We're Kicking It | The Stories Behind the Legends and warriors of Martial arts greats

Colin Van Deusen | 6 time International Sport Karate Champion | 8th Deg. American Kenpo Karate Black Belt | Founder of Power of One Self Defense Institute

May 10, 2021 Jose Flores Season 1 Episode 7
We're Kicking It | The Stories Behind the Legends and warriors of Martial arts greats
Colin Van Deusen | 6 time International Sport Karate Champion | 8th Deg. American Kenpo Karate Black Belt | Founder of Power of One Self Defense Institute
Show Notes Transcript

Join Jose as he Interviews his American Kenpo Karate Instructor Colin Van Deusen.  Colin is an 8th Deg. Black Belt in American Kenpo Karate and Founder of Power of One Self Defense Institute. 

  • 8th Deg. Black Belt in American Kenpo Karate
  • 35 years of Martial Arts Experience
  • Undefeated Head coach of The Los Angeles Stars (Chuck Norris Full Contact World Combat League)
  • Multiple Men's overall sparring grand champion Australian World Cup
  • Men's overall Sparring Grand Champion titles in four countries
  • Teaching seminars around the world for over 30 years
  • Founder of Power of One Self Defense Institute (EST. 1992) 

Click here to train with Colin Van Deusen at his Power of One Kenpo Karate Studio


Jose Flores:

All right. Hello, everyone. Welcome to the weird kicking Podcast, where I get the privilege to talk to the legends and warriors of the martial arts world, to them being joined common vendors and a Mastering the Art of American chembl. Sir, how are you? I'm doing great. Thanks and yourself. I'm doing well. Thank you so much. Well, thank you for your time, sir. I appreciate it. And for those for the listeners that don't know, Mr. Van dusen. Collin is actually my martial arts instructor

Colin Van Deusen:

started back in 2000 2003. And Tony withdrawn, if you remember him, I do.

Jose Flores:

Funny enough, he one day he showed up at my house. And today I'm going with my old martial arts instructor and a hunting Park. So I guess he went to check it out. You're not there anymore. And He found you a couple days later here at VIXX. me. And I believe that around the time where you were opening up the studio here It picks me.

Colin Van Deusen:

We did at two in 2000. Actually no 1999 I'm sorry, on 99 in the summer of 99. Alright, so he found you.

Jose Flores:

We, I remember, he wasn't his bike. I was in my skateboard. I fell in love coming over here. But we got here and you looked at me and you said when you want to try? And I was like, maybe and you're like what do you mean? Maybe you want to try Yes or no? Maybe next time and you just went okay. And after that he kept coming in. And he he kept saying he's asking about you. He's asking about you. So I decided to come and he said, Are you going to join in? And you're going to try it? And that's all right after that was a Yes, yes. And what I really wanted to make sure you did is learned how to do a proper shoulder roll. So when you fell off your skateboard again, you are good to go. All right. But yeah, I mean, after that that's actually running ever since then. It's been wonderful. And granted, I didn't know how. And I'll say this, not just because you're my instructor, but how much of a great person you are. Thank you appreciate it. Yeah. So for the listeners that don't know, you're an eighth degree, black belt in American Kenpo. That's correct. Yes. And for those I mean, I know you and I know much about you. But for the listeners that don't know, you tell us a little bit about yourself. Well, I started in run 1981 at a studio in Burlington, Vermont.

Colin Van Deusen:

And my first instructor, his name was Steve shover. Later, one of his black belts. His name was Laurie ended up becoming my instructor run around by blue or green belt, I think green Green Belt, through the black belt till I have to move from the state. But we did, it was under the Fred vallauris banner at the time my instructor had trained for probably, I don't know, 15 to 17 or so years prior to join in with Lars and he was a police officer during the day, and was trying to teach karate at night, but didn't really have any business understanding about how to do that and be able to do it full time, which was what I think he wanted to do. So it was really reliant on his police officer job during the day to pay his bills. And he tried to fake it in the evening. But he was faking it with the way things were done in, you know, 6070s. And at that time, the early 80s, which was a lot different than what it is today, as far as how the classes were, you know, taught and what was it expected of you because I had a pretty clear understanding from early on when I first started training that my instructor I'm not sure was really didn't really care whether or not you showed up. If you just weren't there to learn martial arts the way he was willing to teach it. So there's a lot of people that ended up falling by the wayside after one or two classes because it was a pretty rigorous experience. And there was a lot that was expected of you and the you know, the fighting and stuff like that. It was just it was just kind of probably common for the era really, it wasn't probably anything special that was happening in our dojo, but it was just something that was, you know, prevalent. If you grew up doing martial arts during that, you know, the 6070s it just was what it was you're going to get to get knocked up a little bit knocked around a little bit and some things get broken and some blood being spilled, but it was just part of the training. So anyways, I I got my black belt when I was 16 years old, a couple of years after that had moved to California. And I sought out training in California. So when I was when you're growing up on the East Coast, all the magazines and books that I was ever reading, were all about the martial artists who lived on the west coast. So now that I was living in California, I was like, well, this is going to be a great opportunity to start You know, some of these people on I sought out, you know, one of the first studios actually walked into was a man by the name of Bob Perry, who was at at Parker black Pope kind of dubbed him the voice of the internationals because he always did the announcing at the internationals over the years. Ironically, at the time, I didn't know this, but my who would become my future instructor. That was actually one of Bob Perry students as well, back in the day was with Bob white. And I ended up only there for a short period of time because I moved and then I moved up to Anaheim hills, and one of another student of Mr. White's, Dave rock was opening up a studio at that time when I was driving by stopped in there, we're doing some sparring and I obviously I love doing that. So got involved with them, trained with him for several years, and then ended up at Mr. White's studio and been there ever since.

Jose Flores:

So misters, deep shoulder when you said rigorous training. And, of course, back in that era was a little more, you could say hardcore isn't what it is now.

