Calasanz grew up on a farm in the Dominican Republic. From earliest childhood, his natural athletic gifts of power, endurance and alignment, startled neighbors and family. At age 5, he began to develop his own brand of training for his physical skills, by working in the fields… by 10, he fought a grown man, a neighborhood bully, and won.
Recognizing his son’s uniqueness, Calasanz’s father sent him to the city to study. There, he achieved multiple diplomas, always testing his own endurance by stretching the envelope in extraordinary ways. He began to study Goju Ryu Karate with Tomajoshi Sakamoto, one of the most renowned Martial Artists in the world. His grueling regimen of training, and his own natural gifts soon brought his skills to the attention of other Martial Arts Masters. Calasanz studied Wing Chun Kung Fu under Moyat, another near- legendary master. It became apparent that while he was still on the career fast-track at one of the largest banks in the Dominican Republic, his true path lay with Martial Arts.
I always told my sisters that they should never tell a man not to hit them “just because they were women.” I always thought my sisters were stronger than that. Maybe it was because my father berated women’s strength and portrayed them as defenseless weaklings. I didn’t believe this. Just watching a woman go through the pain of childbirth was enough to change my attitude. I have taught men and women martial arts over past 30 years and have found that women are tough, spiritually, mentally, and yes, physically, if they are trained properly.
There is a video of me training a young college girl many years ago. As I’m attacking her, I notice that she is not aggressive enough. I have to admit that I was a little rough on her because I knew that she had greater potential. What I did from here was to modify my training system to bring women to the point of strength by using an approach different from training men.
I use a lot of Wing Chun principles when training women because it was created by a woman and is based on power that originates from the core…from the center line, which I believe is a women’s power source. What’s great about this training is that an attacker doesn’t expect a woman to fight back in this manner. That’s why I just love to sit back and watch the women I train surprise their male classmates with their strength and skill. They just don’t expect it! You can see a lot of these women on any of my YOUTUBE videos. They are tough and beautiful!
Calasanz Karate and kung Fu – where body, mind and spirit learn balance, courage, health and harmony.
Martial Arts…the name alone conjure legends. Karate and Kung Fu…Ninjas and White Cranes….Wing Chun and Goju Ryu…age old systems for honing body, mind and spirit into such brilliant harmony that superhuman feats become commonplace. Bruce Lee conquers the dragon… Chuck Norris keeps an entire town in line… Steven Seagal thwarts armies of terrorists… Mr. Myagi teaches the Karate Kid not merely to know how to overcome an opponent, but how to know oneself.
Where does the truth lie amidst these fabulous legends? And does that truth have something to offer your life? Calasanz, renowned Master of The Calasanz Karate, Kung Fu, Kickboxing, Boxing and physical Arts system in Norwalk, Connecticut, believes it can change your life…..
Calasanz Says: “I believe Martial Arts offers something important to everyone on the planet- the chance to be the very best you can be. No matter what age you are…no matter what physical shape you are in… Martial Arts can transform your life.”
Calasanz Karate and Kung Fu Dojo in Norwalk is a revelation. With its high rafters, punching bags, wrestling and MMA mats and regulation size boxing ring, it looks like a place where machismo is the only order of business. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The grunts, slaps and kiais –those powerful sounds Martial Artists use to boost the power of their chi– can be heard coming from a surprising variety of students. Male and female, young and old, and every possible variation in between.
In the early 80’s, Calasanz was in search of a training device that would help get a group of students ready for tournament fighting within a very short period of time. What emerged was the 20 Arm Dummy. Calasanz got the idea from his training in the art of Wing Chun. Wing Chun master, Yip Man, created the traditional wooden dummy or mook jong as a training tool for practitioners. A staple in any Wing Chun class, the wooden dummy is basically a post with protruding “arms” and “legs” so you can simulate fighting a real opponent.
