The mental exercise of deriving a self-defense scenario using the skills and techniques we’ve learned since starting at the West Coast Hwa Rang Do Academy is something that really stimulates this former engineer’s brain and has made me truly appreciate the genius of Dojoonim and Grandmaster Taejoon Lee for the creation and evolution of a vast art like Hwa Rang Do. But I must admit, the mental exercise of deriving these scenarios and chaining techniques like we do for our demo is only part of the reason why I enjoy this process.

Pops & Bumps

Like many children around America, I grew up watching professional wrestling (Lucha Libre & WWF) and would roll around with my little brother experimenting with maneuvers we saw on TV. We idolized Hulk Hogan and Rey Mysterio. Watching wrestling with my father on Saturdays remains a treasured memory. Of course at the time, we didn’t know wrestling was fake and that many of the maneuvers had little basis for practical self-defense, but looked freakin’ cool!

For us, the show was a living, breathing, live action comic book story. If I listen closely, I can still hear the frenzy these performers would create. I later learned that the term wrestlers used for this frenzy was a “pop.” Even more important than their technical skill, pops were the barometer for the success of any wrestler. The devastating falls or hits they would absorb were called “bumps,” which of course resulted in “pops.” In fact, there were performers whose only specialty were “bumps” – meaning getting the snot beat out of them and taking huge falls.

The Art of Falling

Twenty years later, I’m at the West Coast Hwa Rang Do Academy and along with learning the response for every possible self-defense scenario, we are also learning life saving techniques on how to fall properly to avoid injury. As Hwa Rang Do students, one of our big responsibilities is in promoting, marketing, and showcasing the beauty and power of our art through demonstration. We are martial ARTISTS, which requires an awareness of not only what is effective, but what is visually stunning & beautiful – the art.

Now I’m the first to admit that I am not the fastest, most talented, nor knowledgeable practitioner in the school. I’m a big guy so naturally, I won’t be pulling off any of the incredible speed and aerial maneuvers that Luke and Larry pull off. I asked myself, “What could I do that people would remember and talk about?”

It hit me – Nak Bop (Falling).

My partner and I needed to devise some pretty impressive throwing scenarios, and as a result this 280-pounder will be taking some rough falls, as would my partner. I worked with my partner to chain techniques that by themselves were not complex or fancy, but were designed to create the biggest “pop” with some impressive falls.

Show Time

After weeks of practice and butterflies in my stomach, our Hwa Rang Do demo team went out to perform in front of a packed dojang. As we were lining up, I remember all the little tigers sitting only three feet away from us. I instantly knew who our real audience was.

From our past two demos there are three throws that I’m particularly proud of. The first was a hip throw I performed on Irfan where I come into his inside, wrap my left arm around his body and my right hand hooks the right side of his neck and flips him over my hip… at least that’s what it was supposed to be.

In the heat of the moment and with adrenaline pumping, this technique almost looked like a shoulder throw when instead of hooking his neck, I grabbed the cloth of his shoulder and lifted him over my shoulder, flipping him and slamming him on the ground with a thunderous crash and a roar of a kiap to cap it off.

It was effortlessly raw! The children, sitting only three feet away, yelled “Woahhhhhhh!” giggling and chattering. That was a strong pop.

Irfan performed the next big throw. His throw was actually a shoulder throw. Now, as if a much smaller person like Irfan performing a shoulder throw on someone about a hundred pounds heavier isn’t impressive enough, he had to do it while I was in full sprint, coming at him like a freight train that’s come off the tracks.

This would be my biggest “bump” of the night, and one that I was a bit nervous about because of the speed at which it would be delivered. I remember yelling and running at Irfan, then being lifted in the air, flipping upside down and coming down with a thunderous crash. The children let out an even bigger “Woahhh!” more giggling and chattering at not being able to believe what they just saw.