Colin Van Deusen:

They weren't, they definitely weren't following the business model of everybody gets a trophy, and everybody gets a pat on the back and a high five, let's put it that way.

Jose Flores:

It was a badge of honor to leave with a black eye, or at least some kind of Bruce

Colin Van Deusen:

learn. This is true, there was a there's a lot of stories to be told about that particular era, but it was kind of I don't know, when you're, it's like anything when you're growing up as you grew up poor. And that's all you know, it's not really anything special, because that's what you know, if you grow up rich, that's what you know, it's nothing really special. So it was kind of like the same way with with the martial arts, my training was just what I knew, that's all I knew. So I didn't really take it to be there. Too much or too little or too hard or too soft. It just, it just was and you know, the ones that I really enjoyed it. And I enjoyed the challenge. And I my mother got me involved. Partially I wanted to get involved, but my mother got me involved because I was having a really rough time in school. I didn't find out till I was about 35 that I was dyslexic. And they tested me for everything under the sun when I was you know, in elementary school and in middle school to try to find out why I was having such a challenge with schooling. Of all the things they didn't test me for was dyslexia. So had they they started with that set, but not so much. So anyways, long story short, I, I was getting a lot of fights, my confidence was way low. Because I, I was having a hard time in school so that you can, it's easy to adopt the opinion that you're not very smart. And there's you have learning problems or something else, because you're being brought to doctors that are trying to find out why you're having learning problems. But it was obviously something pretty simple. It's just I was transposing numbers and getting that backwards. So I had a really hard time with math, but get in fights all the time. You know, it would be easier for me to just punch somebody if I thought they were laughing at me. So I would constantly try to crack jokes, to get them to laugh with me instead of at me. And that was kind of my self defense mechanism at the time. So I became the class clown, I was always kind of, you know, joking in front of but anybody who I thought that was kind of giving me a hard time in any other sense of the word, I would just be just too easy to put hands on and, and start fighting. So principal's office, became very familiar with talks with mom with the principal very became very familiar. Got involved with martial arts. And the first time I kicked somebody in the head in class, I was told that I did a good job. And that obviously was a big difference between kicking somebody in their head at school and being sent to the principal's office and being expelled or whatever. So, because of that positive reinforcement of Hey, it's okay to punch him in the face. We actually encourage that, and we encourage you to kick him in the head too. I was like, Okay, cool. I got an outlet for that kind of boy youthful, you know, energy that I think most kids have. And I didn't get in fights after that other than the ones that people just gave me no other choice but to, you know, defend myself or whatever. So it was a big turning point.

Jose Flores:

And during that time the you guys had those macho gloves or those saplings that there are now

Colin Van Deusen:

they didn't they had just come out with in June re had just come out with something. I don't know if it was late 70s, early 80s. But our studio didn't really have them they they started coming up with cotton, cotton gloves. And I think more than Taekwondo studios had warmed for competition, just something a little bit of formed a cover the knuckles and or the foot to help Trump I don't even know if it was to try to help not hurting the person you were punching or kicking. He was more so you didn't hurt your knuckles or your foot. But I don't know, we didn't use much. And they eventually they started to become more popular. And obviously people started seeing the value of, you know, not hurting your opponent while you're trying to train together. It's the same concept with you know, Japanese swordsmanship. You know, they use a Schneier you know, Broken Sword during practice, because if you cut somebody with a live blade, it's quite a recovery time. So yeah, that was a wrap your hands and some taping and go for it. Yeah.

Jose Flores:

So you move out to Cali and you had a, you actually had a good job, right, as you were practicing. I mean, your fancy martial arts, you had a good job. And then you just martial arts was your life. So yeah. So you, you decided to trade that off? And I mean, obviously now, it's helped out quite a lot. But during that time, it was pretty challenging.

Colin Van Deusen:

Yeah. So I worked for my uncle for a few years, we retrofitted Transformers all throughout the state of California in the the prison systems and the college campuses were retrofitting and retrofitting PCB transformers, which is a at the time the EPA, or the Environmental Protection Agency had mandated that all of the Transformers that had this particular type of PCB or it's called poly chlorinated by females, what they found out a little too late that it was a carcinogen. And in Japan, they were spreading it on the roads to keep the dust down. And it seeped into the food chain and got into the, you know, the vegetation that people are eating and started causing cancer. So they anyways, they they banned that. And we spent, you know, a lot of time just pulling Transformers that had the oil in it, putting in dry types or retro filling them and getting their parts per million under PCB content down. So I did that for a few years. And then I went on to work with General Electric, which they rebuild this particular part of the General Electric Company rebuilt the high voltage power distribution transformers, like the the large ones that you had see it, like the Hoover Dam, the big large, they've come in on a rail car, and he's a 400 ton crane to pick them up. So I did that for several years and made great money worked all the time, and absolutely hated it. The saying that money cannot buy you happiness is partly true, and partly not. Because when you do have more money, you can, you know, show up to your problems in a limousine or a Ferrari. But when you absolutely hate what it is that you're doing, whatever they pay, you just it usually doesn't doesn't matter. I've heard all too many stories about people, you know, making millions of dollars in one day, getting up in the morning and go into work and they make a right hand turn and they just keep driving and they never come back and they leave everything. So I got I got part of that I actually went down to with a friend of mine, Tony Sach. Williams, who was a former World Champions, martial artists, extreme extremely talented martial artists, really powerful guy. We went down to Australia to to some seminars with a friend named Paul zadro, who has some some martial arts studios down there, he was holding his first tournament, which he still holds to this day now, probably 3030 years later. So we were doing some seminars down there at his first tournament, and you know, I'm petting kangaroos and what it's been said about blonde, blue eyed Australian women. It's true, there are a few of those down there. So I had a great time and what came back. And I was just, you know, during that trip, I'm thinking I'm down here doing what I love, and I'm getting paid to do it. And I'm gonna go back to the job that I hate. And I just it didn't work for me anymore. They made the cognitive dissidence that went along with that was just more than I could bear. So when the manager's office and you know, resigned and my manager at the time could not have been happier that I resigned. Because it was a union job, they, they really couldn't fire me. But I was when I worked. I worked extremely hard, put all my energy and effort into it. But when I didn't work, there would be sometimes a week, two weeks at a time, three weeks at a time, I just wouldn't show up for work wouldn't call in nothing. And when I run out of money, I would show back up to work. And there really wasn't anything to do about it because of the Union which in hindsight, you know, they just they should have found a way to fire me because I was just I was definitely not what you should be but I just hated it. And Tony was Quit quit that job. And within several months, several months I went bankrupt because I could no longer afford the lifestyle that I lived making the type of money I did, and but started the studio and it's been growing ever since.

