Many others could potentially do the same as what this brave, seven year old girl did by escaping her would-be kidnapper. If you can remember the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy who murdered many young women, one of his smallest and tiniest victims ended up surviving because she fought back. The number one self defense technique depends on your own aggression. This little girl was on her own for a brief time in Walmart. During this attack, she defended herself by striking her assailant. Be aggressive and learn how to strike if you want to survive, do not attempt to learn how to twist someone’s arm until you become aggressive, balanced, powerful, and grounded. Many people could learn a thing or two from this young girl who was smart enough to know when she was in danger and had the presence of mind to know when to show her fighting spirit.
Calasanz is a master martial artist that has spent over 30 years developing and perfecting his system of martial arts and fitness training. His unique teaching methods have helped countless men, women, and children of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels enjoy martial arts while becoming physically fit in the process. The Calasanz System develops mind, body, and spirit as a whole. At Calasanz’s dojo, you will learn something to take home every day that will last you a lifetime. Start your training at Calasanz by calling him at (203)-847-6528, by visiting the dojo at 507 Westport Avenue, in Norwalk, Connecticut, or by checking out the website at http://www.calasanz.com/. Come on by for a free trial class.
Calasanz came to this country with a dream and knew what he had to do to achieve it. Coming to the U.S.was a long journey. Even though Calasanz worked at the most popular bank in his home country of the Dominican Republic, some of his earliest stories in America came while he worked at the restaurant Victoria Station. He went there and applied for a busboy position, only the chef, a Peruvian man named Carmelo was working in the kitchen, and they did not need a busboy, but rather someone to wash dishes since they were expecting 600 customers that night. Carmelo could not do everything by himself and asked Calasanz to do the work that five people would normally do since the restaurant was shorthanded. Good thing for Calasanz that he was able to understand and write in English. It was the beginning of his career in the states and he made a lot of money. During the first three months, Calasanz did almost every job in the restaurant including cooking, bussing tables, waiting tables, and soon he was the top waiter and eventually a bartender.
Calasanz never forgot a woman he met at the restaurant named Joan, who was studying to be a journalist; she was one of the most beautiful human beings he ever met. She thought Calasanz had a great personality even though his spoken English was not perfect. There was no doubt that she was any man’s dream girl. Calasanz came here with the ultimate goal of making a movie and for eight years he did not look at anyone, all Calasanz did was study and train, hoping to emulate what Bruce Lee did in this country, and felt like there was so much left to accomplish. With Joan it was different, even though he was nervous around her; it was hard not to glance in her direction.
Around this time, Calasanz was in the U.S.A. for less than one year, but was very popular already and had a body that was possibly better and stronger than Bruce Lee at his peak. Calasanz trained day and night, with two percent body fat and 135 pounds, just like Bruce. Calasanz wanted to model himself after Bruce Lee so much, that if he weighed more than that 135 pound limit, he locked himself inside a car with the heat turned up to act as a sauna to sweat off the extra weight.
Even though Calasanz does not drink, Joan once offered him a glass of red wine, so this one time, he made an exception. He could not say no because she was such an impressive and engaging woman. Personality, intelligence, humor, good character, she had it all; guys would just stare at her. Joan really saw something in Calasanz and believed he would achieve anything he set out to accomplish.
With all the hard work Calasanz had to do to get the recognition he so desired, Joan was a bright spot, she always believed in his success. If she is out there somewhere, reading this, Calasanz would like to say “Thank You” for everything.
Having good character is very important to Calasanz. He is the son of Eugenio Martinez, one of the most respectful, respected, and serious men in the Dominican Republic. Calasanz’s father raised the best 11 kids in the country and raised them all to follow his good character and respectful ways.
Another incident in the restaurant involved a manager that showed poor character involving a man who worked there as the general manager. The waitresses were very scared of him, he terrorized everyone, especially the ladies, but not when Calasanz was there. This person finally got fired for his behavior and was never to be allowed to ever enter a Victoria Station restaurant. Even though Calasanz believed this was a harsh punishment, he should not have treated people the way he did.
Calasanz enjoyed his time at Victoria Station and that is why he is sharing these stories. That company treated him very well and was a building block to get to where he is now.
My vow to make a movie in the U.S.caused me to go this far with this film. I should have known to back out when the director could not come up with a script. I never stopped saying to all my students, “I am making a movie.” I gave myself a timetable that by 1994 I must finish this goal in order to move on, otherwise I cannot start anything. I remember Stew Leonard asking me, “Why you don’t take that money and open another school?” and I said, “Stew I must do it, I have spoken too much, now I am forced to do it, it is just ego, but everyone is starting to make faces like Hahn!”