The main difference between the 20 Arm Wooden Dummy and the traditional mook jong is that you train to fight in four directions on five opponents. The 20 Arm Wooden Dummy frames consist of four corner posts plus a traditional dummy that is mounted to the floor. In addition to including the traditional wooden dummy, the four corner posts have several “arms” and “legs” attached to each post so you can attack or defend. This allows you to fight at different angles, heights and directions and work on adjusting distance.
The 20 Arm Wooden Dummy is a great training aid not just for Wing Chun students, but any martial artist who wants to practice different combinations of punches, strikes and kicks. It also develops blocking skills, close quarter fighting techniques and builds up your arms and legs as you absorb the shock of striking the various parts of the dummy. Calasanz has also designed a 20 Arm Wooden Dummy form that promotes cardiovascular fitness by requiring you to execute these techniques while moving from one post to another.
Imagine a complete circle represents all there is to know and master in the martial arts. The circle pictured represents all that Calasanz knows and has studied in the martial arts. Notice the space at the top; this space represents what he does not know. There is always room for improvement and new things to learn. Therefore, the circle will get closer and closer, but never become complete. The quest to become such a well-balanced martial artist for Calasanz is multi-faceted and has been a result of environmental factors and natural innate abilities.
The act of doing martial arts requires a high degree of athleticism and a knack for performing in front of people. Calasanz was blessed with both from day 1. Whether he was up first thing in the morning at a young age doing grueling farm work, honing his god-given strength, endurance, and athletic prowess; or singing and dancing for all the people in town by night; it was all the foundation for his life’s work.
Street fighting also prepared him, before he even took a martial arts lesson. Growing up in a 3rd world country like the Dominican Republic, he had no choice but to defend himself, friends, and family against bullies and thugs. After he started martial arts at 15 the fighting didn’t end. He would go to different dojo’s to challenge the best students and would attempt to take on hordes of people with just his nunchucks!
Even when he started martial arts it came very easy to him, he had everything in him he needed athletically, intellectually, and experientially to become one of the world’s most well balanced martial artists. But there are many people, who, in there particular athletic or intellectual line of work who have this potential, but most fail due to lack of drive and poor work ethic to develop their gifts beyond anyone else, but not Calasanz, for the next 30 years of his life, and even up to today he would spend hours training, studying, and teaching martial arts. This is how he has come so close to completing the circle, natural talent and a relentless drive.
Part 2 – The Calasanz System
One can only imagine the information, opinions, and theory’s one man has after hours and hours of study day after day, for years. From his experience and ability, Calasanz was able to take the most useful techniques and attributes from all the martial arts he studied, and combine them together into a unified system, he called this The Calasanz System. This is much like what Bruce Lee did in the 60’s and 70’s, and what MMA does today. The main difference though between Bruce Lee, today’s MMA, and Calasanz, is that Calasanz did not completely discard all the material he thought “useless” as the others have. He understands that he would not have completely understood their “uselessness” had he not tried them, and future students would not be as wholesome as him if they did not get a chance to experiment with the “uselessness”. So in his eyes, these particular techniques and attributes actually do have a use; they have the ability to make the student a more wholesome, well-rounded martial artist.
So there is, in a sense 2 parts of The Calasanz system 1) The combined, blended, unified system of karate, wing chun, boxing, kickboxing, ground fighting, and physical arts consisting of only the techniques and attributes that work. 2) The complete versions of all the arts that make up The Calasanz System, other martial arts, and supplementary exercise systems. Part 2 focuses on The Calasanz System.
The Calasanz System is a system of martial arts techniques and exercises that prepare the body and the person to defend themselves against violence, whether controlled (combat sports) or uncontrolled (abusive attack, self defense, street fight). The system has a track record of teaching beginners a number of techniques that they can use immediately to protect themselves and help them understand the dynamics of a violent acts (controlled or uncontrolled) faster then most martial art in the world.
The system also includes a set of holistic exercises called physical arts that build strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, balance, body unity, and proper alignment. Many of the physical art exercises are also functional; meaning that a technique is being learned at the same time the person is conditioning his/her body.
Simplicity, power, centerline, interplay of hard and soft, simple blocks, counterstrikes, reactions, bone conditioning, head movement, and physical arts.