Jose Flores:

So let's backtrack a bit. You're with Mr. Brock. David Brock. And so I know you got your black belt under barbed wire. However, you were you training with Mr. White, and they were broke at the same time or?

Colin Van Deusen:

No, I, I started training with Mr. Brock didn't actually even really know who Mr. White was. It if it had been brought up in conversations, or whatever the name, it just didn't click with me. And at the time, I was, you know, I was young at the time. And my goal was just to spar and fight and there was a lot of it going on at daybreak students. I just didn't really have any need to go anywhere else. It was not far from my home. And so it was I did, I did. Eventually I started questioning, okay, well, if Dave Brock got as good as he did, he must have learned it from somebody who he learned from and then I started seeing some of the people that I was training with, I had also trained with Mr. White and, you know, accompany them on a couple different occasions down to his studio in Costa Mesa and, you know, did some sparring classes, stuff like that. And then eventually, I just Mr. Brock studio had not sure what happened, there was a transition as far as the studio is concerned, as far as where they were located. So I ended up starting to make that trip down to Costa Mesa on a regular basis. And he became my instructor after that.

Jose Flores:

And was Mr. White still actively sparring during that time? When can you get because when I'm referring to I remember when I used to see you or Mr. Daniels or your Mr. promo fight, I was starstruck. I was like, Oh, my goodness. So by any chance, did you ever see him spawn? I mean, how was that? I did, Mr. White's been, you know,

Colin Van Deusen:

it's been an instructor for, you know, 50 plus years now. So, you know, the time that he was really active in sparring was far before I showed up at a studio. Not to say that he wasn't sparring anymore. But, you know, I just didn't have the opportunity or the benefit of seeing what he was doing at the time. So I kind of missed that golden era.

Jose Flores:

Yeah, regard. Only wonder how that was. So you started doing tournaments. And that, I mean, again, it when I see you Friday, it's super, it's awesome. I mean, I get started to appreciate how many tournaments Have you done throughout your life. And if you could just have an idea of any tournament that comes to mind that you that you could

Colin Van Deusen:

talk about, I love my friend, Paul zetros tournament in Australia, because it's the largest one in the southern hemisphere. But it's one that I just have such a long, excuse me a long connection to with regard to going down there and teaching seminars, coming back quitting my job and starting my studio, that that, you know, it kind of pushed me over the edge to make sure that this was a full time thing. So I think it's more than nostalgia of that tournament, and I've had the great fortune of of winning it every time that I've gone down there as far as the fighting is concerned. Actually, I take that back with one exception. Raymond Daniels beat me with by one point in overtime, one time but that's right. I mean, he's, he's hands down probably the best point fighter in the history of sport karate. So if you're going to lose by a point to anybody, that's not a bad guy to lose to so he's a great friend. So anyways, that was a that's probably one of the stands out there's, I mean, there was several we've done it, you know, all over the place on different countries and whatever. So it's just, I think the traveling and all the, the unique experiences traveling with their friends and stuff like that, that makes pretty much all of those tournaments. Really cool. It's not necessarily the tournament, it's more of the experience of the tournament. That's always been, you know, a big memory for me.

Jose Flores:

When you talk about experiences I remember winning hills. March Madness, Caesar peoples.

Unknown:

Yes, Cecil peoples. Yes.

Jose Flores:

So that's two peoples. Yes, sir. So there was a tournament you were obviously on my corner. It was a tight I don't know if you remember this, but it was tied for for that I

Colin Van Deusen:

tell you to blitz.

Jose Flores:

Yes. You said Blitz him and I looked at you like, why and you just trust me just lit up. As soon as the referee said go, hype lit, and I want to go lesson learned lesson learned. And what I'm trying to get at, is that your favorite thing to do and inspiring a blitz or what?

Colin Van Deusen:

No, that was a strategic point I was making for you as you're coming up so that you understood it. Sport karate is about Basically just a game, it's not for real. So there's as long as you understand that aspect of it, that it's just not real combat, but it is a it. The techniques, concepts, principles that lie behind sport karate can be applied to full contact, you know, as we did years later in the vcl, but the typically when the score is tied, referees are human beings like everybody else. So they're influenced to some extent by what they see, and or what they see first. And even if what they see first is not the point, if what they see first is the aggressiveness that could warrant a point. Sometimes they give that regardless of whether it got struck first or not. Because you're the initiator, you're the one that took that first charge, and they see a human running towards the other human. So they it's like a jousting rod and the other guy's just standing still, right? So they tend to, if you gave them if you gave 10 different referees, the opportunity to look at the same Blitz, and make a decision which was wasn't a point or not, most of them would call it a point just because the person's moving forward. Unless it's such a real clear, you stuck your arm out there to back knuckle him and somebody drilled you with a sidekick before you could hit him, then of course, then it doesn't go that way. But we've just found statistically over time, if the score is tied, and the time has run out, Blitz, and you're likely to win. Yeah, so that was good. I love I love it all blitzing is I did a lot of it. I mean, that was. That was a, that's a good fun part of it. Because you can obviously, if you do it, well, you can do it fast. If you could do it fast. Even score points of view score points you can win. And winning is pretty cool. So it's all good.

