a bag.

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“When I grow up I want to be a Kung Fu Master” !

Our Level 1 is basic, structured, fixed “Grow”. Overall flavor is of “Water” learning how to change and react. At this level, we are not teaching you how to fight, we are not teaching you techniques. We are training you to have a natural reaction.

You are learning drills to help you develop a natural response and reaction. If you look at it from a fighting aspect or self-defense technique the drills won’t look or feel right because it’s not any of those. But in the training of it all, the proper response is there and will feel more natural without trying.

In Level 1, you are developing your tool chest and learning how to use it. But it is not the actual use, so it may feel uncomfortable. The actual usage will be dictated by the opponent and the situation. The tool or tools you use will be automatic without thought, with training you will be able to pick and choose.

So once again, if you look at it from a combative standpoint it’s not going to feel comfortable or look right We have to let go of what we know. Understand that we are in the laboratory and we’re not blowing people up yet, we’re just mixing chemicals.

Level 2 is more active and not fixed. also, we are learning to feel, control, and express internal power. When we speak of internal power here we are referring more to structural power—body, bone, alignment, position, angles.

In Level 2, we are learning closing which is standing grappling, breaking power points a type of joint manipulation, Po Pai which is a type of pushing, and footwork which is kicking but not just ordinary kicking it is footwork as you will see.

To simplify things, it has been broken up into 5 categories representing 5 Elements.

• The Water Element is the level 1 Crossing hands
• The Wood Element is pushing
• The Fire Element is pulling found in level 1
• The Earth Element is a standing grappling in level 2
• The Metal Element is footwork and PowerPoints in level 2.

There’s more to the 5 elements of water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. But this is just an introduction so that the concepts are gradually understood. It is an understanding that grows with time just like everything else.

The job of your training partner is very important. The drills are not one-sided they are two-sided and the training partner is learning as well. So it’s not your turn then my turn, you’re actually both having turns at the same time. It just needs to be recognized and understood. Your training partner is very important and you are both on the same page. you and your training partner are not competing against each other or fighting against each other or working a self-defense technique. What your training partner is doing is feeding you punches or the necessary stimulus for you to express the drill.

I like to look at it like your training partner and you are on the same team preparing for a fight, you’re helping one another get ready. or, like feeding a baby. When you feed a baby, you let the baby eat. So you’re not trying to poke the baby in the eye with a spoon or shove the spoon down the baby’s throat. You don’t want the food to drop on the floor. You want the baby to successfully eat the food so they can be nourished and grow.

Your training partner as well as you are learning distance, timing, control, awareness, feeling, and seeing. To get the overall picture, It is advised to take your time, be relaxed and calm, and do it slowly. Doing it in this way will help ensure you can reap all the drill has to give. In time, your speed and power will come and it will be trained.

But in the beginning, try to absorb the flavor and essence of the drills. Do not be in a rush. The speed and power are there in the slow and soft of your training.

Okay, my friends thank you for your time in reading this. I know I have much more to learn and there’s still much more to mention in regards to this topic. It’s a journey I gladly continue to travel on.

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VIDEO interview – BRING ON THE PAIN PROFESSIONAL POXING

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El Dragon

*From the Crane we learn grace and self-control. *From the Tiger tenacity and power.

*From the Snake rhythmic endurance.

*From the Elephant never to forget.

*From the Dragon we learn to ride the wind !

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Thoughts and Perspectives

If you felt my Chi Sao, you see it’s different from the last time we touched. That’s why I think it’s good to film the training, so we can visually see the difference, not only feel it. So it provides a third-person perspective, plus we got the first-person perspective from the direct feel and touch. Then we can add all these together to upgrade yourselves and each other.

I only get better if my partner gets better. My goal is always to help my partner grow and this is the same. This ensures us to constantly elevate each other every time.

For me I don’t care about winning, I don’t care about hitting. I care about growing. It’s better if we can work with someone better than us, so that way it helps to force growth.

If I am better, then how can I make my partner better, so once again, it helps to create more growth for both.

Even if someone is pushing me down and standing on top of me to get ahead; I don’t mind, I look at the orange. Let me stand up instead of them only reaching the first branch as they stand on my back. I put them on my shoulders so they are able to grab the fourth branch now. simultaneously, as they pull themselves up to the fourth branch, I hold on to their leg taking me to the third branch. While still obtaining branches one and two for myself.

Now Chi Sao is said to be the soul of Wing Chun. I am still working on the body, so I have not yet begun working on the soul. But once again I look at the orange, it is there too.

Now if we talk about it like an orange representing the system; every piece of it is part of that system and is equally important. Seeds, peel, pulp, juice, green leaf, and stem. Each piece supports and is connected to the other in some way. So in practicing one, I am also practicing all the others.

As we train, things start to ripen and function which abilities manifest.

So it is in my current thoughts, that it is in the training of drills and forms that can make this happen. you can’t chase after a particular skill or ability. You continually do the drills and forms and the pictures start to manifest themselves, as needed.

So for me, I didn’t practice Chi Sao since the last time we saw each other, also my training did not change, nor did I practice Chi Sao prior. In actuality, I don’t practice it at all. My training has been less, due to situations. But regardless, the orange still ripenes even as it sits on the kitchen table.

My training is drill-based. If I happen to touch hands with someone in Chi Sao, I see it has a friendly scrimmage, to just shed light, on my current ability or state in a friendly manner. I never care to win or injure my partner. I always hope that my partner can run me over. This will bring more growth for me.

So I say, trust the drills, forms, your Sifu, and continue to enjoy yourself.

Also, when you look at an orange, we are all working on a different piece or part of the orange. When someone offers advice, it is usually from their perspective and understanding of whatever part they are working on. In this way, what they say can give me a glimpse at something I didn’t see or think of.

if someone tells me I am wrong or right, It makes me happy because now I can see from a different perspective.

Most of the time, people read from a book with the same title, but the pages are different on the inside. Or, from the same book; but on a different page. So when someone says something, I try to see it from their perspective. I don’t hold on to my truth or belief making me locked or rigid in my thinking. I want to understand what and why they believe as they do. Also what page or book are they on? They may have a book that I may never see.

The drills are handed down from generation to generation. The Sifu’s skills are derived from these drills, that he passes to us.

The Sifu gives you the drills, but it is up to you to unlock them and find their secrets, which can only be found by understanding the drills and forms.

It is a continuous development and endless growth.