Part 3 – Complete Art Systems and other Martial Arts within The Calasanz System
Imagine a circle inside a bigger circle. The inner circle represents the Calasanz System the outer circle is one we’ve spoke of before representing all techniques and knowledge in the martial arts and all exercises systems.
There are parts of the outer circle that exist within the inner circle. And the outer circle contains the arts that Calasanz has mastered: Goju-Ryu Karate and Wing Chun Kung Fu; the arts that he has studied to at least brown belt: aikido, judo, jujitsu, chen chuan long fist; arts that he has studied such as dance, ballet, jazz, and ballroom; combat sports he has competed in and/or trained others in: boxing, kickboxing, MMA, full contact karate, and point fighting; exercise systems he has trained in and taught: aerobics, isometrics, weight lifting, and calisthenics; and all other martial arts and exercise systems he has not trained in and taught, but can see inside of (more on this in Part 4) such as: ninjitsu, yoga, Pilates, tae kwon do, krav maga, northern and southern kung fu’s.
American boxing, American kickboxing, MMA, full Goju, Wing Chun, and Kung Fu forms. Combine the Calasanz System with anything you want, while Calasanz may not agree with your choices he is not the type of teacher to abolish your actions or step in the way of your path, rather he walks on the side and just makes suggestions but lets you chose your own path.
Part 4 – Calasanz
In part 3 it was mentioned that Calasanz could look “inside” martial arts that he has not even studied. This is not as far fetched or egotistical as it might seem with some proper explanation.
Einstein’s Unified equation, thirst for knowledge and natural ability (vertical leap), broken down to the most basic, general rhythms and movements of the body, allows him to see inside technique and body attributes so like a doctor prescribes medicine, Calasanz can prescribe certain techniques to develop, exercises to do, and critiques on performance to enhance any type of martial arts or exercise techniques.
With all due respect Mr.Calasanz. I find your boasts of having to defend some random and esoteric “internal arts master’s school from trespassers looking to start trouble” and that “it was Calasanz that had to do the fighting. The internal artists retreated in the background.” a bit sensational and outlandish. Much like your biographical passage…
“One day on the farm, Calasanz was ordered to milk the nastiest cow. She did not want to be milked that day, so she kicked him in the stomach. Calasanz’s reflexes caused him to automatically kick her back and to his surprise, he knocked the cow out cold..”
Lets be honest here, your martial arts lineage is spotty at best yet you claim to have been learned by this and that master of this and that style yet you only mention “Tamajoshi” Sakamoto by name, and even THEN its mis-spelled, I’ve trained under two great masters, Tadashi Yamashita & Ma Jin Long for over 24 years! I would never mis-spell there names. Meanwhile these other so called “masters” you claim to have learned from/ defended are just mere mentions in some grand self righteous egocentric story about what an amazing martial artist you are.
In my professional opinion Mr.Calasanz, your ego overshadows your grip on reality. While you ARE physically fit, very flexible, and a great performance artist. You surely not a martial arts master of any kind.
Sincerely,
Sensei Tony Perez
Reponse:
We appreciate your comments but would like an opportunity to respond. Regarding the scene in the internal martial arts school, Calasanz was there, you were not. The account is true and is told for the purposes of illustrating to students the importance of balancing hard and soft approaches to martial arts training.
In 1987, Wing Chun instructor Phillip Holder came to Connecticut and began attacking Calasanz Wing Chun credentials much like you are right now. Calasanz brought his Wing Chun master, Moyat to his dojo, proved that he had been his private student and put this issue to rest.
Calasanz doesn’t need a “grip on reality” as you so put it. He has real credentials, a real successful martial arts business, and real students who see the value in his training philosophy. What he has done differently is to go outside of the traditional arts and incorporate innovative ideas that tend to ruffle the feathers of more conservative martial artists. His approach and those like him in the martial arts world always attract critics.