I imagine that from their perspective they are seeing a giant fall from the sky onto their dojang floor, right in front of them. For this fall, I partially landed on the wooden floor, cracking my elbow, which I’m sure added to the impressive sound effects that my 280 lbs. frame create upon
landing.

Finally, the third throw, which stole the show was from the Christmas party. And to Irfan’s credit, he agreed to take the biggest “bump” of the night by allowing me to perform a sacrifice throw. A sacrifice throw is done holding my opponent by the cloth of their uniform. I fall back, pulling him down with me, but before he lands on top of me, I stick my foot in their gut and catapult them with my leg over me.

I did this technique once before in tournament against a 260 lbs. opponent. It was an impressive technique, and I knew that with Irfan hovering around 180 lbs., I could definitely get him to catch some air. I executed the technique well. I launched Irfan from one corner of the mat to the other, forcing my Hwarang brothers and sisters to scatter as Irfan made his landing.

The spectators were shocked. The kids were going crazy. I can still hear the chatter from the kids, and how much they loved it. They loved all of it. I remember my techniques, but every Hwa Rang Do student was impressive and the Hwa Rang Do student demos continue to be the highlight of these parties.

Comic Book Heroes

The one thing I miss about being a Tae Soo Do student is not being able to see the Hwa Rang Do demo. I wish there were two of me, so I could catch everything! Most importantly, these demos entertain the children unlike anything else they could watch on TV, film, or read in a book. We are their living breathing comic book heroes, allowing their imagination to run wild as to the limitless possibilities that exists for them. Our goal as Hwa Rang Do students is to inspire them to be like us, which carries a heavy responsibility.

We are role models for these kids inside and outside the dojang. And to have them say after our performances, “I can’t wait to be a Hwa Rang Do student” is fulfilling beyond measure.

After it is all over, we nurse our “bumps” with a big potluck and some cold drinks. We are satisfied with our performance, but already thinking of some crazy ideas for the next one.

To get the next big “pop”.

On Sept. 11th, 2001, I was a junior at MIT sleeping in my room when one of my fraternity brothers knocked on my door and told me that the Wordl Trade Center towers had been completely destroyed by 2 airplanes in a terrorist attack.

I jumped out of my bed, and went online to CNN.com and saw a plain white website w/ pictures of the twin towers on fire. (The normally fancy CNN website was down for some reason as a result of the attacks and I was looking at a backup)

I got ready and walked across the Harvard Bridge to school, seeing people weeping on the streets and the whole time couldn’t help but think that I could have been on one of those flights from Boston to LA had they chosen to pick a different day for the attack.

Naturally, I was moved to tears by all those suffering around me.

I arrived at school and went into the lab to meet with my professor and a few other students (one of the few classes I actually attended), and we talked about what had happened. Most classes were cancelled that day. We were short on details about the attack and could do little else, but to continue our lab work building an EKG design to monitor heart rates.

During all my 4 years at MIT, I played on the NCAA varsity football squad and practice was never cancelled. I wondered whether practice would be cancelled, today.

Believe it or not, MIT has the most number of varsity sports of any college or university in the world. Sports is a big part of life at MIT.

That day I was hearing about many sports cancelling practice. But I heard nothing about Football… so I walked into the locker room and saw all my teammates getting dressed, some of them crying, punching the lockers with their bare fists and talking about the day’s events, while getting ready.

Practice was on…

We walked on the empty massive practice field usually bussling with dozens of sports from soccer to track & field to field hockey to baseball. Today we were alone.

It was a surreal day and walking onto that empty field was eerie. We walked slow with our hearts heavy and saw all our coaches on the field and we kneeled together in a moment of prayer.

Then practice began…

Quickly the horrors of that day faded as we escaped into the world of football, going over plays, hitting each other hard and fast and doing what we had to do to prepare for Saturday’s game at Salve Regina University in Massachusetts.