Jose Flores:

And it's, I have another story. I mean, you were with me, and Mrs. V was with me. But it was a long beach city college a tournament, I was able to get to the finals. And I mean, I don't remember who did that tournament. But I'll tell it as I remember it, as I recall it. I am here for gi other students from the same tournament team bracket for gays. And then this guy, just the GI pants a white shirt in putting eyes here. He's stretching and when not. And it's the finances him, him and I. And it's because you said it's just the game and you know, the what is supposed to be just a game of tag, but this guy kept hitting me hard. And I I like to watch my control. But I remember the first punch he gave me I was like, Oh, it's gonna be that kind of match. And you and Mrs. Reid just looked at me and just gave me that look that he got. What are you gonna do about it? Because I remember every tournament where it was to power one students going, you went to the referee and said, they knock each other out. It's okay. Don't worry. So you just get humans you gave me that login. I was like, Oh, it's gonna be that type of game. And luckily, I won. But you know, it's, it was it was pretty fun. But yeah, I mean, I just recall those times where it was to par when people you went up there my students, whatever happened, let me know. Okay.

Colin Van Deusen:

Good opportunity to challenge yourself. Right?

Jose Flores:

Oh, it was I mean, those times were were. So WC Oh, how did that come about? How do you get approached to that?

Colin Van Deusen:

Well, Raymond Daniels was working with us here at the power of one at the time. And he wanted to make a transition from sport karate into full contact fighting and asked me to coach him. And as we were training for that part of it, he that Chuck Norris kind of resurrected a league that he'd started back in,

Jose Flores:

you know, I

Colin Van Deusen:

think the early 70s. And in the back then it was only like a few teams, but one of them was the Los Angeles stars. And that just happened to be the team that they wanted to, you know, put us within as Raymond because they wanted Raman to be one of the fighters in the league, because he had a lot of charisma and he thought they would be a good draw for, you know, the television and whatnot. It's a good thing about, you know, Raman and anybody like him, the Conor, McGregor's or anybody who's got the ability to put on a bit of a show. It's good for fans either way, because you either want them to see them win in a spectacular way. Like you're used to seeing them, or you want to see them get their butt whooped. Right? And you want to see him get shut up. So either way, you're going to have fans showing up for one of those two things. And I think that that's that's what kind of what they wanted for him and he's obviously extremely talented athlete right now. He's obviously the the bellator welterweight world champion. So, in kickboxing, and he's Now undefeated in MMA as well for with Bella torso, he's, he's got he's just got to stage presence. And I think that that WC l wanted that part of it. So when they started saying, Okay, well, we've got a coach for that team. And Raymond said, Well, I'm not gonna do it unless you have column vendors and do it be the coach. So, at the time, the Commissioner of the league, which is the president of isca, or international sport Karate Association, Corey Schaefer, called me up kind of gave me a quasi interview over the phone to just find out who I was, and, and then finally just said, okay, you know, sounds good, too, can you be the coach of the de la team. And funny enough about that whole experience is that our team was primarily comprised of sport karate fighters. And all of the kickboxers that made up all of the other teams in the league had a preconceived belief that we either one weren't qualified to be in the lead, because we were sport karate fighters, or that it was actually unsafe for us to be in the league. Because we're sport karate fighters, like, it was almost like that we're putting ourselves at risk getting in there with quote, unquote, full fledged real kick boxers. And so match after match after the league started, we heard the rumblings in the in the locker rooms, and the snicker and, and all the other, you know, giving us a hard time this that, after about the, I don't know, sixth or eighth event into the first season, I started seeing some of the same people who are talking smack from other teams start to come up to me at their events, and say, Hey, you know what, I just want to let you know, I just signed up at a sport karate studio, so could get better at my full contact. And so you could start to see the shift that was happening in their minds, because we were constantly beating people. And, you know, long story short, we're the only team to have never lost in in the, in the WTO. And it was all primarily sport karate fighter. So that says something about sport, karate, if you can put a full contact flair to it, you can make it just as devastating, if not more than, than just traditional kickboxing.

Jose Flores:

And that's kind of where my next question was going towards. Do you believe the VCO was a breaking point, because I know back in the day, sport, karate, or point fighting was I don't know if frowned upon was is the word to say, however, people didn't take it seriously. But because they didn't know they didn't know that it helps you close in the distance and get away fast enough, then they didn't know that once you close in the distance, you get 123 shots in and then back away. So you believe that was the breaking point? And who was that? Okay, the sports karate guys, they're, they're serious business. You know,

Colin Van Deusen:

I don't know if it came from that or not. But I do know this is that usually, there's only probably one reason why anybody believes or doesn't believe in anything. And it's usually through lack of knowledge. And if you've ever gotten your ribs cracked, or your nose broken, or your face split open, doing sport, karate, you're not doubting that it doesn't have some power to be able to do some serious damage. But the ones that have never been out there and then have never seen it or never felt it, it's really easy to sit on the sidelines to be judgmental about, you know, is this, you're just playing a game of tag. And don't get me wrong, you find enough because they, they made it. So if you hold a karate tournament, you could have four year old kids getting in there, and punching and kicking, and not doing any real damage to one another. But then you could and beginner four year olds, obviously right? And then you could fast forward to a teenager that's a green belt that's been training since he was four years old, but now has some pretty decent skill and ability and is now starting to come into their own whether it's male or female come into the strength of their body. As they're starting to approach adulthood, they can start to do some damage. Well, then you add a black belt division, those 16 year olds who now 21 that are been training since they were four, start to get some serious power inability, then just go up another notch where it's like, okay, there's some people that have been doing this, since they're kids now they're in their 30s. And they've been doing it for a long time. They're in great shape. They're great athletes, and they, they can you just do some serious damage to somebody if you don't pull things or control it, but they made it so a wide variety of people could do it. You could be that accountant that was 50 years old, a little overweight, but still wanted the joy of competition and challenging yourself. You could get out there and do it without potentially having to have a CAT scan at the end of it, you know, be brought to the hospital. So kind of made for me. So I'm not sure to answer your question whether or not WC l was the The thing that put it over, but I will say this, it definitely over time garnered the respect of a lot of fullcontact kickboxers about what sport karate fighters could do. And I think we made a made a pretty good example of that part.

