Page 44 - Martial Science 3_Neat

Juan Hombre Sensei, A story of courage and passion

By: Antonio Fernández Rioja

In order to accurately represent Sensei,
I will proceed to detail how he appeared
in my life.
I met Sensei about 20 years ago at a gym
in Madrid, Spain. In that time I was
training Karate, and following my class,
I went to the weight room to lift weights.
Soon after, Sensei appeared in his whe-
elchair (he had recently been in his car
accident), and I witnessed in awe how
he lifted himself up from the wheelchair
and into the leg press. He couldn’t move
his lower train, but he would remain
there, concentrated as if he was in fact
able to move the weights with his legs.
Somewhat in shock, I asked him what
was that he was doing. With assurance,
he looked at me, explained about his car
accident and told me that one day he
would walk again. By the next day, he
had gained a new student in his class.
That was me.
Unfortunately, I could only train with
him for a month before I had to go to
the USA for work, losing all contact with
him.
Fifteen years later, I began having very
strong recollections about Sensei and
wondering what had become of him.
So I began to search the internet. I was
stunned to find a lot of negative things
about the man, and very few positive.
Was it him, the same master I once
knew? How could he have changed so
much?
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