It was probably the best and most focused practice I ever experienced, each of us so ready to think about anything other than what had happened that day. For 2 hours, we completely forgot about the day and played football as hard as we could on a muddy gridiron field – it was amazing.

When practice ended, the days events came back to our thoughts and hit us like a ton of bricks… “Sh*t, back to reality…”

At the end of the season I had a conversation with my Offensive Line coach about that day. He had told me that the coaching staff had a fiery discussion about whether or not to cancel practice and they ultimately decided to press forward.

I think it was their determination to not allow these acts of terror affect the lives of Americans anymore than they already had – at least not the lives of their players.

Every single other sport on campus cancelled practice, except Football.

Many of the players were directly impacted by the tragedy of that day – friends, family and acquaintances lost. Many of them were in ROTC and would be serving in the military upon graduation and see combat.

My coach said that when practice was over, they all felt they had made the right decision. Our coaches and MIT Football had offered us 2 hours of much needed mental relief from the pain of that day. After all, the ripples of heart break from 9/11 would be felt for many years to come by all of us.

As coaches and players on the most horrific day in modern American history, we did the only thing we could do – play the game which we had been given the freedom and opportunity to play and coach – American Football.

Four years ago my friend Mike Dillard started getting a little weird on me…

Whenever I’d see him, he’d start talking about the future collapse of the global economy, and he kept telling me to buy gold, emergency supplies, and guns…

Obviously I thought this was a little crazy, considering that Mike basically taught this industry about the concepts of infinite abundance and prosperity, yet here is was talking about the next Great Depression…

He even said he was going to leave our industry to start a new company who’s sole purpose was to prepare people for these events, and teach them how to prosper when they take place…

(And as you may know, he did just that… He left Magnetic Sponsoring and started a company called The Elevation Group in 2010)

He even spoke about this at No Excuses II in Vegas a few months ago, and everyone thought he was nuts.

So when I asked him if he thought the world was going to end or something, he said, “yes… for some people, but I’m not buying these things to prepare for the end of the world… I’m buying them to prepare for the greatest opportunity of my life…”

And then he continued… “Ferny, within the next few years the global economy is going to collapse. The US is going to fall into a hyperinflationary depression, and all of this will result in the greatest wealth transfer in the history of human kind…

When this happens you’re either going to end up richer that you ever dreamed possible, or you’re going to lose everything you have. With great change comes great opportunity, and preparing to prosper from these changes is all that matters right now”.

Well here we are three years later, and everything he warned me about has come true…

Gold and silver are sky-rocketing, food and gas prices are at record highs, inflation is increasing, Europe is falling apart, the Dow dropped 512 points on Thursday, and now on Friday night, Standard & Poors just downgraded the US credit rating for the first time in history…

It’s all happening, so here is my advice to you…

Stop what you’re doing right now and register for one of the free webinars Mike is holding this week on the economy.

He’s going to tell you what’s going to happen in the next few months, he’s going to give you the 7-step formula he’s been using to predict the financial future during the past four years, and he’s going to teach you how to turn these economic events into the greatest opportunity of your life.

Once you watch the webinar, join The Elevation Group.

I’ve been a member since the day it launched, and I can’t put a price on what I’ve learned.

Like many people, I thought Mike had cracked and turned into a doomsday’er…
Well he didn’t… He’s actually spent the past four years of his life learning and preparing for these events, so that you and I may prosper…

After talking Mike about Friday’s credit down grade, and now the EURO’s mess, he said there isn’t much time left.

And I absolutely believe him.

Click here to register for his next webinar now…

Ferny Ceballos

P.S. Guess what Mike said were the two most important assets you can own today…?

1: A home business. (Because most people will lose their jobs).

2: Information. (Because knowing how to position your assets during this wealth transfer is the key to winning).

Now I wanted to avoid bringing anything up related to these 2 topics, because for the past couple of years I’ve been doing my due diligence and trying to figure out what was really going on with the financial crisis — something that had negatively affected some investments I had made (before I knew better) and positively affected my business dealings with the internet, consulting and network marketing (yup, this market is HOT).

