In addition to our "Lesson of the Week" and martial arts training, you will find our schools monthly newsletter a wealth of information on a wide range of subjects. Each month's exciting issue is packed with informative articles on health, safety, fitness, nutrition, and of course, all of the exciting events taking place in the school. This web-page will contain only the feature article in the monthly newsletter.

 I pray pray that this newsletter finds everyone happy and healthy. The title of this months article is not as silly as you may think. It would take most students and families about the same time to achieve their Black Belts as it would take to get to know who I really am. If you have ever attended one of our Holiday Award Banquets you have seen the sensitive, emotional, and dedicated instructor side of me. If you attend a class or sit and watch one, you have seen the energetic, enthusiastic, motivating, strict, disciplined, and funny side of me. Without writing an autobiography, I would like to help our newer members get better acquainted with the Instructor everyone calls Mr. Jeff.

I am one of the very blessed people who can say that I was born to be who I am today. For as long as I can remember I have always had a gift with children. As a young instructor I saw how the students looked up to me and favored me over the other instructors. I saw how easy and rewarding it was to help someone feel better about themselves.

I have always been obsessed with being the best. It didn't matter if it was in English class, the playground, martial arts class, the football field, motocross racing, playing chess, you name.... I had to win. I learned early on that in order to accomplish this, I had to do more than everyone else. By simply dedicating my summer vacations to training hard, I arrived at football practice in August in better shape than everyone. By repeating my martial art class when I got home, I was learning faster than my class.

So let's fast forward this a bit. I opened our academy in 1991. I am a young 3rd degree Black Belt who is committed to having the best Black Belts in the country. My front windows were lined with hundreds of trophies. I trained my guys extremely hard during this phase of my life. I often trained my competition team into tears. The workouts were intense and my teaching methods were extreme. The end result was well worth it as we dominated the competition circuit in every division we entered. What I learned most from that phase of my life was that my fellow colleagues from around the country knew the same art that I was teaching. As a matter of fact we all had the same Master Instructor. What I found was that most people are naturally lazy. Even in national level competition. My team may not have had as much fun in class, but they had the most fun when it came time to compete. This included me. I enjoyed watching everyone watching my guys. We were the team to beat.

I watched my colleagues get old and out of shape, while I remained the same. We swept through three different organizations before I finally woke up and realized that competition is not the art. The art is a way of self mastery for everyone. It is a tool that should be used to make the underdog feel good about themselves. It was not to make a winner a super hero. The few students who actually survived the old Mr. Jeff are still among the best in the world. They have consistently year after year proven themselves on a State, Regional, National, and World Championship level of competition. What was the problem you might ask? I only affected a minority of my academy. I needed to do more.

I backed out of competition for many reasons. The most important was that I wanted to create a place where everyone was a winner. A place where everyone was looking forward to go to train. A place where the world was left behind when you walked through the doors. I put emphasis on work and reward. Good old fashioned hard work will ALWAYS pay off in our academy. What happened was nothing short of a miracle. Our academy grew and became legendary. I got a chance to inspire and help more people than I ever imagined. I was finally coming of age.

My Instructor, Grand Master McNeely had inspired me for years with his physical ability. Not just his technique and knowledge of the arts, but how he maintained his conditioning long after society agreed it was okay to get old and out of shape. I NEEDED this and I am grateful for his pioneering example. I dedicated myself to the martial arts and this was to start with my personal conditioning and health. How could I ask one of my students to do 100 push-ups if I could not do it myself? I led EVERY class from the front. I trained with my guys and performed all of the demonstrations myself. I showed them that I could do it and they knew it could be done. To this day I am blessed that I still teach this way even in my 40’s. I enjoy running my 20 year old fighters into the ground. I think they like it also.

My daily training took on a whole new meaning with the birth of my daughter. I destroy my body on a daily basis to be an example of what a healthy life-style will do for you. From my daily training to our organic diet, I am doing my best to educate her that food is more than taste, it is a fuel that determines how we function. I am driven by the hope of being an active Dad and the ability to completely enjoy her when she is twenty.

The discipline that I demand here at the academy is essential to the finished product of our students. This is the one place where rules cannot be broken. The one place where children are accountable to put their shoes away neatly. To not touch glass, or mirrors. To not “horse around” or act crazy. This simply put, is a house of discipline! Keeping that tone is crucial to the overall development of our Black Belts. The discipline that I have learned throughout my training has led me to accomplish numerous milestones. The overall cleanliness of our academy sets the tone for this and leads by example. We demand that type of attention to detail and over time it becomes habit. Forget about my home, my garage is kept spotless clean. I have a black and white checkerboard floor that gets mopped weekly. I take great pride in our clean house and manicuring our property every day. I practice what I preach, ask anyone who has known me for some time. Cleanliness is a form of discipline. I like things clean.

The joy that I get with every testing cycle is unexplainable. Imagine how you feel when you test or how your child feels. Multiply this by our entire student base and I experience that each month. I truly love what I do and I am not just a teacher of it, I am a product. As I get older, much to some of your surprise it is harder to be so strict on my students. It is much like the parent of four or more children. The last child gets away with murder. I have indeed eased up over the years, but I am happy to say that I know my place and how I am best used in your family. I will always be the strict instructor, but when I have fun, there is nothing like it. If you have never witnessed a sparring class during fun week, you are in for a great show. My students and I develop a bond during this class that is priceless.

What else can I tell you. I love the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, skiing, and riding my Dune Buggies in the dirt. I am an AVID motorsports enthusiast. I love working on cars, motorcycles, and anything fueled by gasoline. Did I mention motorcycles? I raced motorcross for years and have settled down into riding my Harley Davidson on a back, country road with my buddy. We get lost once a week in the absolute beauty of our tri-state area. Yes, Ms. Sharon has gone on a few rides with me. Lastly, I am the consummate student. I enjoy reading medical journals. I love learning anything that explains muscular and skeletal function. The human body is so amazing, I want to know everything about it. I seek knowledge on anything nutrition related. I also like researching advanced training concepts and philosophies. This is what I do on Sunday morning after Church or my personal Bible study.

I hope that you learned something new about me. I really don’t get a chance to talk with most of you unless you are in class. I have grown in many ways since my early days as a young instructor. The one thing that will always remain the same is my quest for providing my students with the best instruction available anywhere, and the love and passion for helping others grow. From being homeless to where I am today I am grateful for all of you and your trust and belief in our program and academy. I am in the process of finishing a book that was years in the making. I am confident that this book will extend my gifts and ability to help people much further than our academy. While the book is not an autobiography, it was necessary to share many personal stories with the reader in order to teach the lesson by example. Until then, come to class, attend our Holiday Awards Banquet, compete or watch our yearly tournament, and attend a Black Belt Testing. These are all ways to get to know who I am and what this unique, house of discipline we call Serdinsky’s Martial Arts America is all about.

One more very important thing.... I am very proud of the men and women who serve our country in the military. Thank you all for your courage and sacrifice while enforcing our freedom. I am grateful for your patriotism.

God Bless

Mr. Serdinsky

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We would like to invite you to see first hand just what a wonderful Martial Arts Program we have. Visit our state of the art facility today!! Call now (908) 317-KICK, and take advantage of our free trial lesson program. You can E-Mail us at MAAHQ@aol.com