Jose Flores:

Oh, yeah, cuz I mean, I recall back when I think it was Woodley, he was going to fight Thompson. And Willie actually looked up, Mr. Daniels because Mr. Daniels was the only one that had a Stephen Thompson style. So that's why I mean, and of course, Mr. Daniels comes from a sports karate background. So that's why I'm like, Okay, now sports karate, you know, it's getting taken tears and I like that because I remember when I was younger, starting this up, puberty said, What are you doing? Are you just tagging I'm like, well, that's our sport, but if I get it, I never doubted him. However, I was like, if I really did psychic you or if I really did come in with a job, you're going to get hit. So

Colin Van Deusen:

have you looked at Steven Wonderboy? Thompson. Yeah. He's obviously a very, you know, reputable fighter in the Wcm. I mean, he's had some some significant wins. He's had a few losses but he's definitely gone in there and proven that just because you do sport credit, which he came from that type of a background karate background, that it doesn't make you any any weaker than anybody else. You know, he's got a lot of heart and, and he's done a really good job of representing karate, just as Raymond Daniels has done within the MMA world. So

Jose Flores:

yeah. So the power one self defense Institute, I mean, I can you just help me out for the people that are listening that don't know, power of one? How did that name came about?

Colin Van Deusen:

So as I mentioned before, when I went to Australia with Sach Williams, we are getting ready to leave in about a week, and we drove past the marquee of a movie theater, and the movie with Morgan Freeman, the power of one had just come out and never saw the movie. And there was a book written by Bryce Courtney that the movie was made after that I'd never written the book written or read the book rather either but I saw the words power of one on the marquee and for those that are listening that would know such Williams know he's a pretty dark skinned Nubian black man who maybe in you know, as Caucasian as you could pretty much be like a Casper the Friendly Ghost and this, you know, dark Nubian skin black man. It reminded me of the Yin and Yang, which the you know, the, the white and black of that part of it. And us going down to the to Australia, we kind of, like, Damn Darla little seminar, tour, the power of one. So ironically enough, as well that Bryce Courtney was living in Australia, as well, we just I didn't know any of this stuff, too long time after that. And yeah, kind of a whole funny story that goes along with that, and Mrs. V and the power of one as well. But that's how, you know, when I came back, and I quit my job. I just took the same name and call it power when self defense has to do because, yeah, I've always liked the idea of groups of people working together for a common cause. There's far too much, me, myself and I going on out in the world, and there's not enough us. And we and I think that's probably a larger cause for most of the world's problems is it's the greed, it's the trying to get one over on someone else. It's, it's always that, you know, one up and not trying to collectively try to make something happen as a group. And, you know, I get, there's reasons why some of that stuff happens. But at the same time, it doesn't justify it or make it right, in a lot of cases as well. So we've been trying to, between that concept, and the concept of that one person can make a difference. You can be that spark that ignites a flame that brings a lot of people together. So it doesn't necessarily need to be, you know, a large group of people to start with, right, it could be that one drop of water that starts the waterfall. And so hopefully, we've been over the years trying to impress that upon the students to have more teamwork and have more sense of community. And, you know, we're been active in our community for a lot of years, hopefully leading by example, as far as that goes, and that with our in our nonprofit foundation, and whatnot, but that's kind of the long and short of that, that story with power one.

Jose Flores:

Yeah. And I mean, I didn't mention this earlier. However, it's just coming back to me. But when I was joining that class, I, you look, when I first joined, I did look at you and you looked at me and I said, Oh, well, you know what, I don't have the income yet. And you're like, I didn't ask you for that. I just asked you Do you want to? Do you want to participate? And I said, No, you don't get it. I don't have the money yet. Like That's not what I asked to do you want to try and use that you know what? You wouldn't you went to the little bathroom you had back in the day, you brought out a GI and here go put this on and colonists. Okay, thank you. And yeah, that's after that's all she wrote. Yeah. And like you said, Yeah, one person can make a difference in, you definitely made a difference in my life. Yeah.

Colin Van Deusen:

I appreciate the kind words is, it's good to know that what's being said or done over the years is actually making an impact in some capacity or another. There's a there's enough people, in my opinion, that are taking up space on this planet. Granted, they've got their own missions that they're all set about on but there's a lot of them that are on some selfish missions, which I'm glad you got something from it.

Jose Flores:

Oh, I did. I mean, I don't know if you recall, that used to be extra shy, super shy and didn't talk much. And it happened two occasions, the same day, we went to Vegas. You said, Jose, I didn't know you talk this much.

Colin Van Deusen:

You know, like, that's the fact that we're sitting here doing a podcast with with you. That's that's another clear sign that, you know, the confidence has changed a lot in that part. Because I definitely would not have expected this to happen, you know, 20 years ago, that's for sure how long ago that was?

