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Arcenio
Advincula |
If the San
Diego Chargers win the Super Bowl this year, praise should be
given to the coaches and players. However, a small amount of
credit should be bestowed upon Arcenio J. Advincula, Black Belt's
1987 Co-Instructor of the Year.
The 1986 Chargers were one of the National Football League's
patsies, floundering to a pitiful 4-12 record. At this writing,
however, the team is 8-2 and leading its division.
This amazing turnabout is due to many factors. But one
of the key elements may be from ki (internal energy) development.
About five months before the season began, Advincula, who has
over 40 years of martial arts training behind him, was hired
to help the struggling Chargers.
"I taught them chinkuchi (cultivation of ki) through body mechanics," Advincula
explained. "I told the coach that my training wouldn't revolutionize
football, but could give the team a little extra edge. I wasn't
going to teach kicking, punching and striking techniques because
that would be ridiculous. I told the coach that I was going
to teach the players body management through the martial arts,
which is what I cover at my seminars. I find out what they want
to learn and then teach it to them."
When it comes to teaching the martial arts, Advincula is
an admitted workaholic. He began studying escrima at the age
of eight and has since become a major force in isshin-ryu karate,
with nearly three decades of training in the art.
"When it comes to giving seminars, I'm a fanatic," Advincula
said. "I'll easily work 18 hours doing a seminar."
Advincula's seminars cover a wide variety of subjects,
including escrima, rape prevention, close-combat tactics, ancient
Okinawan weapons, kung fu, and isshin-ryu karate. He claims
he enjoys all the seminar topics equally, but if he had to choose
just one, it would be martial arts philosophy. "Not too many
people like that, however," he laughed.
In the span of a year, Advincula's seminars will take him
anywhere from Washington state to Mississippi. Although each
seminar might cover a different topic, he stresses the same
basics in each.
"It doesn't matter what the seminar is on, I'll always
begin with attitude," Advincula noted. "If you have the right
attitude, you'll practice the basics. The more you practice
the basics, the more confidence you'll have. The more confidence
you have, the more disciplined you'll become to practice the
basics. Then it starts all over again. It's just repetition.
The three Rs-repetition, repetition and repetition. Then, there's
the three Bs-basics, basics and basics. Then the three "A's"-attitude,
attitude and attitude. It's a never-ending cycle. I made a chart
on this and gave it to the Chargers, which they now use." The
selling point that got Advincula the Charger job was his firm
belief that ki or energy is brought out through body mechanics
and can be taught within minutes.
"You can literally-and this is no bull or garbage-explain
it and show it in under five minutes," Advincula said. "In many
cases, you can double a person's strength. In some cases; you
can triple his strength-I love to say this because so many people
doubt it."
There certainly won't be any doubters in San Diego if the
Chargers win the Super Bowl.
Copyright © 1997, Blackbelt Communications, Inc. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED.
