Comment: These are “pointless techniques, that will get you killed in the street”, and you can be sure that those who understand how you are attacked on the street would immediately make sense of what this lady is doing.
Response: Since the mid-80’s, Calasanz has earned his reputation as an instructor, especially with members of law enforcement. He has taught self-defense to numerous police officers, special agents, state troopers, bodyguards and military personnel. Men and women from these professions still come to his school. If his techniques were “pointless” and would “get you killed in the street,” his school would have closed a long time ago. Calasanz has been very innovative with his use of power, speed and flexibility. His system is focused on counter attacks that work for women. The woman in this video is one of the strongest he has ever encountered after training in his system. Her hip and torso power is extraordinary, which make her defensive movements powerful.
Anyone can execute a block or a strike, but not everyone can do it with balance, power, flexibility, and style. The quality of the execution is what is most important. If you follow the young lady in the video closely, you can see that she has a very good block. Notice when Calasanz swings how she naturally drops back and moves her head to evade the strike. She then immediately returns a counterattack. At this point in her training, will she be able to hurt someone? No, but it is crucial to teach good technique first and then develop more strength and striking power. There is a difference between training in martial arts and boxing as a way of life and training for competition. Nobody is really ever ready for the streets because what goes on there is very unpredictable. If you want to produce a good street fighter, then you need to find someone who has no fear. Technique for this person is just icing on the cake.
The goals of a good martial arts curriculum is progress. Regardless of the style you have chosen to study, all of them begin with the fundamentals and can take you to the level of mastery. Success however depends on two things: commitment on your part and a skilled instructor who not only teaches you the art, but also challenges you.
To some, progression in the martial arts is about earning another belt or stripe. The space between these belts and stripes however is where the martial artist makes his real gains. This is where all the hard work takes place. In addition to learning the new techniques required by your style’s curriculum, you will be tested physically and mentally.
Increasing your fitness level will be challenging, as you push yourself to become faster, stronger and more agile. 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 conditioning exercises. Take them seriously because they’re part of the whole package.
You have to discipline yourself to get to the dojo and train hard on nights when all you want to do is go home and lay on the couch. You may want to eat healthier so you spend more time training and less time digesting! You will have to take all that your instructor has taught you and incorporate it into sparring or self-defense practice. While you’ve learned many attacks and counterattacks, you may find that you only use a few. This is where you experiment with what really works.
Now it’s time for your instructor to do his part. A good instructor will push you beyond your comfort zone. He knows that in order for you to go beyond where you are now, he’s going to have to make you work. He’s going to have to mix up the physical training so your routine doesn’t get stale. He may change up a workout that you’ve gotten used to. He may ask you to train with different classmates or to train alone. He may ask you to work on your least favorite techniques or learn a really hard form.
Don’t get upset if one day he walks into class and turns it all upside down. His experience tells him that a stale routine stalls your progress. The only way to get to the next level is to push past whatever is in your way. Work diligently on what is asked of you. The day of your test is merely icing on the cake. All the work necessary to progress is done between the belts!
Interested in MMA???? Short on cash and time but want to get in a good workout? Drop-in on our Monday Night Fight School! Learn the basics of mixed martial arts fighting at Calasanz Physical Arts, Monday nights, from 6-8PM. Different instructors who will guide you in building a well-rounded martial arts background present new topics each week. Start with a great conditioning workout and then go on to learn striking fundamentals like punching, kicking, blocking, footwork, and the use of elbows and knees. Classes progress to submission techniques from judo, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu under a qualified instructor’s supervision. No pre-registration, no contracts, and no traditional training. Just mixed martial arts at the drop-in rate of $15.00 per class! You pick the nights you want to train! No previous experience is necessary! If you have experience, this is a great way to keep your skills sharp!
Developing self-control for a martial artist is essential for many reasons. First, Calasanz trained many fighters who competed in point and semi-contact tournaments. If you have no self-control, you will get disqualified and the fight goes to your opponent. Secondly, a martial artist who lacks self-control in a fight will be judged harshly in a court of law for using “excessive force.” You have to know when to stop and when enough is enough. Lastly, over the years, Calasanz has had a number of people stop by the school to “challenge” either Calasanz or one of his students. His philosophy is to teach the intruder a lesson without beating the daylights out of him…just enough to get his point across. Calasanz demonstrates amazing self-control and is not just doing it for the purpose of “showing off.” All Calasanz students have faith in his technique and the fact that he’s never hit anyone by accident when demonstrating. An experienced martial artist without self-control however is a scary thing.
Train with Calasanz…because you want something more than the usual gym workout that has gotten you nowhere!
Train with Calasanz…because you want to learn how to defend yourself and work on your physical fitness at the same time!
Train with Calasanz…because you’re gotten out of shape and need to take action!
Train with Calasanz…because you want to take control of your life!
If you’re a Returning Member or a Current Member ready to renew your membership, here’s what you get with the following special offer as an incentive to keep training…
40% discount on membership fee!
3 private lessons with one of our instructors! This is a great way to reassess your goals and along with your instructor, create a new workout routine!
If you are a returning member dealing with an injury or health problem, speak to Calasanz to set up a special training plan!
A lot of people talk about self-defense and end up wasting their time and money with classes or styles that teach them endless techniques that they will never remember in a stressful situation. We focus on building strength, power, coordination and grounding. I don’t care how many self-defense techniques you’ve learned. If you’re weak, nothing will work. We emphasize physical fitness and easy to recall techniques. If you’re not physically fit, then you’re better off buying a handgun and learning how to shoot. Even then you need some coordination to hit your target. We’ve been in the business for a long time and don’t need for anyone to tell us that high kicks are not good in self-defense situations. They’re nice for tournaments and demonstrations. So if this young woman in the video has strong high kicks, her lower ones will be even more deadly. We’ve trained male and female police officers and they keep sending referrals to us. Why? Because our system works. Look at the video again. We work on developing reflexes and good counter attacks so you can cope on the streets. Save the 10,000 self-defense moves for people who want to waste their money.
I hope this showman have not a real fight. hope, he has a also a pole for his hand, I think he can not stand alone for a kick. Is this wing tsun, karate or show for himself in a mirror?
Response:
In his lifetime, Calasanz has unfortunately had his share of fights. That’s why when he first opened his school; he ended up with mostly street fighters as students. They came in with a stupid attitude, looking for a fight, and left with a membership. As he has matured and grown both as a human being and a martial artist, his philosophy is that the true martial artist does all he could to avoid an altercation. Any idiot can put himself out there as a punching bag. Showmanship is for the purpose of entertaining, which all successful martial artists have to do to a certain degree. True martial artists like Calasanz build schools, teach students how to defend themselves and improve their lives and more importantly teach them to fight without fighting. Grow up.
Since the mid 1980s, Calasanz has been known for having one of the most outstanding young athletes program with over 350 kids. Some have become police officers, State Troopers, Pro football, ice-hockey, baseball and Lacrosse players. But two stand out. One was an 8-year-old who was viewed by everyone including his father to be an outstanding ice-hockey player. Today, at age 19 he’s a Pro player, signed without finishing college.
This kid was very skilled on the Ice, but his posture needed work. Within 6 months he became a pure super-star in our system. The other kid was his friend. Today he is playing on the college hockey team and will probably become a Pro one soon. Just like his friend/competitor.
