Mother's Day 2011

MOTHERHOOD. It’s not just a job or a role they play, it’s a calling. It is oftentimes the most daunting, challenging, frustrating, yet rewarding time of a woman’s life.  It is a job that is unpaid and more often than not, unappreciated. Motherhood will define her and mold her from girlhood into womanhood at warp speed. When a woman becomes a mother, the realization that their life is no longer their own can be trying. Lots of sacrifices are made as they live, breathe, and work hard for their children and their spouses. These unsung heroes can easily lose themselves to their families, giving up careers, hopes, dreams, even identity to be there for them all. It’s not something they’re forced to do; they hand it freely for the sake of helping their clan thrive and succeed as they guide them along the path of their own pursuits, goals, hopes and dreams.

Some women are lucky enough to have the support of spouses or family members help them not lose that part of themselves that gives them an identity they can balance between motherhood and what they want to do in life. But for many, it is easy to get lost in the shuffle of caretaking and care-giving that they lose a part of an identity that was once passionate about life, goals and accomplishments. Many are doing it alone, and quite well, stealing hours of sleep, or small opportune moments to sneak in pieces of time to do what they love to do. It’s not without hard work and huge amounts of effort—as I sit here writing this story, I’m battling to filter out the ear-piercing shrieks of children playing at a McDonald’s playscape, typing on my computer with one eye and keeping a watchful chameleon-like eye on my kid with the other.  It takes skill, one would call it an art form, even, but we manage. It’s an everyday struggle, a fight almost against fatigue, mostly, to keep that passion alive that prompts us to find that small spark or kindling flame in our spirit that encourages us to find time and pursue the things we love to do.

“My name is Christen. I was diagnosed with Diabetes in April 2008 and

Christen Branch Today

had been hospitalized numerous times as a result. I should be dead according to my doctors. I was taking insulin and pills to control my blood sugar levels. My energy level was practically non-existent, and I couldn’t even spend quality time with my children, because I was feeling tired and had no strength to do anything.

Shortly after Mother’s Day, 2011, my cousin and I talked about joining a gym to workout and lose weight. I can recall being overweight even in junior high, and after I had kids, I really didn’t have much time for myself. My cousin found STW Krav Maga, and told me how amazing it was and that I should come for the free class. I attended one class and was hooked! I knew that no matter what, I had to find time for that, so I became a member that day. Since then, many changes have taken place in my life. I’m a single mom, but now that my kids are a little older, I’m taking measures to work more on myself and they are both very supportive. They push me to get out of the house to go workout, and I make sure that I do and so glad I did.

By August 2011, my A1C was well enough for my doctor to take me off my insulin therapy. My eating habits have changed and my energy is amazing. I now take my children to the park and run with them. My daughter even tells me how happy she is that she can finally wrap her arms around me.

I walk into the massive 28,600 sq. ft. building at the STW Krav Maga Worldwide, Blanco location, where I’m greeted by warm smiles and sweet salutations, leaving me with a feeling of warm and fuzzies after being welcomed by such a chipper group of people. I walk down the long corridor and see a peaceful, free-flowing fountain to my right trickling an umbrella shaped water spout.  Sigh! I begin to feel a sense of dread at the thought that I may have thrown hard-earned money away,  locking myself into another luxury gym, equipped with the same boring exercise equipment where you barely break a sweat, and you watch TV monitors overhanging over treadmills that act like they’re taking you places but are really leading you nowhere. My brows furrow.  Is this the same triple threat gym that I joined two-and-a-half years ago with a full-fledged buffet of fitness, Israeli self-defense classes, and now CrossFit affiliated?

As I begin to round the corner, I’m greeted (with more warm smiles) by a large and wide-shouldered membership advisor whose physique is one closely equated to that of an Olympic athlete.

“Are you coming to my class? I’m teaching fit to fight,” he asks, and addresses me by my actual name.