This is a man who has spent over 30 years in the martial arts, working night and day on his craft. He may need to check his spelling once in a while; that we will admit. However, make no mistake about his credentials and commitment to his students and his community. We are glad that you are proud of your spelling abilities and that you have never misspelled your teachers’ names. We will take that criticism under advisement and admonish our editors to be more careful next time. As far as your other comments are concerned, we have been dealing with naysayers for a long time and will long after you are out of the picture. At the end of the day, Calasanz and his system still stand strong and so do his credentials.
The ancient, Eastern method of teaching the martial arts required the student to watch the instructor and then mimic his movements without one word being exchanged. Western students demand a lot more explanation and often ask too many questions. This leads to over-analyzing on the student’s part, making the learning process much more stressful than it really needs to be. Perfection of the movements in the Eastern sense comes with time as the student matures. Sometimes, it’s best to just watch, see the bigger picture, and then start practicing.
In keeping with this ancient tradition, Calasanz has created a series of instructional DVDs designed to help you grasp the “bigger picture.” Watching the DVDs at home or here at the dojo before class lets you know what to expect and helps you relax the mind as you visualize yourself doing the movements. The result is that if you do your “homework,” your time in class will be more productive. The reason being for watching the DVDs at the Center is to keep you from making excuses if you bring them home, most of the time it makes impossible for you to spend 10 minutes them before going to the School.
Calasanz offers over 700 videos covering topics such as basics, forms, self-defense, weaponry, kickboxing, Regular Boxing Recreational Boxing, Wing Chun, Goju Ryu, traditional and 20 Arm Wooden Dummy, Chinese Boxing and physical conditioning through Calasanz Physical Arts.Special DVDs are also available to help you improve your athletic performance in non-martial art related sports like golf, tennis, soccer, baseball, football, and ice hockey. The DVDs are easy to understand and are a great instructional tool for students at any level of training.
Make an appointment with Calasanz today to choose the right DVD to help enhance your martial arts training! Young Athletes will be watching the DVDs upstairs, they will spend 10 minutes either before their session of during their session. Many of the Young Athletes who train privately upstairs with Calasanz, they don’t have to worry, Calasanz already knows what DVDs best for them.
For over 20 years, Calasanz has helped young people improve their athletic performance in youth hockey, football, soccer, tennis, little league baseball and competitive martial arts. Calasanz Young Athletesprogram, is a consolidation of the best movements of karate, kung fu, boxing, kickboxing and Chinese boxing into an exciting program designed to enhance your child’s performance in his or her sport.
Participants begin by learning the basics. Strength training and stretching exercises are emphasized to develop muscular endurance and increase flexibility. Balancing and plyometric exercises are incorporated to maximize control over the body while in motion. Breathing techniques traditionally practiced in the martial arts are also taught for the purpose of bringing a fresh supply of oxygen to the body and helping the athlete remain calm under pressure. The program also offers other benefits such as developing concentration, stamina and hand-eye coordination.
After the basics, it’s on to the martial art portion of the program. The kicks, punches, blocks, strikes, stances and footwork unique to each discipline are what make Young Athletes an effective athletic training program. The techniques of Calasanz Kickboxing and Goju Ryu Karate yield explosive leg power along with shoulder and forearm strength. Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu and American Boxing techniques help develop powerful hip movements and increased hand speed, while Chinese Boxing enhances grounding and balancing skills.
Young Athletes is designed to complement your child’s athletic performance and teach him or her how to train safely and intelligently. Participants who put the time and effort into this program will enjoy the results. It’s also a fun and exciting cross-training alternative.
Expression is an essential component to getting your martial arts practice to “come to life.” I recognized this early on in my training and chose to study dance and gymnastics so that my martial arts would have an “expressive” and “energetic” quality. I wanted this to come across, not only to those watching my performances, but more importantly, to myself. I knew these forms of self-expression would take my forms to a whole new level. I also ventured into other martial art styles in search of this “energy” and was fortunate to have found it in Chang Chuan.
