In the Clinch Vol.10

“In the Clinch”
By Coach Woodward

Welcome to ‘In the Clinch’ Vol.10, 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 have touched down, and are now fighting at the Jr. Olympics in Orlando, Florida.

Now that we’re here in sunny, sticky Florida, it’s time to show Orlando what TIMA is made of. For those who’ve been following along thus far we thank you for your encouragement.

As I write this particular blog I’m sitting in my room. The kids are having a training session and everyone else is asleep. As I wish I was. Like this one, all of the remaining interviews will be posted from Florida, mixed in with our daily updates.

We hope you enjoy this blog as we attempt to make you feel like part of our family. Without your support and encouragement none of this would be possible. Today we continue with our 10th of 12 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 Ismael Aguilar.

Ismael is 17 years old and a senior at Magnolia High School. According to Ish (as his teammates like to call him) it’s “The ghetto school of the district, along with Katella and Savanna.” An interesting side note here, teammate Nathan Suvannakul attends Savanna.

This is his 4th year with TIMA and his 2nd on the E.F.T. He is a red belt in Tae Kwon Do. He’s been training overall for over 6 years in Tae Kwon Do. He is currently the highest ranked non-black belt on the team.

Ismael is the last remaining student from his prior school, Big Sky Tae Kwon Do. Several years back TIMA merged with BSTKD, with Guro taking control of their roster. The union was short lived and TIMA returned to our then home at The Rec. In a testament to Ish’s commitment and love of Tae Kwon Do, he is the only member of BSTKD who was able to live up to our standards. The road was not easy for him either. Ismael told me, “At Big Sky I was one year from being a black belt. I would’ve been a black belt 3 years ago.” Does Ismael have any regrets? Not in the least, “I’m so glad I didn’t stick with Big Sky.”

On his first day under Guro he was late because of a schedule change at the studio. Ismael sent his mom into the studio because he was afraid he would get in trouble with the new master. However, his mom remained inside the studio so Ish called her on her cell phone. His mom came out of the studio and drug Ish in.

Guro was talking to Ian (Ish’s Big Sky friend) and showing him the new schedule. The next day was his first class under Guro. ”I remember it was hard, really hard; especially when compared to Big Sky.” Ismael said, “During announcements I wasn’t paying attention cuz I was thinking ‘this is gonna be hard’. But I don’t like quitting so I stayed. With Big Sky I hated Tae Kwon Do and always made up excuses. With Guro it’s fun and I wanted to stay.”

In addition to Tae Kwon Do, Ish also studies Muay Thai and Kali. He enjoys all of them. “I like all three equally. They’re all equally difficult for me. Kali is easiest for me.”

Ismael said his least favorite punishment is burpies. “I don’t mind burpies, but when we do burpies with our gear on, that sucks. They really suck.”

Ismael had a little trouble nailing down his favorite TIMA memory so I let him pick a few. “In December of 2008 we had the hardest elite training at Peak Park. It was raining. Guro got mad and we had to do 200 concrete push-ups and we kept dropping so it ended up being 740 concrete pushups. I still have scars from that. The fireworks booth and Boost were both really, really awesome.”

Ismael probably holds the record for worst injuries resulting from training with Team Intense. He’s kicked a hole in his lip and dislocated his shoulder. The lip injury occurred while sparring a couple years back with Travis Martindil. Travis dropped an axe kick on Ish’s face causing him to bite through his bottom lip. It was truly gruesome. His dislocated shoulder came more recently at our new studio. He was dropping down to do army crawls and it just popped out. “The lip hurt more at the moment when he kicked me than the shoulder. The shoulder didn’t hurt when I landed. But at the emergency room it really hurt.”

Here are some fun facts about Ismael you may not have known:

Favorite Fighters: “Brooke, Seth and Willie. Seth cuz he’s like a bullet. Brooke, when she bounces, her knees bow inward and she does her little arm thing like she’s flying. She doesn’t back down to anyone. She’s like a second Chewie. When she get’s pissed she gets fireballs in her eyes. “Willie cuz he’s just Willie.”

Favorite Movie: “I have six Sir. Coach Carter, Remember the Titans, Never Back Down, Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift, Longest Yard and National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets because I like history.”

Favorite Sparring Partner:”I have like five; Willie, Brooke, Austin, Justin Bardales and Nathan. Ish said he used to like sparring with Travis Martindil, “But he wimped out and quit. He keeps saying that he’ll come back but he’s too much of a chicken.”

Favorite TV Show: “I have like eight; Southpark, Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Bizarre Foods, Human Weapon and Fight Quest.”

Favorite Movie Star: Will Smith and Adam Sandler

Biggest fear: “I’m embarrassed to put that one. That sucks. Spiders.”

I asked Ish to tell me something about himself people might not know. Ish told me, “My first fight wasn’t against a human. It was against a puppy. I was one and a half years old. I won. I bit him on the ear.”

