In the Clinch Vol.4

“In the Clinch”
By Coach Woodward

Welcome to ‘In the Clinch’ Vol.4, an up close, behind the scenes look at the Elite Fighting Team (E.F.T.) of Team Intense Martial Arts (TIMA). With Master Catalasan’s permission and support we will bring you inside the inner workings of the E.F.T. As we begin our descent on final approach to the Junior Olympics in Orlando, Florida.

With the Junior Olympics just 4 weeks away there’s much work to do and little time to do it. We hope you enjoy this blog as we attempt to make you feel part of our family. Without your support and encouragement none of this would be possible. Today we continue with our 4th of 11 interviews of the amazing kids who comprise the E.F.T. We encourage you to share this blog with family, friends, co-workers and anyone else who might benefit or partner with us in doing what we can to give these dedicated athletes the support they need to accomplish all they’ve set out to do.

Please sit back, relax and enjoy being ‘In the Clinch’ with Marisa Espinoza.

On May 24, 2010 I had the privilege of sitting down with Marisa and getting to know her a little better. Marisa is 12 years old and she’s been with TIMA for 2 years. This is her first year on the E.F.T. Marisa recently earned her green stripe (7th gup) in Tae Kwon Do. Although, she qualified at States and will be fighting at Nationals as a green belt (6th gup). She also studies Muay Thai kickboxing with TIMA. I asked Marisa why she didn’t study Kali to which she responded, “I don’t really know about kali. I like it but I just don’t think I’ll be very good at it. It’s difficult because of the swinging of the sticks.” I have a sneaking suspicion she’d be great at it.

One of the blessings I’ve enjoyed during these first few blogs is learning something new, or reinforcing things I already knew about each fighter. If you’ve had the opportunity to follow along with us so far you may have picked up on the fact that Seth is one smart kid. Nicholas is random and hilarious as the day is long and Jake is loved by all. The thing is, until all the interviews are completed and I begin to assemble the stories, the unique trait or attribute of each fighter doesn’t come into focus. Well, the picture just became clear regarding Marisa. If I had to describe her in one word it could be ‘Courageous’. As usual I’m going to save my strongest argument to support this opinion for the end of the blog just to make you read the entire thing. However, I offer this teaser story to give you an idea of her bravery and character.

Marisa attends Imperial Middle School where she’s in 7th grade. Marisa lives out of the area compared to many on the team so you might not be familiar with this school. However, I’m sure many of you are familiar with Mrs. Alma Corral. Her daughter Berenice and son Tony have been training with TIMA for years. Mrs. Corral is employed at Imperial Middle School. She also happened to be present in the ‘Homework Hangout’ when I was interviewing Marisa. Mrs. Corral, not one to keep her stories to herself chimed in. She told me she works with ‘Special Education’ so, “I’m familiar with Marisa.” Marisa, ever the good sport laughed off the joke and followed up with, “I ignore Mrs. Corral at school cuz she gets me in trouble.” Like you the reader are right now, I too was curious as to the bad blood between these two so I probed further. Marisa recounted this story.

“I was eating on the field with my friend Kenia cuz I was really hungry one day. Then Mrs. Corral saw us eating.” Apparently eating your lunch on the field is forbidden. Mrs. Corral, seeing her opportunity, distributed discipline Imperial Middle School style. Marisa said, “I got to pick up trash. When I got home I told my parents because she (Mrs. Corral) was going to tell them.” “But I didn’t want to tell my dad cuz it was his birthday.” “But I told him anyway cuz it was the right thing to do.” In my book, at 12 years old that was a pretty courageous act. More will follow.
Marisa said she enjoys Tae Kwon Do. “I’ve never done a sport except for this one.” “I started because of Mrs. Corral.” Mrs. Corral took this opportunity to jump into the conversation. “One day she shows up at my door asking if we’re going to Tae Kwon Do, ‘I want to try it’. “Since then I haven’t been able to get rid of her.”