I have come to the conclusion that I do not blame anyone other than myself. It makes me angry and I will never forget as part of this process we owed a person $105,000. This man was not working, he was sick, and owed creditors hundreds of thousands of dollars. He came to work for me on the film and even when I paid him, he still would have had to file bankruptcy and later did. A few years after he filed, he was rebuilding his home in Greenwich. To this day I still find that hard to believe. What makes me the angriest is that the wife of this person told her husband that he would lose money and talks bad about me still. She failed to be an honest person as I paid everyone. Some of the people that received checks asked, “What for? “You lost out with this movie, dummy.“ I kept my word that everyone would be compensated.
This movie turned into the biggest humiliation of my career. This low budget movie went from costing around $250,000 to over $1 million. I could have taken the easy way out and just filed bankruptcy but I chose not to. I could have just as easily gone back to my country, taken a great job, and lived the “good life,” but I chose to stay and do what I know and love and that is teaching martial arts. I knew that 3-4 years down the line, this movie would promote my name regardless if it failed in the past.
Marcello ran the master trailer which was the best part of the movie and a box of the most memorable pictures of me. When Marcello tried to hire someone to work with him on the movie, while interviewing this prospective employee, a man named Andrew had a dog bite him on the ear in Marcello’s apartment, and even after tried to get money from us. That was just another speed bump during this whole movie process. Nothing went the way it was supposed to go. I know now that Marcello did nothing wrong, he felt sad and ashamed that he let me and many others down. I never wanted to blame Marcello because he did so much work on this movie to try to get it right but he lacked the experience. Marcello felt that he made all the mistakes but I feel that the mistakes were all my fault and not his. Marcello’s issues were not having a solid plan and not taking the time to learn his craft.
So many people who believed in what I was doing were let down. I did nothing wrong other than trust those that were my friends, and that is why I believe that I deserve the blame for all that happened during the making of this film. Crossing The Line was a nightmare for me. Marcello has since vanished and we have not heard from him. I would like to thank all my students that stuck by me and showed their support during this time.
In 1987, two students came to my door and signed as private students, their names are John and Marcello and a friendship between us started immediately. Marcello who later became a director of commercials, wanted to do the same for me and he did. This is where Marcello got his start, he did not charge too much money because he needed the experience. He knew that it was my dream to make this movie and we started to collaborate. Marcello and I went to restaurants to talk about the movie, we always talked about the movie, I told him of my dream to make a successful film. I told him countless times that if this movie failed that it would shatter that dream. My father always believed in preventing a bad thing from happening and those words stuck with me. Marcello never had a finished script but I trusted him and he always convinced me by saying something like “Don’t worry, I know what I am doing.”
I thought about this movie for eight years and asked myself all the time, can this young guy direct it? Over the years I had always spent lots of time with various people to discuss business deals to prevent those bad things from happening if I could. I don’t believe in contracts but instead in mutual agreements. I did everything I could in those eight years to prevent any mistakes and I know now that everything I did was taken for granted. “Marcello,” I said time and time again, “This movie determines my success and my career.” We were best friends, such good friends that when he moved to the city he sent me letters to tell me what he was doing, how his life was, and how hard and how much skill he was going to put into my movie.
What I did not know about Marcello was that he was working for one thing, to make a trailer for himself in order to sell himself as a movie director. So much money was wasted on the first attempt at making this movie and Marcello wanted a second attempt at it. I did everything to get more money and gave Marcello a second chance like I always do because I don’t believe in giving up on people. As we started the movie, I opened an account where the money to make the movie would be deposited with the producer and Marcello on that account. The first budget for the movie was gone after two weeks so this was the reason for opening another account. Within two weeks the money was gone. There were checks written to buy products that I never knew about. Two years later, somebody close to the producer came and told me that over $100,000 was taken and I was so trusting and sincere that I believed that these people were just human. Even without knowing the producer, I trusted him, he was Marcello‘s friend. One thing I noticed that when the first budget was gone, the producer felt so bad that he gave me his credit card for to charge $10,000 which I paid him as he finished shooting the movie. That should have told me that something was not right because people do not do that. Did the producer feel bad or did he just not want me to look into where the money had gone?
When I first came to the United States I wanted to make my mark, I wanted to make a name for myself. Upon entering this country I had a goal in mind and I said it over and over again, “I came here to make a movie.” I heard what Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and others had to go through in Hollywood with the politics involved in making it big and I did not want to follow that path. Even Bruce Lee went back to China because of those same politics. I kept going and would not falter on my decision, I wanted to make this movie in the U.S., not my home country of the Dominican Republic. Besides, I was only training in martial arts in the Dominican Republic part time. I was respected the first time I entered a martial arts school because of my natural ability and most of all I never slacked off. You should also understand that I was a bit of a show off, if someone wanted to take a photo with me or asked me to do a full split, I did it immediately. All that showing off surprises me when I look back at it but I enjoyed showing off my skills and I do have a strong respect for martial arts and the instructors that had a hand in my training, especially Tameyoshi Sakemoto. I gained the trust and heart of Sakemoto because I possessed a gift to be a naturally gifted martial artist and I never abused that gift. Most of my fights were won without fighting, anyone that wanted to discuss martial arts with me understood my skills and knew that I required and deserved respect. There were some cases where I won a fight but I was fortunate that it was not too serious a fight because even though I was in good shape maybe my diet was not so good, maybe I worked too hard, put too much pressure on myself, or made too many mistakes. When you are training hard and put that amount of pressure on yourself, regardless of how good a shape you are in, you would not be at your strongest with all that stress.