Wow! He knows me by my first name, and it’s comforting to know that this is still a place that makes me feel like I’m with family. Most of all, these people actually walk the talk since some of these advisers teach and train here. Suddenly, I’m drawn to the sound of music booming out of several rooms; people are moving in sync with the trainers calling out movements. They are actually sweating—and I’m not talking lightly beaded sweat glistening on foreheads. No, these people look like they were pushed into a pool of water: soaked from head to toe with drenched t-shirts, breathing heavy, working hard. They’re digging deep to push themselves towards their fitness goals, working through push-ups, lifting the dead weight of their bodies on rings, pumping with battle ropes, swinging on kettle bells, punching on bags, kicking tombstones, wailing on shields, jumping off boxes, spinning on bikes with resistance, or dragging sixty-five pound dummies across a room.

Before

The owner, Pete Hardy, a white-bearded man who towers in  height with a voice similar to that of a drill sergeant’s call, is in another room.  He’s calling out self-defense drills as people are fending off multiple attackers coming at them with simulated guns, knives, or beer bottles. My eyes widen as I watch people half the size of their assailants ward off a weapon threat with such simplicity in technique. I smile as I am filled with a sense of nostalgia. This man saved my life two-and-a-half years ago.  I was headed towards a downward spiral, nearing 200 lbs. with bad pain on my joints and back. I couldn’t even tie my shoes without grimacing, and I finally said enough was enough. I was tired of being tired, so I joined the first STW gym at Crossroads, and I never looked back.

“Pick up your feet!” he yells, “PICK-UP-YOUR-FEET!” I chuckle. He’s a great motivator as well as all of the other instructors who got me to where I am today. Despite his gruff manner and hard core style, he really cares about his members. Most importantly, he never lets them give up, just like he never allowed me to give up on myself.

After

Now, several pounds lighter, I’m dying with anticipation at the arrival of their new program CrossFit.  The great thing about it is that with all the added features of self-defense and fitness, the fees for CrossFit here are going to be ridiculously affordable compared to some of the prices people pay around town for just CrossFit classes alone. As I work towards meeting my fitness goal of losing twenty more pounds, I know that CrossFit is going to get me there with its variety of high intensity functional movements to increase endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, balance, agility and accuracy.

Yes, this is the gym that has it all! STW’s philosophy of being in a constant state of change and movement to confuse different muscle groups so that you don’t plateau and you gain fast results is the gym I want to be associated with. It is a place I can truly call—home.

Thank you STW, for being part of my new family!

Krav Maga Mama

(For more info about our upcoming CrossFit program, please contact Robbie@911kravmaga.com)

“My husband knocked out all of my front teeth, so I would be too ashamed to go outside. I eventually left him and had it not been for the Dress for Success organization, I don’t know where I’d be today.”

“I was locked away in my home and not allowed to come out. I eventually escaped from my husband and the Dress for Success organization helped give me the tools I needed to survive.”

These are real women who were helped by the Dress for Success organization. This non-for-profit group transforms disadvantaged women into empowered professionals. A large majority of the people they serve are women who were  battered, abused, even imprisoned in their own homes by their abusers, living a life of fear whether they stayed or left . One option told them they had to endure a tortuous life of abuse, while the other was living with the fear of how they were going to provide for their children because they were told they were never going to accomplish anything good or productive in life. Thanks to this organization, they received the courage to leave their toxic environments and gain skills to provide for their children. Others are homeless, veterans, or single mothers who are living at or below the poverty line.

This non-for-profit organization gives them a hands-up, instead of a hand-down to get them started on the right path to economic security and self-sufficiency, helping them break the chains of generational poverty.

Join the STW Team for this walk/run event to help benefit the Dress for Success Organization. Your support, whether you run or walk, will contribute to changing and empowering the lives of disadvantaged women.

STW will be leading with a warm-up before the run. Kid or Pet- on- leash friendly- the pet not the kid on leash, please. The event takes place Saturday, May 5^th at Wonderland of Americas. See below for more details:

Saturday, May 5th

Wonderland of the Americas
Located at I-10 and Loop 410 on Fredericksburg Rd.

Registration: 6:30 a.m.
Cardio Warm-up: 8:00 a.m.
Run Start: 8:20 a.m.
Walk Start: 8:30 a.m.

