The History of The Hero

By popular demand, there has been significant interest in wondering how I initially got started in developing my foundational training for the Hero Snow Shoveling Technique.

In my late 20’s, I wanted to know more about martial arts. I purchased a few select books on the subject, one of which was Asian Fighting Arts by Robert W. Smith. It was an encyclopedia of all martial arts around the world. I read it from cover to cover. I had an old buddy who had been training in the art of karate for a number of years. He told me about the school where he was currently training: The Blue Dragon Society. It was a blend of Japanese Shotokan and Korean Karate with some Chinese Kung Fu. The instructor was a Sargeant on the New Haven Police force. The regimen included a long warm up of stretching, hundreds of situps and pushups, then striding up and down the floor performing various punches, kicks, and blocks; as well as, choreographed forms called Katas, and finally sparring. This was a life-changing experience for me and extremely rewarding. It took me seven years to achieve my black belt and I felt like a new man.

Many more wonderful experiences in my training broadened my horizons, my skills, and filled my heart and mind with fascination. I eventually learned that the original, true essence of martial arts lies in elevating the inner spirit, clearing the mind through diligent, focused practice, and strengthening the core. These spiritual values, this balance, kept me well-rounded and prepared for anything. It has been a healthy spiritual path that has allowed me to continue to share what I have learned with other generations, old and young, and spread the inner wealth. It also allows me to honor the profound lineages of all my instructors.

So, what led me to discover and share this method of snow shoveling? Well, I presume you have purchased the book and read the Preface as to the origin of the story within. To further elaborate on the foundation of this technique requires examining the background behind it and the physics of the body in motion.

The basic structure of a normal human skeletal framework is composed of three main sections: the spine, hips, and shoulder girdle. The spine, as the primary component, links the head and upper body with the lower body and provides significant communication from the brain to the entire complex of its construction. The hips are the secondary component, providing stability in the lower body allowing tremendous strength, power, and speed in movement. Lastly, the shoulder girdle completes the package linking both the right and left halves of the upper body, allowing tremendous strength, power, and speed, as well. All my training reinforced this awareness of body mechanics.

After years of incorporating the flow of various stances – especially the horse stance, front stance, rooted stance, and back stance – my body became stronger, faster and more powerful in executing movements. But, one of the most difficult things to learn, which I finally got a feeling for when I attained a higher rank and much more experience, was the ability to completely and confidently relax in motion and technique with rhythmic breathing. When you are relaxed and properly rooted you start to feel the significance of maintaining a straight spine with specific linear techniques. Rotating the body to the left or right side, and incorporating the snap of your hips into the technique, whether it be punches, kicks, or shoveling; easily generates greater power and speed. Performing techniques on both sides of the body builds balance and coordination. This helps to bring clarity of mind and focus, especially without the interference of easily misguided thoughts and emotions involving competition. There are those individuals that thrive on the competitive aspects of the martial arts. That’s fine when you are young and feel a need to prove something to yourself or others. But when you get much older, especially with a successful competitive career and others that are better start to take over the reins, your personal limelight fades. You are now faced with inevitable change. All martial artists should frequently question their integrity. When you have nothing more to prove to yourself or anyone else, that is the time to just do it, feel good, and set a good example. It will bring great joy and perpetuate your overall well-being.

Throughout my journey, the highest level achieved was 2nd degree black belt under Soke George Fusco, Jr. in his Connecticut Shotokan and Chin Na Center. Now in my late 60’s, my developed skills are enough to incorporate foundational techniques and stances in my daily life that help to maintain a sound and healthful existence.

I will leave you with one last reflection on learning the essence of motion. As part of the training with Master Jou Tsung Hwa at the old Tai Chi Farm, I had never experienced extremely slow training before. One of the exercises we performed was outdoors and we got into an ‘open stance’ – like a ‘horse stance’ only the feet were pointed at a 45 degree angle outward. The spine was straight, one arm was wrapped around the back and the front arm was fully extended across the front of the body at heart level pointing in the opposite direction with the palm up. The front palm would then slowly and gracefully move across in front of the body until it reached the other side. The motion continued with that same front arm wrapping around the back of the body, while the other arm that was on the back before, slowly and gracefully swung around to the front of the body all the way across, fully extended with the palm up. Then, slowly and gracefully we would pull it across the front of the body to the opposite side. If time allowed, we would keep rotating and switching arms. It’s a very simple Tai Chi Qigong form, but the key to doing it correctly was to move as slow as the sun moves shadows! Try doing this for an hour! This was an amazing challenge that produced a wonderful sensation of inner peace that I had not felt since childhood. In the immortal words of Master Jou Tsung Hwa, “Be like a sponge and learn all you can.”

The following is a list of instructors I had the sheer pleasure to learn from:

[Aikido]

[Karate and Chinese Kung Fu]

[Karate]

[Judo and Jiu Jitsu]

[Judo and Jiu Jitsu]

[Karate, Kick Boxing, Shaolin Chin Na]

[Karate, Krav Maga, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai]

[Karate]

[Kenpo and Karate]

[Tai Chi and Qigong]

[Qigong]

[Pa Kua]

[Qigong and Neigong]

[Qigong and Neigong]