When I was eight years old when I taught my four year old brother how to hurt another kid who was bullying him. Between eight and 12 years old I knew how to take a big step forward and deliver the hardest kick to a cow that connected on its belly. There is an empty space that this animal has, I would love to know the name of that specific muscle, you hit it hard and they go down for at least one minute! I used to do that all the time, until one day I got caught, before the cow got up my father came and knew exactly what happened.
As I start training in martial arts, all my friends realized that I had a talent for what I was doing. They realized that no one on the farms in the Dominican Republic could trade kicking with me including his elders. I could easily win a fight just by kicking. Fighting was something came easy to me, I could look at a person and immediately knew when to strike, bite, punch, or kick them. I would take examples from today’s self defense techniques like MMA and Wing Chun Chi Sau and I would know where to strike just by looking at a person‘s body. I loved martial arts but my father begged me to get into boxing but I wanted more than just beating someone as a sport.
In 1975 my father and I went to see a movie made famous by Bruce Lee titled “Enter the Dragon.” I knew right away that I wanted to make a film. I started planning a trip to the U.S. I knew that I could make a business out of movies and acting. I did not want to just teach anymore, I knew that I wanted to be on the big screen. I wanted to do exactly what Bruce was did. At this point I already had a diploma and a job at a bank. I was able to convince my job to let me take a break to go to the U.S. to study. I applied for a visa and got accepted to the University of Bridgeport. When I got to the university I didn’t open a book, I was more focused on anything and everything to do with martial arts. This journey to get to the U.S. and make something of myself was realized when I opened my school. After opening the school, the idea I had long ago to make a movie would finally be reality.
Frank Dux visited Calasanz Physical Arts in 1990 and said that Calasanz was the most qualified school for a seminar based on grounding techniques. I know that many people have criticized Frank Dux, but primarily because of the movie “Bloodsport.” I knew that it was just a story since day one, but I would never say that Frank Dux was not a good fighter and martial artist. He was and still is. However, Frank Dux (who was making a fortune in my school in Connecticut holding seminars every three months) seemingly had something to do with sabotaging my part in the movie “Only the Strong,” .
I was noticed immediately during the audition of “Only the Strong.” The director and producer stopped what they were doing and started recording me with a real interest. At the end of the audition, they said they wanted me in this movie from beginning to end. I was sent home to start training for this role, but I got a call from Frank Dux saying, “You don’t have to travel to the set in Miami yet, you are in the movie.” It was like saying, “You don’t have to rehearse.” By the time I got on a plane to Miami, the movie was almost finished. Luckily, the producer and director told me I would still be in the movie towards the end.
Just to fly to Miami took a lot on my part since I am terrified of being up there. Many Hollywood stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Daniel Bernhardt, and Canal Kritza even came to Connecticut just to audition with me. The filmmakers wanted to bring me to California for the shoot but I did not go and agreed on Miami instead.
Director Sheldon Lettich and martial artist/actor Paco Prieto spent a lot of time trying to convince Mark Dacascos to fight without a shirt. No one could convince Mark to do this. At this time, my body was probably better than Bruce Lee’s. Even though I was emulating Bruce, I was creating my own image and breathing techniques that not too many martial artists could use.
I will never forget how embarrassed I was when I realized that I lost most of my part on this movie just because of Frank Dux. Especially since The Norwalk Hour printed a nice story about me being a part of this film. Three years after I got to this country I had a television show that played nationally. In 1987, Hollywood came calling, including Ron Howard, who was being taught by Ali. He saw video if me in action and enjoyed it. Ron Howard called twice, and gave me advice and addresses of where to go to get further in Hollywood.
Over the last four years, I briefly departed from solely teaching on a one-on-one basis and ventured into small group classes. I began teaching martial arts in the early 80’s and built my reputation by training students one-on-one. I am pleased to say that I have decided to go back to my roots and concentrate on One-on-One Personal Training.
For 25 years, I’ve privately trained Wall Street executives, CEOs from major corporations, professional athletes like the Hartford Whalers ice hockey team, tennis star Ivan Lendl, best-selling authors Cathy Cash Spellman and Patty Davis Reagan, as well as Henry Kissinger’s personal bodyguard, and members of the military and law enforcement services.