Chang Chuan is a style of kung fu that is characterized by smooth, extended and fluid movements. It is called a long range fighting system as opposed to styles like Wing Chun for example, that focus on close quarter or short range fighting. The system is rich in forms, weapons, and self-defense, as well as throwing and locking techniques known as Chin Na. Chang Chuan includes acrobatic, spinning, jumping kicks as well as fluid, circular arm movements. It is the expressive nature of Chang Chuan that drew me to this style. I devoted many hours to studying Chang Chuan and it eventually became a great influence on my own martial arts style known as The Calasanz System™.
Chang chuan was a perfect supplemental art to my traditional karate training. I liked its extension and its fluidity. This is the exact quality I wanted to bring to my kata practice. Martial arts students that have had no dance or performance experience tend to be stiff and dull in their kata practice until they learn how to make their katas come to “life.” So I encouraged my students to also adopt the essence of Chang Chuan in their forms. I’ve trained many dancers and they knew exactly what I was talking about.
I also found Chang Chuan to be a great form of physical exercise. Its forms practice improves coordination and cardiovascular health. When done under the watchful eye of a competent instructor, Chang Chaun also helps strengthen the joints and tendons. This type of training develops flexibility and overall support around the bones and muscles, which is especially important in avoiding injuries.
Traditionalists once frowned upon exploring and experimenting with the essence of other styles or forms of physical expression. This is now the exception and not the rule as more martial artists seek to expand their skills. Incorporating something new into your martial arts routine can transform a routine kata into an inspirational, uplifting form of movement.
I was 40 years old when I found Calasanz. I’d been riding and jumping horses for exercise until an Indian Vision Quest experience showed me that there would be a serious riding accident in my future, if I didn’t stop.
I needed a new sport – but as one who historically was bored silly by most of the sports I’d tried, I was stymied as to how to replace my equestrian workouts.
I’d seen The Karate Kid and traveled extensively in Asia. Intrigued by what seemed like an exercise program that was also an intellectual and spiritual challenge, I set out to find a dojo. The ones I visited were a big turn-off. Mr. Miyagi was nowhere in sight, and the instructors, most of whom seemed to have learned their skills in the Military, were not at all what I was looking for.
Then I found Calasanz and my life changed forever.
“Can I do this at 40?” I asked him.
“That depends on how much you want to do this,” he responded. Just the right answer.
I began to train. Calasanz has a gift for motivation, not just Martial Arts. He somehow made me believe I could do the feats he expected of me. And little by little, I found he was right.
A profound knowledge of anatomy, a brilliant grasp on what motivates someone to succeed, and a great showman’s ability to display undreamed of feats and make them seem possible – all these gifts combined to make Calasanz the perfect teacher. Never in my life, have I found a teacher of anything who was more extraordinary, or more inspiring.
So for 6 or 7 years, 6 days a week, at 5 a.m. I showed up to train. It wasn’t that Calasanz demanded this schedule, it was that I had fallen in love with Martial Arts.
I built a dojo in my home so I could train there, too… I read every word I could find… I practiced with the great step-by-step videos Calasanz offered me. And I learned Karate and Wing Chun Kung Fu, the katas and the fighting forms, the history, discipline, focus and magic that set Martial Arts apart from other sports. My body changed to the greatest shape of my life… but far more than that changed.
Calasanz taught me to believe that I could exceed my own limits. His conditioning program was so knowledgeable and so gradual that I could train hard in the morning and still write books all day – my concentration on work sharpened by the skills I had learned at the dojo.
Strength… agility… focus… determination. These are a few of the gifts I gratefully received, and then honed, while working out with Calasanz. Black Belt rank was my goal and the thrill of achieving it was phenomenal – but I’ve since realized that the real gifts from Calasanz were far greater. A divorce and a move to New York ended my daily workouts at Calasanz dojo, but all that he taught me will always be with me.
I wish everyone had the privilege and pleasure of being taught by Calasanz – the world would be a better, safer, healthier and happier place.
Cathy Cash Spellman is a bestselling author of five books that have appeared on The New York Times and International Bestseller List.She also has written for Self, Harper’s Bazaar, Mademoiselle and a wide variety of other magazines.
