Canada
Haiti And Taekwondo
I didn’t expect to learn what I did and I sure didn’t anticipate to meet whom I met on my recent business trip overseas.
First off, I have known this gentleman for a number of years now. He is a really smart guy with tons of university degrees as well as an MBA and even a Ph.D. to boot. But even more important to me is the fact that he is a really nice down-to-earth kind of guy you enjoy having conversation over a beer or two or more with (which we recently had!) .
I am sure you all remember the massive earthquake that hit Haiti and specifically the capital of Port-Au-Prince just about a year ago. Very devastating. Extremely tragic. So many human lives lost and so many more changed forever.
But get this: The gentleman mentioned above was in Haiti conducting business right there in the middle of it all when it happened.
He was supposed be staying at his hotel, but there were some changes in plan that asked for him to join some other business associates to head out for a meeting just about 30 minutes before tragedy hit Haiti.
These circumstance essentially saved his life when the Big One hit Haiti. When he did make it back, his hotel had been flattened. As you can imagine, all his personal belongings that were in his hotel room had simply vanished during the disaster.
This gentleman made it out without even a scratch and several weeks later he did receive his dust-covered passport from the State Department which was recovered from the former hotel site. He now always carries it in his briefcase as a reminder of his close call.
Even though I didn’t experience it myself, it is a reminder to me how fragile life is and how I have to remind myself during hectic workdays that our time on this planet is limited and that one should make the effort on just ‘being in the moment’.
And there is one such Taekwondo master that I didn’t meet in person on my recent trip, but I did make the acquaintance of one of his master students. According to his master student, this master embodies this ‘being in the moment’ on a daily basis.
And boy, was he full of praise and admiration of his now 57-year old instructor and who is the the founder of Elite Taekwondo in Montreal.
He is Master Clerveaux Ferrere, 7th degree TKD-Black Belt and WTF-Champion.
Originally from Gonaives, Haiti, he has been a TKD-practitioner for over 38 years and he is a worldwide recognized martials arts personality, both as an extremely successful competitor and a highly-respected instructor.
Some of the highlights of his career: 8-time Canadian champion (7 times in a row!) as well as 2-time Pan-American champion and so many other numerous titles, that are simply too many to count here. He even made it to the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.
His laid-back personality combined with his creativity in his teaching methods keep his students coming back for more.
Master Clerveaux is known for his impeccable technique as well as his patience and formidable talent as a communicator that have his students respect and admire him.
I was able to get this short video clip that gives us a glimpse of 57-year-old Clerveaux Ferrere’s kicking abilities:
Canadian UFC Welterweight Superstar Georges St. Pierre And “Operation Olympic Wrestling 2012″?
One of the absolute superstars of mixed martial arts, Georges St. Pierre from Montreal, is seriously considering to take a hiatus from his extraordinarily successful UFC career to “empty his cup”.
What that means is that GSP has been thinking out loud about trying for the Canadian Olympic Wrestling Team to compete at the London Olympics in the summer of 2012.
Well, you already know that I admire the fact that he is willing to get out of his comfort zone.
Just think of it:
He is currently at the top of his game, fighting for Dana White’s UFC and is one of the top 3 or 4 Pound-For-Pound Fighters in the world.
Some would even say he is THE invincible UFC-welterweight with a work ethic and athleticism second to none.
Now, stepping onto Olympic wrestling mat is quite a different story, even though GSP is considered one of the best wrestlers on the professional MMA circuit.
Believe it or not, Georges St. Pierre didn’t wrestle on a high school or college level!
In his 20′s, he finally added wrestling to complement his fighting arsenal and thus became a force to reckon with.
As he says himself, it won’t be easy once he has made that final decision and commitment to go Olympic.
GSP will have to adjust his training and will have to prevail numerous qualifiers to even become a member of the Canadian Olympic Wrestling Team.
I am not going to speculate on the money he will be leaving on the table while he pursues his Olympic dream, should he actually go for it.
What do you think: Will GSP go for it or not???
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