Jose Flores:

Oh, that was? Yeah. 2000 2001 2002 is when they came in? And yeah, I mean, I honestly, I was just in the show. I mean, that's and that's the story I tell to a lot of parents that come in that say, Oh, my, my voice too shy. You know, he doesn't join in. And sometimes, I mean, most of the time to the parents, however, we switch the words, you know, my child is confident and start putting those words in them. Because that I know, that would have helped me out a lot when I was younger. Oh, yeah, my, and I heard all the time. In Spanish, his podcast, but also because he's shy. And I'm pretty sure this review. But if you hear that a lot, you're gonna start believing that. That's a fact. Yeah. So if parents are telling their kids Oh, he's confident, you know, he'll get it, he'll get it he'll get kids will start hearing them more and more. And okay, well, I'll try it. And we have those kids that cry outside of the studio, because they don't want to come in, then they come in the studio, but they cry, they don't want to go on the mat, then they get on the mat, but they don't do anything. They're just sitting there. And before you know it, they're standing up in their attention stance, and they're doing a class. So that's, I mean, I love every single student, but those are the students that kind of stick out to me as

Colin Van Deusen:

well. Yeah, there's countless experiences over the years with kids in the similar positions. And some reason why I've been so passionate about martial arts, my whole life is not only what it's done for myself, but what I've seen it do for so many, you know, just 1000s of young people, and not just young people, but some people that started a little bit later in life, but they still, you know, wrap their brain around the, the idea that I can, and not only I can, I will, and then that all of a sudden starts springboarding into so many other things that they just didn't believe that they were capable of doing. And I think that's where a lot of the confidence is stemming from which is great. So we obviously could you could hold a whole podcast, which I'm sure that most of the people that you've interviewed have kind of had similar opinions about what martial arts does for it. I mean, we were obviously a bit biased, because we've, you know, made our lives doing it. But ya know, it's, it's, it's good stuff.

Jose Flores:

Yeah. And I mean, I love it. So besides martial arts, obviously, I know, but you love to read, you love to read any recommendations that you will give everyone to open up a book and start reading?

Colin Van Deusen:

You know, it's just a really challenging question, because it's easy to put off, you know, put out all kinds of different ideas about different things to read the challenges, if you're not inspired, but what by what it is that you're reading, you're not going to read it, or you won't read it and absorb it. So in my opinion, to give out those bits of advice, periodically, I'll throw something out if somebody says, Hey, I'm, you know, really interested in learning more about X, Y, or Z, I can throw out a book that I'd said, you know, this happened to be something that was related to z. So you know, you might want to look into this one or some ideas about something else, but I really enjoy biographies and autobiographies. And I like to understand other people's journeys that have because we're all having, you know, sometimes people think that there were, you know, human beings having spiritual experiences. And I tend to believe that we're spiritual beings having human experiences, but those human experiences have a lot of commonalities between just each and every one of us that we're all in pursuit of something. And that something is just different. In a lot of cases, from the person that may be standing next to you, but but they're also in pursuit of something. And I think if you start to pursue the books that are focused on that something, it'll either increase your drive to know more about that, you know, quote unquote, something, and you'll become more, just the educational level on that subject is just going to be greater. So whether that fulfills something within you personally. Or it's something that you feel it's the need to express to other people after learning it. I mean, there's a lot of people who, over the last several 1000 years, obviously have read many different types of religious and scholarly books in that sense. And as a result of reading and studying them, they go on, and they try to share that information with others. And, as with martial arts, I don't believe you truly know anything until you've given it away to somebody else. So it really forces you to have a better understanding of it for yourself to be able to put it into words to explain it to someone else. So they get it. And not only just them, but if you if you give that information out to multiple people, everybody's going to interpret it slightly different. So if you can get it across to a bunch of different types of, of minds and ways of thinking, you're going to be forced to then understand it, know it that much better for yourself. So that's kind of around you know, a little bit out of the way answer to that type of question. But Yep, I, I would just say, read, read and read something that inspires you. Because that's the best, best advice I've got on books, I've got so many of them, it's be hard to like, try to pick anyone, but actually, I will pick one for you read the power of one, or one only say that if you haven't read it before, but it does address the issue of apartheid in South Africa during the early 1900s. And I think if if you know, racism and racist such a challenging subject for so many people that I think if you've got your brain wrapped around enough knowledge on why we've arrived at the place we're at with race, I think more people would it doesn't excuse or condone anything that's negatively taking place with any interracial conflict or, or challenge. But at least it gives someone an idea of like, where did this all come from? Like the we didn't just wake up one day, and all of a sudden there was a race issue. But the and then once you read it, and anything else about that particular subject, my strongest recommendation is you forget it completely. It's because we, we have a tendency to it's good to have an understanding, but then it's good to forget it because I think the more people talk about it. If you're trying if you're trying to talk about things in a solution oriented way, it's noble, but at the same time if if I had to talk with you, your ethnicity is what? Mexican? Yeah, from from from Mexico, mine, I was born in Massachusetts, but my family hailed from Holland at one point in time in history, and a mixture of that, and, you know, French and Canadian and whatnot and Native American. We're all a melting pot of just a whole variety of different things. If you go back far enough, we're going to end up having some sort of a, you know, a connection towards we're pretty much all coming from the same source anyways. So that's why I say try to forget it after that point. Because the more you try to bring it up and be the more of an issue becomes about it. If you watch to two toddlers at two years old, have different races, play with each other, you can easily see that race is not something you're born into. It's something that you're taught and sooner we can kind of move past that I think and realize that we're all just human beings or beings rather or being so there's, there's there's one book

Jose Flores:

Yeah, no, I remember one one of the books you told me to read was The Dale Carnegie one. How to Win Friends and Influence People. Yes. And that when I stick to my heart a lot and I read it from time to time, I've actually taken the word but out of my vocabulary because great book, great and I replaced it with however, cuz I know when we're teaching, and I said, Alright, good job on your kicks, but keep your hands Hands up. That negates everything we say the word but however, and when a kid's kicking, he said, those are awesome kicks, would, can you help me out? Or however, can you keep those hands up? That way, they can become more strong and no one could hit you? And they're like, Oh, yeah, okay, they get excited. They're gonna say because that I didn't say, but which, to me after I read, I was like, that is such a, you know, not a bad word, but such a negative impact on the kids. And yeah, it took it off my vocabulary. And I say, however, I'm not, and or I give them another, let's keep those hands up just that way, you know, you hate the face, and they get excited for it. Because I, I have seen the difference when I say but strong kicks, but keep those hands and they go, Oh, okay. So