I asked Marisa to recount her favorite tournament. Her response caught me off guard, as it will you too I’m sure. However, as this tidbit of information ties into our ‘Courage Thread’, you’re going to have to wait for her response. In the meantime, here are some fun facts about Marisa you may not have known:

Favorite Toy: “Battleship is fun, Wii too.”
Favorite TV Show: ”I love iCarly. “I Carly’s awesome, but I don’t talk about iCarly.” “I don’t talk about TV.”
Favorite Food: ”Chow Mein and I also like ribs.” “The ribs that my dad makes are awesome.”
Favorite Fighters: Manny Pacquiao and Brooke Barth (“She spars really really good.”) Looks to me like Manny’s in pretty good company don’t you think?
Favorite Sparring Partner: Daphne Tober (“I like how she fights.” “It makes me try a lot harder.”)
Favorite Movie: “The Notebook. It made me cry.”
Biggest Fear: “Heights and spiders are kinda scary.”
Perfect Husband: Justin Bieber. “I got way less obsessed with him lately.”

I asked Marisa to share something about herself that few people know. She responded, “I write poems.” I asked her what she writes about. She said, “How I feel.” I thought an example of her writing would make an excellent addition to our story. However, Marisa had a different opinion when I brought it up, “I don’t share my poems with anyone.” I guess that’s why few people know about it. Something I uncovered that she didn’t bring up is the fact that Marisa is a straight A student. Why am I not surprised?

Marisa said her favorite memory with TIMA so far was our recent trip to Malibu for training and a relaxing 4.2 mile hike to the waterfalls. When asked about her least favorite punishment Marisa opined about our most beloved of disciplines, burpies. “Burpies are kinda OK.”

I asked Marisa to name the 3 most influential people in her life. “Well, my mom, dad and Guro.” I’m sensing a common theme throughout these interviews as it pertains to this question. Marisa’s favorite thing about TIMA, “The teamwork.”

Marisa’s dream job, “I want to be a sheriff.” Talk about a career that requires courage. Knowing Marisa, one can’t be surprised. According to Marisa, “Google” a.k.a. Sara Lee is the smartest person on the team. High praise from a straight A student. I sought Marisa’s input on who she thinks is the cutest person on TIMA. Marisa quickly answered, “Well we all know that’s me.” She recovered quickly saying, “I’m just kidding. It’s Seth, he’s the cutest.”

At this time I turned my attention to Marisa’s teammates, coaches and family to find out more about the courageous poet sitting before me.

Her dad was at the studio this evening, as usual, so I decided to start there. Mr. Espinoza said of Marisa, “She wants to hang out with team intense.” I’m starting to get the impression we’re not your typical martial arts school. How about you? Mr. Espinoza told me something I wasn’t aware of. Apparently, Marisa has a bit of a temper. Mr. Espinoza said, “Well she had a temper. When she was two years old she’d get mad and go under the bed or zip herself up in a suitcase.” He continued, “Grandma would call her and she’d say I’m mad. I don’t want to talk to anybody. She’d throw all the clothes on top of her because she didn’t want to see anybody.”

Mr. Espinoza also offered up this interesting tidbit. “Marisa has a pet iguana.” That’s right, a lizard. We’re not talking about some cute little reptile you’d hold in your hand. Her iguana is a 5 footer named Lizzy. That’s right, FIVE feet long. Mr. Espinoza continued, “She puts the iguana in the shower.” Apparently Marisa likes to accessorize her pet dinosaur. According to her dad, “She puts sunglasses on the iguana.” Never saw that one coming did you? Me either.

Regarding the upcoming Jr. Nationals, Mr. Espinoza had this to say about his daughter, “I think she’s prepared for the competition.” In light of what we will soon learn about Marisa, these words carry much weight.