I gotta tell you, figuring out what happened at the end of 2008 is a real bitch and the answers cannot be found in the evening news nor at the book store, but I did find it through a variety of business connections, experts and wealthy people I know who track this type of stuff. What I found doesn’t look promising for the majority of Americans (and citizens of the world) who wish to keep the same job routine, drug themselves on sports and television and hope the government will take care of the rest. Generally, this is the type of stuff I want to talk about because unlike the trite conversations most people have with each other, this shit actually matters!

However, this was Christmas and I wanted to avoid any conversation which could potentially put a damper on the holiday cheer and I wanted to simply enjoy the holiday microbrews I found in the store and gorge myself on home cooked tamales.

As my family talked, my sister turns to me and asks me, “Ferny, so tell us. When is all this going to turn around? Are we on a recovery?”

My answer: “Nope” ::stuffs face with tamales::

My sister: “When is it going to get better?”

My answer: “It’s not.” ::chugs beer to wash down tamales::

My sister: “What do you mean? What are we suppose to do then?”

My answer: “Buy a bunch of silver, stock up on booze & non-perishable food, keep firearms handy and think of a country you may want to move to if shit hits the fan…” ::chugs beer:: “Mom! Mas tamales por favor!”

And with that, their attention was mine and while slightly buzzed and bloated on tamales, I proceeded to tell them what I had learned about how our financial system works, why politicians are slaves like us, why/how we temporarily avoided a financial apocalypse in late 2008 and who benefits the most from the way things have worked for the past 100 years.

That conversation was extra long and I certainly don’t want to write a 20 page blog post. However, there are some key things you can read and watch right now, which will help bring you up to speed and help you not only survive during this period of instability, but actually thrive! And in a twisted way, actually look forward to it because of how you’ve positioned your assets and prepared.

Robert Kiyosaki says, “Those of us that prepare for the worst of times, will always enjoy the best of times”

This is what you need to do…

Education & Investing 101:

There are some key resources, which will get you 90% of the way there in terms of getting up to speed…

1) Watch Mike Maloney’s Video at Russian Bank Conference (Part 1 | Part 2)

2) Read Guide to Investing in Gold and Silver by Mike Maloney

3) Watch the documentary Collapse with Michael Ruppert. (Can stream on Netflix)

4) For more killer video education, go to www.wealthcycles.com

5) Buy gold and silver only after doing 1-4, go to www.goldsilver.com

Make Money:

Another thing you should be focused on is making as much money as you can quickly, so you can afford to invest in commodities like gold and silver… here’s how I’m doing it…

Top Tier Affiliate Marketing (High Commission) from my experience, is the best way to make large sums of money quickly, if you have previous business, marketing or sales experience or are a fast learner.

The only program I recommend is  using CarbonCopyPRO to promote PRO U and Automatic Millionaire products by David Bach. Commission potential range from $600 – $20,000 per sale, depending on the product sold and your qualification level.

You’d be joining the same team in PROU as Jay Kubassek (Marketing Partner), Mike Dillard (My Sponsor), Ann Sieg (Newest High Profile Team Member), myself and Raymond Fong.

Click here to learn more about how to make money big and fast with Top Tier Programs

Folks on low budgets, see next option…

Network Marketing (Low Entry Cost, Strong Potential for Residual Income):  Setting all your opinions as a result of the pitches for juices, potions, soaps, etc., from family members, the fact is Network Marketing is HOT right now, because of the shitty economy.  But like any good business decision, choosing what to sell has to be directly in line with good business principles and the demand of the market.  When people are going broke, they don’t care about health, juices or keeping their home clean — they care about money and survival.

