william

I have been studying the Martial Arts for over 20 years. In that time, I have studied Tae Kwon Do, Boxing, Wrestling, JKD, Whin Chung and many others. Now, I am studying Capoeira, here I give credit to Wayne Chandler for my introduction and for eight years of instruction in this art. Through Wayne, I am currently studying Capoeira under the instruction of Beicola who is the founder of Capoeira Narahari, Brazil Culture and Arts, in San Fransisco, California.I was drawn to Capoeira because its cultural connection to Africa. Based on my previous martial experience, my approach to learning and teaching Capoeira are two folds, combat readiness and internal development.The combat aspect of my approach has several components: full expression of the body, moving into an opponent's space and manipulate their rhythm, how to hit, and how to get hit without getting angery. When I was competing in tournaments I learned that during combat when I gave myself over to anger I lost almost every battle. When I learned to stay calm during combat, I won 90% of my battles. In the state of calmness, I was able to read and to feel my opponent's intention. Also, I was able to react to their movements instead of anticipating them. Since I have been studying Capoeira, I have met many people who have studied Capoeira for many years and have not moved into the combat arena of their trainning. Most of these individuals have excellent technical skills; however, when the moment presents itself where they must defend themselves, they will not have the skills to do so. I say this not to be negative towards those who do not share my approach to Capoeira. However, I must express that there will be times when we as Martial Artists will be tested, and if we are not prepared there can and will be severe consequences, be it physical or psychological.During my time studying Tae Kwon Do, I have met people who have bragged about how great their skills were. Most of these people never used their skills outside of tournament rules. When they were challanged by someone from another system with no rules, they were severely beaten (physical consequence). In a few days time I saw the same individuals go into state of deep depression (psychological consequence), because what they thought of themselves was not in alignment with reality. Some of these guys stop their training never to return. I have been in stituations where I got my butt kicked, however I learned from those experiences on how to better myself. I have learned that there are people with greater skills, knowledge, and experience then I. These are the individuals I seek to learn from.I've studied martial arts for more than twenty years before I began my internal development training. This area of my training has several components: organ strengthening, chi development, and meditation. Here again I give credit to Wayne Chandler. Wayne has taught me how to strengthen my organs through various breathing exercises, he has taught me who to develop my chi through Taoist practices. Meditation helps me stay in stillness through controlled breathing.In order to maintain at state of calmness I began a life long journey of self realization, taking a hard look at myself and making the proper character changes to evolve into human being that the creator ment for me. This aspect of self development has moved me into a state of enlightenment.For the past four years, I have been working to increase the awareness of Capoeira, along with my friend Ishmial Douglas, in the greater Cleveland area. I have worked with Fatima Family Center, Umadop, Jamocha Arts, and the East Cleveland Neighborhood Center. I am currently teaching Capoeira at Gruopo de Capoeira at Case Western Reserve University Sunday's adults 2:30pm to 4:30pm $50 per month, and Rainey Institute in Cleveland Ohio Saturday 12pm to 1:30pm.