1987 Co-Instructor of the Year Black Belt Magazine, 1997
by: A.J. 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.