Ismael listed his parents and Guro as the most influential people in his life. When it came to identifying what he likes most about TIMA he simply responded, “Everything.”

Ismael said his best scar is the one on his lip referenced earlier. I remember the day that happened. Ish was bleeding all over the floor at the ‘Rec’. He was also a bit woozy.
His tooth had cut a hole through his chin just beneath his bottom lip. Blood was leaking from both the inside and outside of his mouth. I had my camera with me that day as always. I tried to get a picture of his injury as his dad was walking him out to take him to the hospital. Ismael asked me not to take any pictures. He was getting nauseous and just wanted to get to the doctor. I convinced him to take few seconds so I could memorialize the ventilated lip. Ismael is very proud of this injury and is now glad we documented his injury. It’s still posted on Ning.

At this time I turned to Ish’s family, friends and Coaches to learn a little bit more about one of TIMA’s most persistent students and future leaders.

Ismael’s dads most vivid memories are of the aforementioned injuries as you might expect. He also had this to say. ”His tournaments he always gives everything he has. I’m really happy. I’m really proud. He just needs to break through to be the real fighter he is. In tournaments he’s a little stiff. He just needs to break past that line.”

As for the affect of TIMA on Ismael his dad said,”It’s making him way better. It’s affirming his character. More discipline, focus on the future. He’s not in gangs or with bad company. It’s a great sport and a great team to be into. I’m really happy. He’s a very good student a very good boy. A little bit lazy but I can deal with that sometimes.”

Mr. Aguilar told me about his wife’s feelings regarding Ish and Tae Kwon Do. “She’s a little scared. She’s always checking him for injuries. But in the end she’s very happy because it’s leading Ismael to become a better person.”

Mr. Aguilar gave me this great story about Ish. “Six months ago when we went to Yosemite Valley he threw up in the truck all over his mom and cousin.” Ismael, who was sitting nearby during my conversation with his dad, chimed in. “First thing dad said was ‘clean my truck’”. Mr. Aguilar shot back with, “I was barely able to handle the smell.” Classic.

Sara Lee said, “He’s funny, he’s sweet and he’s like an older brother. He’s smart in math.” As a fighter she said of Ish, “he’s strong and he’s smart. He doesn’t’ give up.”

Daphne described Ismael as nice, smart and caring. She also said he’s a smart fighter and “he kicks hard.” One of Daphne’s favorite memories of Ismael was when, “This onetime Ish, Sarina and me saw a movie. I remember after the movie we snuck into another one. It was Sarina’s idea though.” Then she added, “Mom snuck in too”. For some unknown reason, Daphne would not say which movie they snuck into.

Austin said Ish is funny, random and ‘superfluffy’. He’s also an aggressive and powerful fighter.
Sarina described Ismael as caring and considerate. Her favorite Ismael memory came, “When we were practicing (dancing) for my quincenera. He spun me out and he let go cuz his hands were all clammy and I ran into the window. I got a big bruise on my head.”

Ismael was Sarina’s escort for her 15th birthday. After the ceremony was over and the party began, Ish danced with pretty much every girl he could find, earning himself the nickname, Rico Suave. A name he wears proudly.

Seth said,”Ismael is very good at math, Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai and Kali.” Seth said one time Ish hit him in the lip during practice and, “it hurt.” Seth’s favorite memory of Ismael is a classic. “I was doing elite team homework and we got bored and he taught me the quadratic formula.” It looks like they’re both good at math.

Viktorya’s favorite memory of Ish came a few years back when both of them attended Dale Jr. High. “I was TA (teacher’s aide) for Ish’s PE class and they were jumping rope. The kids decided to tie me to a pole with jump ropes. Ismael just stood there and laughed.”

Brooke said Ish is “Funny, sentimental and protective. He came to my school one time and we were hanging out in the library and the boy I used to like was there and Ismael accidentally hit him in the face with a penny.”

Coach Kaihewalu said, when asked what Ish needs to do in Florida to be successful, “He needs to be attentive in the ring. Stay focused. He’s got the tools.”

Guro’s best memory of Ismael takes us back to one of his grotesque injuries and brings to a close our look behind the scenes of the one TIMA kids no one will ever accuse of quitting, giving up or giving in. “The day he thought it was a good idea to jump into an army crawl. He got up and said, ‘Guro, I can't move my arm.’ I told him to shake it off, but he really couldn't! Then, I looked at his shoulders, and one was higher than the other. It was disgusting! He handled it like a champ, even though he was in excruciating pain. It's something to laugh about now, but, I gotta admit, I was pretty freaked out when it happened.”

I hope you enjoyed being ‘In the clinch’ with Ismael Aguilar. Please check back in very soon when we get ‘In the Clinch’ with Sarina Marie Oropeza.
For the Team,

Coach Woodward “In the Clinch”
By Coach Woodward