Pet friendly (on leash)

Join the STW Team
Sign up under “STW Krav Maga”
www.dfspowerwalk.org/sanantonio2012

“ I heard, ‘I allow you this lifestyle… no one would want you anyway.’ It took 12 years but I finally was a shell of a being and I needed to save myself. Two black eyes later he was in jail.”

These are words coming from real women who experienced a nightmarish life of abuse only to come out of it triumphant and free from the control of domineering and controlling husbands. The Little Black Dress Society is a service organization dedicated to Educating, Empowering, Engaging, and Embracing women from all walks of life in a collective effort to end the abuse of women, and for this reason STW is partnering with this organization for this Self-Defense seminar titled, “Intro to Stick Defenses.”

The funds raised through the Little Black Dress Foundation will help make an impact in women’s lives touched by abuse.  Help us bring awareness to violence against women Sat, May 12^st, at our Blanco location, from 10:30 am- 1:30 pm for this life-saving event. Open to all male and female, STW members and non-members.

Please help ensure that people can have benefit from this medical advance by signing this petition.

See the attached flyer and letter for more details.

Luis Ibarra

Dennis Raez

Gina Yaklin

Anthony Martinez

Jennifer Belvis

Sarah Lyons

Todd Shipley

Kevin Perkins

Ryan Rabat

In 1976, Japan’s Shun Fujimoto captivated the attention of the world in the summer Olympic Games when he landed a perfect triple somersault twist dismount from the rings, only to gain the most coveted gold medal in the men’s gymnastics competition.  The most astounding part to all this was that he achieved this near flawless landing on a broken right knee. “The pain shot through me like a knife… it brought tears to my eyes,” he declared, “but now I have the gold medal and the pain is gone.”  This willingness to pay the price is what gave him the courage in the face of excruciating pain.

I was reminded of this event recently after interviewing a few of my Krav brothers who recently passed their level 4 test, earning a very difficult to attain blue coin in Krav Maga. Aside from being the resident writer for STW, I am a member as well, and I have had the privilege of getting to know most of these dedicated students because I started around the same time this group did.  Soon you will read why these modern day gladiators earned March’s Member of the Month recognition.

First, let’s take a look into the world of the ancient gladiator. Gladiator contests originated as funeral games called munera because they were considered duties that were paid to the dead ancestors, but they eventually made its way to the public arena staged by politicians and emperors.

The gladiator ranks consisted of slaves, captured fugitives, criminals, and prisoners of war. However, by the fall of the Roman Empire, half of all gladiators joined voluntarily. These volunteers were known as the auctorati, aristocrats who had lost their wealth, while some risked their legal and social standing as well as their lives by fighting in this arena, just simply to inspire admiration and popular acclaim.

Gladiatorial training followed a strict, training regimen, whereupon they were taught to fight in a series of phases.  Once in the public arena, it was often a fight to the death, mercy or punishment dependent on the thumbs up or down of the Roman emperor.

Very similarly, and although I may be overstating and overdramatizing things a bit, cause in reality there is no fight to the death here at STW, but we do have our very own modern day gladiators. These guys had to undergo a very strict regimen of constant training, 26 weeks to be exact, not to mention the various injuries that happened throughout the course of this program while preparing for this exam. And of course, their passing on to the next stage was very dependent on the approval or disapproval of our very own Emperor, 2^nd degree black belt and owner, Pete Hardy, who expects nothing close to perfection from his upper level students.

It’s not the will to win that matter’s—everyone has that, it’s the will to prepare to win that matters~ Paul Bear Bryant (college football coach with 323 victories,  including 6 national championships, 13 southeastern conference titles)

Just taking a simple look at the skills they must acquire and master is enough to make the average person want to cringe and take a pass. In the book, Complete Krav Maga by Darren Levine and John Whitman, the authors state, “We consider Blue Belt… to be the first advanced belt in our system. At this level, your training moves beyond basic fighting skills and self-defense—you now learn to defend against threats and attacks with weapons such as guns and sticks, and you are introduced to the principles of defenses against a knife. In addition, since a blue belt practitioner should have solid, practical experience in fighting, fighting becomes a significant factor during the Blue Belt test.” Fighting definitely played a large role in the success of this test, and it didn’t come without its share of casualties.

