The Club
I was born in the Bronx, New York City. Raised in a poor home and in a hard city, I found myself placed in a reform school for a good part of my childhood. I was constantly bullied for having a small stature and unknown and curious nationality. Being picked on was a constant until MARTIAL ARTS. At age eight I started learning Martial Arts, and of course was inspired, like most, by the late great Bruce Lee. Now the trials of life continued, and like so many kids, curiosity. Cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. After a drug overdose on what was supposed to be so-called harmless marijuana, I had a near-death experience and a rude awakening.
As I was coming out of this pit (if
you will), I looked back at those I knew, and it hurt to see that they were in
that same condition that I was in, so I asked myself, what can I do to help
them and others.
Teach the truth, help
them to see the lie, and if there is a lie there has to be truth. So it
was time to search for the truth and try to teach it.
But I needed a
tool. What can I use? WAIT! I know a little bit of
Martial arts, why not that?
So "The
Club" came to be.
Young Gus, Age 12
Junior and Gus
I started with a
couple of friends, and then I met a young man on a stoop in front of an
apartment building. His name was Julio, but we called him Junior or
Bear. He was big for his age, and doctors said he needed to lose weight
because of his blood pressure. He had just turned 14 years old, and he
turned out to be my best friend and brother.
I started
training Junior with weights, sports, and Martial Arts. The weight came
off, and he became what body-builders like to call a "monster" or a
"hulk". To us he was a big teddy bear, yet fast, fluid, and
strong. And talk about a heart! I've never seen one bigger.
In fact, he came to be known as the "heart" of the club, and I guess
I was known as the "brain".
Sadly,
Junior passed away on February 3,
1999 from Lupus, a blood disorder. We miss him, but as we live
on, so does his memory.
There were the old days of the club,
and of course the new days.
What started out on roof
tops, in hall ways and a memorable basement, has now flourished world wide.
The club is more than
Martial Arts. It became a place of refuge (if you will). People of
all ages came in - some with drug problems, and others "had it all"
but no direction. So we did what we could, and it all worked out fine.
From my wrong, I could help
others do right... To search for truth in life... Life, a never ending learning
process.
And through it all, we
find the journey we take allows us to share our experiences in life, so that we
might be an encouragement to someone else.
After all, what did I
know about helping people? Nothing - no schooling on it, no
certification... Just
experience and the desire to make a difference.
Club Reunion 1995