Colin Van Deusen:

yeah, the quality of your thoughts affect the quality of your words, and the quality of your words affect the quality of somebody else's experience around you. So the closer you pay attention to those words that are leaving your lips, and prior to that being formed in your brain, the I think the better life experience you're going to have not only for yourself, but for others around you. And it's it can be challenging, there's no two ways about it. There's days that people wake up, myself included. That will be you'll just be often you'll like sometimes from I'll speak for myself, I don't know why. Just not feeling right that day. Some things are just it's not, as it's been termed as clicking. It's just not clicking for you. But if you change your mindset, change your thoughts, you start to change. What it is that you focus your thoughts on, you start to change what your focus your, you know, your experience becomes. So it's pretty powerful, especially if you're standing in front of a group of a bunch of eight year old kids are five year old kids, you know, there they can change your mindset for you if you're not careful. Yeah, make you make you want to throw a couple of them up and down in the air a couple times. But they're, you know, they're they're just being busy being five year olds. And it's if you don't remind yourself that Oh, that's what five year olds do. That's right. I've kind of forgot for a second. five year olds want to pick their nose and they want to wipe it on their friend sit next to him. Yeah, you can't really get mad at him for it. Because that's a five year olds do know,

Jose Flores:

the best one for me is when I'm teaching a class and the kids go, Where's Mr. s? Oh, he's inside. It's my turn to teach the class. Oh, so he's not going to come out? Well, I'm here. Don't you guys want to get taught by me? No. Oh, okay. Just your Mr. s in the background laughing and I love to what, how are you give me a chance today. And then Mr. S will be here tomorrow. And they go Okay, a

Colin Van Deusen:

couple things in life that you can count on being extremely honest. One is a five year old kid. And the other is yoga pants. Either way, you're getting it. Right.

Jose Flores:

Mr. v? Well, I mean, we could sit here all day and talk, I mean, just reminisce of the old times. I do have one question. And without giving anything away? How do you can come up with a black belt test. And without giving anything away, of course. But just the ideas that go into it. Of course, we sit down at the beach drink martinis and watch dolphins and whatnot, I just wonder how you came up with those ideas with that idea.

Colin Van Deusen:

Okay, for the listeners that are concerned of the bears, or really want to join our studio because they thinks martinis and dolphins are involved. Let me just stop you right there. Come for other reasons, please. But so I understand what your

Jose Flores:

your question is, yeah.

Colin Van Deusen:

There is. Well, for the you know, if you're if you're listening, and you have been a student that have earned a black belt here, then you wouldn't know what takes place on our black belt test because we keep it confidential to the point where I think one of the biggest challenges for most humans is either the need for certainty or the lack of need. So if you're an adventurous person, your need for certainty is probably less, because you're kind of wanting it to be fresh and new. And you know, you want it to surprise you. Unfortunately, there's a lot of people's brains that are wired to the point where they, they almost need certainty, almost to the point where if they don't have it, they're filled with anxiety, fear, doubt, worry, all the other different emotions that can plague a human for not knowing how things are going to turn out. So we've kept this confidential so that we can do our best to create a level of our uncertainty. And in spite of that uncertainty, the student will go into it with the confidence necessary to tackle any and all challenges that are put before them, even though they don't know what's about to take place. And I think as a result of that, there's a greater ability to pull from that experience later on in life after the test is done. For any other areas that you approach in your life that are like, how do I just, I don't know how this is going to work out, I don't really know what to do here. I don't know what this is gonna be like, but you go for it, and you do it anyways. And then usually, you'll find out more often than not, it turns out way better than you anticipated, because our minds are, you know, can be our best friends or our worst enemies. And for a lot of people, it tends to be your worst enemy more often than not, will conjure up, you know, demons and, you know, you know, monsters and all kinds of other stuff in our head that just never ever come to fruition, they never show their ugly face. And it usually turns out to be a little smiling kitten or a little baby's face instead. But um, as far as creating the the four day test it, I wanted it to be challenged, because if somebody was going to train on for a number of years, we've had, we've been almost 30 years now going at it. And for the most part, it's taken on an average of between anywhere between six to 12 years to get a turn a black belt. So I figured anybody that's going to put that amount of time and effort and energy and finance for that matter into that goal for themselves. that there should be some sort of a monumental experience at the end of it, that is something that's physically challenging mentally and spiritually challenging something that is, they're going to be able to look back on and use as fuel to motivate them through any other hardship that they may come across later in life. So I set out with it with that in mind, and then I developed the different things that we do throughout the test, in accordance to that one belief that I want it to be, you know, memorable. And doesn't, it is, as you know, because you've been through it, it is very physically physically arduous. You know, I've had people that have gone through it that have said it's been harder than, you know, military training that they've done, or, you know, boot camps or when anything like that, but but it's also achievable, it's not something that we made so difficult, that you're not going to be able to do it. And I know we're not trying to produce Navy SEALs or you know, Army Rangers or any other elite military force, but we are, you know, looking to get you if you ever do have to come down to defend yourself on the street. A lot of that is going to come to your the intestinal fortitude to be able to fight on even against potentially a superior adversary. And if that adversary is stronger than you are and or has potentially more skill or weaponry than you do, your ability to suck it up and drive on and do whatever it takes in order to thwart that attack. Because as we know, the end result, if you don't, is not pretty. So it's very difficult to replicate that in a, in a sanitary environment with amongst friends, because if you're my friend, I don't necessarily want to just keep walking up and punching you in the mouth as hard as I can to see if you're going to be tough enough to keep coming back after me. But in some cases, you need to get hit sometimes and you need to get rocked, you need to get your bell rung, you need to get the wind knocked data. And you need to be pushed to a point where you're and I'm not saying all of this stuff is necessarily happening on your Blackboard test, as you know, but it's things that happen is over the course of time, if you're training, you know, with some level of reality, you've got to go through those experiences. Because if not, there's going to be a bit of a hollow black belt for you waiting at the end that you're going to put it on and you're going to think that I'm part Superman and part superhero. And then you might realize that, you know, you're more more like Daffy Duck and, you know, it's not really a it's a it's a very difficult thing to to create a sense of realism, and get enough people to want to participate in that realism in training, therefore, having a test like this gives them an opportunity to control the environment to still challenge themselves, not really know what's next. Rise up in spite of it. And something tell some stories to your other buddies who went through the same experience and kind of kind of laugh and commiserate about the good times that went on during it. But as you and I both know, it's not the black belt test that makes you a black belt. It's what you do it leading up to the black belt test that really makes it that part is just really a formality and I tried to make it a is part fun and challenging so that that would be a great experience when it was all said and done. And hopefully I created that. through it.