Never, NEver, NEVer, EVER give up~ Winston Churchill

Instructor Jennifer Alvarez with student Ernesto de los Santos

“I think everyone had some type of injury of one sort or another throughout the training,” remarked Level 4 Instructor Jennifer Alvarez.   One of the members, CK, got hurt when he took a stick to the forehead.

“At least I know I can get hit on the head with a stick and I didn’t get fazed,” CK laughed. “My wife on the other hand, didn’t think it was so funny when I had to get stitches, though,” he said with an almost shameful grin. “Pete said just dab it, put pressure on it and keep going. But I was more concerned about getting the floor dirty,” he continued.

Two members messed up their ankles and one in particular took a more serious blow to his knee.

Student John Cameron

“I messed up my knee due to a previous injury I had in soccer when I broke my fibula in 2005 and it healed crooked,” said John Cameron. “I was practicing for the review and did a spinning slapkick when I felt a very sharp pain. I remember taking three ice baths a day to get the swelling down and it took the pain away for awhile.”

John Cameron hopped around one leg during the test, and after he had it examined, he found he had snapped his ACL, tore his meniscus and experienced another bone crack that they had to break again because of his previous injury.

When I asked him why he felt he had to go through with the test despite injuring himself during the review, he remarked with a humble tone, “I put in five months of training, and in addition to training at the gym, I put in about two hours a day at home, so I wasn’t about to back down now. I’m a huge believer in giving everything 100% or nothing at all. Sure, I‘ll have to be away for six months now, and I’ll be in a cast for about three, and it’s a bummer because this place is such a big part of my life; it’s made me a better person, taught me discipline and humility cause there will always be a person better than you, but I didn’t mind.”

That’s a sign of a person with a winning attitude. Lance Armstrong, world-known cycling competitor and cancer survivor, said it best when he said, “Pain is temporary, quitting is forever,” and Mr. Cameron certainly seems to live by this same standard. He was willing to pay the price, practice hard, and was determined to have a whatever it takes attitude to get the job done. Way to go, Sir!

Instructor Arnold Cano and Ernesto de los Santos

Expert 1, Level 4 Instructors, Arnold Cano who spearheaded the program, and Jennifer Alvarez, are both extremely proud of the group’s accomplishment. “It was an honor working with these guys…” said Arnold Cano “…and to all the guys who got hurt and stuck to it, I feel proud they did so well.” Jennifer Alvarez agreed. “These guys were receptive to instruction. They had a no- quit attitude, were thirsty to learn and they want to keep learning,” she said.

Aside from the intense training regimen, and assistance from their instructors, these men supported themselves throughout.

“I enjoyed the camaraderie that I got with the whole group,” agreed David Berrocal.

But with camaraderie also came a certain degree of discipline and consistency that the group as a whole appreciated. That was certainly the case for John Gahan who remarked with contentment, “I like that I saw every technique in level 4 with a structured lesson plan.” That, in turn, contributed to the success of the skill sets they acquired. This skill set didn’t go without notice. Second degree black belt and owner of STW, Pete Hardy, said, “I was really pleased with the proficiency and the quality of the handgun work that they did.” If anyone knows Pete Hardy, that compliment alone is golden and speaks volumes about the effort, hard work, and heart these guys put into this program.

Every man dies, but not every man truly lives ~ Mel Gibson, Braveheart

There are men who are content living peaceful, quiet lives, never leaving a mark or even a blip on the radar screen of life. They leave this earth unscathed, unchanged, and unaware that they had abilities that needed to be tapped, and if opened, it would unravel their truest potential. Then there are those who take the call to challenge themselves, explore what is deep within them to help them discover what drives them. They push themselves beyond the limits of what is comfortable, average, or tolerable to help them unleash a part of themselves they didn’t know they had burning within them. This yearning, this fire, is what drives them and the stress that they undergo with this type of intense training prepares them to tackle the outside world with ease. These are the guys whose loyalty knows no bounds. It takes an extreme amount of perseverance and self-discipline to stick to this type of program, testing out of levels one, two, three, and then four just to get to this point.