I spoke with several teammates and none were at a loss for words when it comes to Marisa. Sara ‘Google’ Lee said she’s funny, sweet and determined. “She’s very cute.” Jake, Chad and Tony all described her as “very girly”. They said she “Loves Justin Bieber”. Tony informed me Marisa missed this year’s teen camp in Big Bear Lake to attend a ‘Jonas Brothers’ concert. Clearly, he didn’t think this was the best use of her time. Chad shared a recent conversation he had with Marisa during training. Apparently she told him,” I get wedgies during Muay Thai class.” Chad obviously began laughing as you’d expect a teenage boy to do. Marisa didn’t share his sense of humor responding, “Don’t laugh at me.” Marisa ran out of the studio and zipped herself into a suitcase. OK, she didn’t really, but that would’ve been great for our storyline don’t you think? I’m happy to report that since this interview took place Marisa has cured her, um, wedgie issues. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for her obsession with Justin Bieber and the Jonas Bros.

When it came to describing her as a fighter the conversation moved in an entirely different direction. Gone were adjectives like, funny, random and girly. They were replaced with, and I quote, “powerful, aggressive, merciless, dangerous, vicious, determined, scary, fierce and predatory.” Clearly Marisa is a different person once she steps into the ring, though she doesn’t lose all her humanity according to Jake. “One time I kicked her in the jaw and I felt bad. She said, ‘it’s ok Jake.’ She didn’t even get mad at me. I was pretty surprised.”

I’ve always maintained that Marisa is one of the top 5 most athletic fighters on TIMA. To support my contention I give you this quote from Ismael describing Marisa in training. ”She would always kick our butts when running miles during Elite training. The only time she’d see my backside is when she was lapping me.”

Guro had high praise for Marisa. She described her as the next generation Jake on the Elite Team. Meaning she is the most improved member of the E.F.T. this year. “Marisa is the kid who came from knowing nothing to being one of our top fighters.” “She understands the game and has power and speed.” “I have no doubt that Marisa is going to do amazing at the tournament.” “The leaps and bounds she’s made give me the confidence to know she’ll do well.”

If you’ve been following along that past couple of weeks you know I like to include a coach’s perspective in these stories for each fighter. However, in the case of Marisa, I was unable to find a coach able to go on record regarding Marisa. Why you ask? I bring you back to the beginning of our story when I promised more evidence of Marisa’s courage.

When I asked the coaches to share what it’s like to guide Marisa through a tournament, none could help me. I went to Guro. She too could not provide any firsthand accounts of a time when she coached Marisa in a tournament. The reason is obvious I’m sure by now. Near the beginning of our conversation I asked Marisa to share with me her most memorable moment from a tournament. I was floored when she told me, “I’ve never fought in a tournament coach.” I sat there momentarily wondering if she’d just forgotten, but as I soon realized she’s not a straight A student for nothing. She was right. She conveyed how her first tournament would’ve been this year’s State Championship. However, they did not have an opponent in her division.

Marisa joined the Elite team with ZERO competition experience and never mentioned it to anyone. She went to States with NO competition experience whatsoever and never said a word. She’s now headed to Orlando Florida for the Jr. Nationals. If not for this article, I doubt anyone would’ve known this would be her first competition ever.

When I brought this to Guro’s attention she had the same astonished look on her face I had. The realization set in, Marisa is going to fight her first tournament on the biggest stage this sport has to offer a fighter her age and skill level. In light of that I would like to remind you of the comments of Mr. Espinoza (“I think she’s prepared for the competition.”) and Guro (“I have no doubt that Marisa is going to do amazing at the tournament.”) That being said, I challenge anyone to tell me Marisa isn’t one of the most courageous 12 year olds you’ve ever known. Lastly, I’m not at all concerned about Marisa being ready for Florida. I am concerned that Florida isn’t ready for Marisa.

I hope you enjoyed being ‘In the clinch’ with Marisa Espinoza. Please check back in a few days when we get ‘In the Clinch’ with Sara ‘Google’ Lee.

For the Team,
Coach Woodward