Jose Flores:

You know, you would know what I mean, when you were saying the realism get some bumps and bruises along the way of your journey, not necessarily in Blackboard test. It was my yellow belt. JOHN Sloan. Yes. And I remember Ron, Ron Ron Jones, Ron, Mr. Jones. Yeah. It was a it was three of us and these guys are close to six foot if not in

Colin Van Deusen:

close. ron ron. JOHN. Seems like he's seven feet tall. But he's not. I don't even know if he's quite six foot tall. maybe six feet. He's a strong Yeah, he's

Jose Flores:

wrong guy. I just remember you. I don't know what I did that they were you were like Jose, you're gonna wrestle those two. I was like, Wait, what? I'm over here. 716 1718 years old. Oh, my. Okay. I just remember getting tossed like a boy. Oh, boy. Oh,

Colin Van Deusen:

rock. Ron Jones. grew up on the streets of you know, Compton and watts during the during the 60s. And yeah, definitely. JOHN Sloan. He's got to be 632 160 pounds. If he's, if he's a pound. So any you know, he's also in the law enforcement as well. So this is not a he's not a man to be joked around with? Oh, no, I

Jose Flores:

just I just remember getting tossed like a rag. And I just kept What did I do to Mr. Wizard, but I mean, it's those bumps and bruises. You realize, wow, okay, if I could take that, you know, my confidence, it did really rise up my confidence, they really go up because I would still two guys two big guys. I was like, okay, you know, what, bring it and

Colin Van Deusen:

you know, and that's, that's I think the goal of getting some level of reality trade into both of those guys are great human beings. So they have set out to try to do you know, grave bodily harm, but at the same token, knowing that they could if they wanted to match you forces you to raise your game to say, Okay, well, let's, let's, let's be on my toes about this. When are we gonna get hurt? But uh, yeah, it's important. It's hard to substitute that by by talking about it. You got to have to do it.

Jose Flores:

I just find it because I remember a few years. year and a half back, doing jujitsu. I see john Sloane. Like, oh, hey, Johnny. Hey, Jose, how's it going? Alright, free grapple. Oh, yeah, I remember that. Yeah. It's my turn. Yeah, good times. I mean, of course, I was nice and whatnot. It's but it's just that yellow bow. Just came back and clipping. I was like, Oh, it's my turn. Now, john.

Colin Van Deusen:

Take that big stick out of your bag and carry it around ever since? Yeah, my turn

Jose Flores:

my turn. Well, Mr. v. Thank you so much, again, for your time,

Colin Van Deusen:

I appreciate it.

Jose Flores:

Now, I've surprised everyone this and I just, you're probably the best sort of person for this. Any words of wisdom for your students or for anyone that's listening that you could just give out on top of the head?

Colin Van Deusen:

Can you be more specific about why just words of wisdom,

Jose Flores:

anything in particular, anything in general, like any parting words before we take off?

Colin Van Deusen:

Well, there's obviously being being a teacher for so many years, there's obviously a lot of lessons, you know, you work to impart on people. But if there's, if I was to die tomorrow, and you couldn't get another word out of me, I would say, do your best to love one another. The martial arts is a great tool for a lot of different reasons. It's got a lot of benefits, and a lot of attributes that I think help in the human experience and the journey that people have in life. But if the message of the power of one, the unity, the fact that we're all in this together, there is only one Earth, you can choose to try to, you know, do something positive with it, and about it. And for it, or you can choose to do stuff that people do on a regular basis and either take it for granted, do stuff to it that is not sustainable, and have the long term best interests for not only earth but humanity in general. At heart, and I just think that we can get more people thinking about us collectively as as a species instead of individually trying to pin it on, you know, it's my race. So these are my awards or this is my this and that's, you know, my that it's just that we're, we're in this together. It's good to have pride. Don't get me wrong, but at the same time if the pride starts to overshadow Someone else's and or to the point where it's like it's more about me and or me or and or my quote unquote my kind I think that becomes detrimental to the long term survivability of humanity without any conflict or violence so you won't need martial arts in the the capacities for self defense if you don't have to worry about violence. So that would be my my best bit of knowledge or advice I can give at that point.

Jose Flores:

Thank you so much, sir. My pleasure. Thank you for the people that want to join in and there's the website correct.

Colin Van Deusen:

Power of One martial arts.com and PL one mma.com pale in mma.com, I think is going to be our newest site that's got probably the most relevant or relevant information on it.

Jose Flores:

So if you're in the Long Beach area, Lakewood area co beach area, Carson City and even Atlanta. Yeah, power one martial arts.com or PL one MMA. Tacoma, calm, Colorado's and ladies and gentlemen again, sir, thank you so much. Thank you. Appreciate it. Appreciate it. Thank you, sir. Have a good one, everyone.