Contrary to the ancient gladiators of old, these modern day warriors don’t do it for the praise and the accolades. It’s intrinsic. I should know. I’ve dealt with most of them and their sense of humility astounds me. As Blue Belt student Mr. John Cameron said, [this] taught me discipline and humility cause [no matter how good you think you are] there will always be a person better than you.” David Berrocal stated that the more classes he took, the fewer problems he had from the outside world because he learned the skills of situational awareness in order to avoid them.

But the comment that I found most inspiring came from this one brother who underwent the most significant changes throughout his journey with STW:

“I remember when I passed the level one test, I walked into my first upper level class. I thought I was so impressive having passed that challenge, and now I was going to start training with the big boys. I had to do some sparring and most of the guys in that class had had previous training in martial arts and boxing, and I had none. I was still quite a bit overweight, slower on my feet and unskilled. We started going several rounds and the guys were—just—WAILNG on me so hard and pounding on me that I began to feel a total sense of defeat,” he nodded his head with disappointment. “One moment, I got punched with a right hook so hard, I spun around and landed flat on my rear. My mouthpiece flew across the room. I could hear the instructor yelling at me, telling me that I only had seconds to get up, and if I didn’t, he was gonna let my partner beat me on the floor. I got up and did the best I could. When it was over, and everyone else had left the room, I leaned up against the wall and slid down to the floor. I was gassed, angry and completely disappointed in myself. I felt so humiliated and defeated, and I think the beating that was harder to deal with was the one I was giving to my own state of mind. I almost gave up that day. I questioned whether I had learned anything at all, because I had just gotten the complete snot beaten out of me. If I could think back to the moment and day where I almost quit, I think that would’ve been it, but something inside me told me that if I was gonna fail at something, it wasn’t gonna be this, and now here I am. The level tests are never easy, but I think back to that day, and I’m able to press forward.”

THAT type of motivation certainly doesn’t come from a need to win the praise and admiration of a crowd of spectators, it comes from deep rooted courage and heart that allows you to do the things you fear the most, and as John Wayne would say, “You saddle up anyway.”

And for this reason, STW would like to grant all of my Blue Belt Krav brothers, these modern day gladiators, STW’s March Member of the Month recognition. Congratulations, guys! Your hard work and dedication paid off, and you have the scratches, bruises, broken noses, messed up ankles, ripped tendons, and bad knees to prove it.

If you or someone you know has a testimonial you would like considered for our Member of the Month, please send all inquiries to jax@911kravmaga.com

You can see video at . . .

KABB Fox San Antonio :: Daytime @ Nine – Krav Maga

Bruce Lee said it best when he said that if you always put a limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. He contended that there were no limits, only plateaus, and we shouldn’t stay there, but go beyond them.

Meet the man who is the epitome of living life without limits, Ralph Kirchner, one of our most seasoned and experienced members. At age 53, this accomplished businessman and daredevil learned to ski before he could walk, has done everything from Jiu-jitsu, Tai Chi, horseback riding, surfing, hang gliding, and competitive off-road racing in Germany and Italy.

After he retired from the German Air force, he started an advertising agency in the mid-80’s, and then opened a Dude ranch with his lovely wife in the early 90’s in Bandera, Tx. In 2009, he sold his business and instead of retiring to the Cayman islands—which is something I would’ve done, by the way—and soaking up life sipping margaritas, absorbing lots of Vitamin D, he felt that he needed something a little more stimulating and challenging to spend the rest of his retirement years. So, he found STW Krav Maga.

“I got a guest pass from a friend,” he said, “and signed up immediately after that first lesson. I love this place. It’s like a family oriented environment,” he continued.

Despite coming four to five times a week, taking several classes back-to-back, Ralph didn’t limit himself to only fitness classes. He continued with the self-defense track and recently passed his level 4 test, earning himself a most coveted blue coin, not an easy feat by any standard. And for this reason, that makes Ralph Kirchner our February Member of the Month. Congratulations, Sir! The STW team is extremely proud of your accomplishment, and we wish you a fun and prosperous journey on the self-defense track.