Who is this guy?

[JowGaWolf]

Anyone know about this guy other than his name?

 

[frank raud]

Not a goju or wing chun guy, but what I see doesn't impress me to explore any further.

 

[hoshin1600]

Yes not impressed at all. I did find the first clip humorous.

 

[JowGaWolf]

but what I see doesn't impress me to explore any further.

It wasn't meant to impress. My interest is totally out of curiosity. He's got what seems like over 100 videos.

I did find the first clip humorous.

I wasn't trying to be funny. Just curious about this guy. And was looking to see if anyone had first hand knowledge of him.

 

[JowGaWolf]

 

[mograph]

 

[Buka]

 

[RTKDCMB]

He seems to be a Bruce Lee wannabe.

 

[JowGaWolf]

He seems to be a Bruce Lee wannabe.

I just found his website my curiosity is satisfied. He combined about 6 different martial arts systems and made it into one system. My curiosity is satisfied now. Also found an old video of him and it seems to support your statement. I've never heard of him before and wasn't sure if he was someone well known or if it was just someone trying to be known.

 

[Tames D]

I just found his website my curiosity is satisfied. He combined about 6 different martial arts systems and made it into one system. My curiosity is satisfied now. Also found an old video of him and it seems to support your statement. I've never heard of him before and wasn't sure if he was someone well known or if it was just someone trying to be known.

So, what is your opinion of his abilities?

 

[JR 137]

I used to live relatively close to one of his studios (I lived in Stamford, CT). When I was looking into getting back into MA, an internet search brought him up.

Eccentric would be a polite and PC away to describe him. Dilusional and in his own world would be better descriptions IMO. I've watched a ton of his videos, and it's a train wreck. I can't stop.

But even a broken clock is right twice a day. He seems to have some pretty good strength and conditioning/fitness ideas. I saw a video of him leading a class of a blend of cardio kickboxing, old school aerobics and ballet-type stuff that would honestly really help with athleticism.

I just couldn't bring myself to go visit. I knew I'd either laugh in his face (best case scenario) or get brainwashed into joining his cult. Looking at a lot of his videos, it seems like his students are very serious about the absurdity he's calling MA.

An interesting tidbit I found online...
One of his base arts is Goju Ryu. According to some sources, the highest rank he attained in Goju is... wait for it... wait for it... green belt. He claims he trained under an Okinawan master who lived in the Dominican Republic. Apparently this was/is a highly respected teacher who's a generation or two removed from Miyagi. That teacher confirmed Calasanz was indeed a student, but left after green belt.

My favorite videos to watch are his kata videos.

But seeing his videos, he does seem very athletic and in great shape. And he's not a young guy. At least late 50s, probably mid 60s.

And I'm a huge fan of the way he wears his gi - untied, no belt, bare chest. The Afro compliments it perfectly. Yes, I have a warped sense of humor.

 

[JowGaWolf]

So, what is your opinion of his abilities?

To be honest I don't know. He made up his own system so it's difficult to say, I don't have anything to really compare it against.

However. If I ask myself would I learn from someone like that, then my answer would be no. Even if I didn't know anything about martial arts, I could tell that a lot of stuff that he was doing looks like an injury waiting to happen. It's sort of like when you go to the gym and there is this one guy doing strange exercises with heavy weights. You watch him with tension because you just know eventually he'll hurt himself really bad. That's who he reminds me of.

As a martial artist I wouldn't train with him because I'm really cautious of people who combine techniques from different systems. If someone is going to do something like that then they better have reached the top levels of knowledge in the systems that they are combining. It's not an easy thing to do. A person can learn 2 different things and do 2 different things, but to combine 2 different things to make it 1 thing requires a lot of understanding.

Here's what I assume are his students sparring

 

[JowGaWolf]

Much of my curiosity was based on the fact that he had so many videos and students in his classes. He seems to be well known in some way. I just thought it would be interesting to hear first hand experiences if there are any.

 

[JR 137]

Much of my curiosity was based on the fact that he had so many videos and students in his classes. He seems to be well known in some way. I just thought it would be interesting to hear first hand experiences if there are any.

It seems like he has a lot of students, but it could be that he's getting all of them (or close to that) in his videos. But realistically speaking, it's a very highly populated area - not too far from NYC and Westchester county NY. And it's a very affluent area.

Regarding the sparring video, keep in mind they're wearing what seems to be yellow belts. I'm not defending the guy by any means though. Looking at his videos (and the number of them), he seems like a passionate guy. Very misguided and dilusional, but passionate nonetheless.