I have decided to make this change because this is what I enjoy most and it is where I see the most progress with my students. Understanding that private martial arts training can be a costly, I have offered packages over the last 20 years packages for one, two, three, and even four years at a considerable savings for a long term commitment. A package avoids the high cost of private lessons, which can individually run from $95 to $380 per hour.
Many of you have been comfortable purchasing long term packages not only for the savings, but with the knowledge that I have been in business for over 30 years and am not some “fly by night” operation that is going to close its doors and leave you flat.
I am currently offering long-term packages at great prices for those of you interested in embracing the martial arts as a hobby or as something special that you just do for yourself.
If you are interested in working toward the goal of earning your black belt for instance, you can commit to one year with a savings of more than half of what it would cost you in a month-to-month program. If you have already committed to a 3, 6, 9 month or one year program and would like to enroll long-term, you can still take advantage of the discounted program. Just see me and we can easily make an adjustment to your program.
For those of you who decide to take advantage of a package, I’d like to sit down with you and determine your ultimate goal. Would you like to:
Lose Weight? Get fit? Try our Physical Arts program?
Many of you want to learn self-defense and how to be more self-confident. This is and has been our specialty for over 30 years. I not only focus on the physical aspect of learning street defense, but also how not to “lose it” in a confrontation. Remember that Ted Bundy killed over 100 young women and was stopped by the one who fought back and got away! It was her description of this monster that finally put him behind bars. Bundy didn’t expect her to fight back…but she did and stunned him with the element of surprise.
My system is designed for the real world, for real people. It is practical enough to teach you the skills you need without brutal training regimes that serve you no purpose. For whatever your goals, I can work out a long-term package for you that will motivate you and save you money at the same time. Just make an appointment with me and we can work out the details. A good example to be aware of If you sign for a package to finish it on 6 months, if you decided to finish on 4 years still you don’t have to pay extra while you have lessons left, which is why a package is designed to be paid in advance, that is the purpose of the commitment and that is why you are saving more than half of the cost.
THERE’S AN ANCIENT CHINESE PROVERB WHICH SAYS, “IT TAKES YEARS FOR THE STUDENT TO FIND HIS TEACHER, AND THE TEACHER HIS STUDENT” SIMPLY PUT, NO ONE STYLE OF MARTIAL ARTS IS RIGHT FOR EVERYONE. THE SIMPLE FACT IS, DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS EXCEL AT DIFFERENT STYLES OF MARTIAL ARTS. WITH THE WELL ROUNDED BLEND OF WING-CHUN KUNG-FU, JAPANESE KARATE, KICK BOXING AND FREE-WEIGHT WORKOUT PROGRAM. YOUR SEARCH CAN BE OVER. YOU CAN FIND OUT NOW WHICH STYLE OF MARTIAL ART IS BEST SUITED TO YOU. THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE AT CALASANZ. WHETHER YOU ARE MALE, FEMALE, YOUNG, OLD, NEW OR EXPERIENCED IN THE MARTIAL ARTS, CALASANZ CAN HELP YOU FIND YOUR SPECIAL PLACE IN THE WORLD OF MARTIAL ARTS TODAY!
My goal as a martial arts instructor is to see you make progress. While some measure progress in the martial arts with colored belts, it is really the space between the tests where you make real gains. This is where the hard work takes place.
Any decent martial arts system begins with the fundamentals and can take you to the level of mastery. Success as a martial artist however, depends on two things: commitment on your part and a skilled instructor who not only teaches you the art, but also challenges you.
It has long been my philosophy that you can learn thousands of techniques, but if you are not physically fit enough to execute them; they will be of little or no use. This is why it’s important for a martial arts curriculum to include challenging conditioning exercises in order to propel you to the next level.
Calasanz Physical Arts training begins with conditioning. I take you in any condition and help increase your physical fitness. I structure a workout tailored to your needs and push you to become strong and flexible. As my student, I will encourage you to take conditioning seriously because it is an important part of the whole package. You will be amazed at how only a few exercises produce fantastic results!
Some of you may get upset when I make changes to your training routines. You come to the dojo with your own agenda but it is my job to push you beyond your comfort zone. After three decades dedicated to teaching the martial arts, I know which direction to push you into in order to take you to the next level.
I’m going to intentionally mix up the routine you’ve become so comfortable with because I don’t want your training to get stale. I may ask you to train with someone other than the usual training partner so you will experience working with someone who is totally different than what you are used to. I may ask you to spend some time on your least favorite technique or require you to learn a difficult form for your next promotion test.
So don’t get upset if one day I walk up to you and turn it all upside down. My experience tells me that a stale routine stalls your progress. I want to help you build natural power and the only way I can do that is to force you push past whatever is in your way. Work diligently on what is asked of you. The belt is merely icing on the cake. All the work necessary to progress is done long before the date of your test!
