Play Music... “De Cadiz" (Alegrias) song by Jorge Miguel, a talented Spanish Canadian Flamenco guitarist, composer and an advanced Gorindo student based in Toronto. Please, visit www.jorgemiguel.com to learn more about his great music, recordings and tours performances.
“Practice as if your life depends on it and train as if your loved ones’ lives depend on it.”
“Make the power of your ideas be stronger than your muscles.”
“Martial Art is another Path to cultivate my spirit, of course it is not the only one but certainly it is the one for me.”
“Counting in the class is not simply a numeric checking of accumulated repetitions but a rhythmic way to maintain breathing, emphasize tensions and relaxations, underline combinations and bring the mind back from external distractions. Although once you learn how to apply it in your own training, that is when you don’t need to count anymore but just keep on breathing!”
“Move your spirit, and your steps will follow.”
“If my destiny was written somewhere I just only hope that it doesn't have huge grammatical or spelling mistakes.”
“When outdoors, train to let the trees know about it.”
“Gorindo can be learned by anyone as long as he or she is willing to learn how to learn.”
“Gorindo as a Martial Art includes the study and practice of self-defence but self-defence does not include a Martial Art... It is that clear!”
- When do I start my black belt test?
- The same day that you asked for class information.
“Train your body, mind and heart to be flexible, adaptable and supple.”
“It’s better to take two balanced steps than a long unstable one, although do not hesitate to do it when that one is the only one!”
“Now that we have sharpened the tools of dedication, perseverance, respect, courtesy, care, focus, control and awareness in the dojo... let’s use them in daily life to become real martial artists.”
“Unite your body, mind and spirit? I still don’t understand how anybody can separate them, instead harmonize yourself and live well among others.”
“To the eyes of the neophyte a well polish and technical Martial Art demonstration always awake the eternal question: ‘It looks nice, but... Will it be useful in a street fight?’
Obviously, such training leads to a better quality of life and relationships with others and not to confront a threatening encounter on the street. The point is to show the Art without any injury of both parties involved and not the resolution of an unexpected and chaotic conflict without rules, with unpredictable results and unintended consequences, legal, physical, psychological and even fatal for both the attacker and the attacked.
The motivations are completely different and even opposite, but in the meantime, personal growth through a proven discipline as a tool is worth exploring and refining.”
“There are no stupid questions but stupid answers do exist!”
“When teaching kata, position yourself in a way that the student does not have to rotate the head in the opposite direction to the kata sequences they are learning in order to watch what you are doing.”
“Work with and not against your practice partner and soon both will benefit greatly.”
“Don’t worry too much if your body is sore after intense training, but worry when you are sore and you didn’t even move a glass full of water.”
“When counting in the dojo accentuate the volume of your voice commands for the defensive technique while lowering it on the attack motions and as such you will notice an increment of sincere smiles and a self-worthy atmosphere among the students.”
“I can wear unfashionable clothing, drive an old car, eat at the most simple restaurant, etc. I really do not have any pretentious demand for these standards of measurement. I welcome them all, but when we are talking about Martial Art I don’t settle for less than the best quality possible and that includes the calibre of the participant attitude that governs the dojo.”
“If you are losing your balance while practicing a technique that requires you to be on one leg, just bend slightly the knee of the support leg, tighten the abdomen muscles while exhaling and look to a distant focal point ahead of you.”
“Why romanticize an ideal past when we can make a romantic and ideal present now...”
“Outdoor training is not very ‘comfortable’ for some 'tough' martial artists? Too hot, too cold, it’s raining, it’s snowing!!! Mmmmhhh, perhaps you will prefer nice, pleasant weather for the day that you have to defend yourself against an unexpected situation...”
©2011-2015 Claudio Iedwab & Roxanne Standefer