Never too young
On Wednesday I have the honor of teaching two Kali classes at Elite Training Center, one at 6pm and one at 8pm. On the 8pm class I had an amazing group of 16 students. Tonight lesson was Contra Sumbrada with Vine disarm.
It is an advanced drill: there is footwork, strike patterns, defenses and at the end, the disarm. It’s so rewarding for me to witness the advanced students helping and teaching the new students, it says a lot about Shihan Brian Rauchbach philosophy and vision for the school and most important, for the students of Elite Training Center.
Before class, a 10 years old boy named Mauricio asked me if he could join the class. My first thought was “WOW! What a nice young man” and naturally my answer was “Yes! I’d love for you to be in my class”. He gave me a warm hug and a genuine happy smile. Natalie, an awesome and kind Lady, partnered up with Mauricio and taught him the drill. At the end of the class I had everyone trying different training tools, such as single stick, stick and dagger, and the staff. My spontaneous joy was to see how comfortable everyone was in performing the drill.
After class, when almost everyone left, I hear Instructor Will calling Mauricio. The two of them are now practicing the drill. Immediately I get the video camera out. It was so cool to see how well they were doing and how smooth Mauricio was in performing the Vine disarm! Instructor Will praised Mauricio for his abilities and assured him that as long as he does his homework and do the right thing, he’ll be always welcome into Kali class.
What Mauricio taught me tonight is that a person is never too young to be polite, never too young to show care and respect. This is what Elite Training Center is about, from generation to generation…
~Guro Barbara Dalla Riva