Promoting Gold and Silver coins via Numis Network is the only network marketing program I recommend, because it offers the following benefits:

1) Low Attrition (Autoship is silver coins and people like getting money in the mail)

2) It’s network marketing and everyone is searching for a way to make extra money right now — EVERYONE!

3) The product is something you actually want to have pile up in your garage (silver and gold coins!)

4) My team consist of the top internet marketers in the world, we’ve built a custom system to leverage our skills and make promoting Numis simple!

Click here to learn more about Numis Network and the NumismaticPRO marketing system

Investment Education, Opportunities and Wealth Creation:

Like anything, acquiring money is only small part of the battle.  Keeping your money and even multiplying it for generational wealth are what the rich have mastered, as if they were alchemist cloning gold from a lab.  It’s pretty crazy!

The best and most cost effective education on what the rich do to create wealth with ease can be found within Mike Dillard’s The Elevation Group.  I use to belong to a private organization, which cost up to $20,000 per year for access to this information and gave you no where near the access and opportunity that The Elevation Group provides, and in a format which can be referenced in an on-going basis as you implement.

For the first time in history, this information is now available for the masses at a very low cost.  The free 90-minute presentation by Mike Dillard available through EVG is alone worth, the cost of entry… yet he’s giving it away.

Click here to sign up for the EVG waiting list.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it.  From now on, when people ask me what I think about the crisis, politics, etc., I’ll simply point them here.  And feel free to point them to this page as well, if you have found this information valuable.  And yes, in promoting these programs I do make money if you participate… that’s the beauty of it!

If this offends you, please leave and never return.  If it excites you, then I’m excited for you.

Now if you excuse me, I’m going to grub on some left over tamales!

-Ferny

Most of these kids come from poor immigrant families living in the ‘barrios’ of LA. Their problems vary from poverty to immigration status.  Yet they all have chosen to have a better future for themselves and families, by being there on Saturday morning.

I was asked to speak by my friend Amy, who is one of the volunteer mentors.  She mentioned to me that she thought my story could serve to inspire them and help eliminate the self-limiting beliefs about the opportunities they think (or don’t think) are available to them.  I was excited to help.

The night before at 11pm, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to say. I stayed up until 2am the night before putting together my powerpoint.  I just decided to be myself, use my online marketing personality and edginess.  I even used a piece of a sales video I had recently done which included a picture of a drunk cat with a beer and remote control, (i.e. my inner child).

The kids loved it, were entertained the entire way and to my surprise, were more receptive, open minded and comprehended the success principles I shared with them better than many adults I mentor. I was inspired – we do have a future!

The only hitch was when I teared up, as I spoke about the passing of my father when I was 13 years old.  Wasn’t expecting that to happen, but ultimately added to my authenticity and the shared struggles I overcame growing up, which they are dealing with today.

Click Here to Download a Copy of my Presentation – Drunk Cat and Everything

Enjoy! I look forward to doing more of these talks. Thank you Amy for inviting me and to the SBA program for doing what you do.

Best,

Ferny Ceballos

Here are some highlights of the championships featuring Todd Schlomer, Raymond Fong and Ferny Ceballos in martial arts action.

Message from Grandmaster Taejoon Lee:

Congratulations Todd Schlomer, Brian Fanale and Norbert Orlewicz on your FIRST EVER Live the Dream Event!!!

With Love, Peace and Honor,
Grandmaster Taejoon Lee

For more information visit:
http://hwarangdo.net/50th

More Hwa Rang Do videos:
http://www.youtube.com/wchwarangdo

Is it really over for every one using Google and SEO to make a living?

For more information about how to capitalize on these changes to Google, go to: www.TrafficCipher.com

Knowing how to fall makes getting up a lot easier. It will always sting though…

It’s still better not to fall, if you can help it… unless it’s part of your plan

What do you do if you have shitty credit? Make a shit load of money.

The only reason for an entrepreneur to get a job is to be reminded of all the reasons why they don’t want one.

Nice guys never get the girl. And if they do, they never keep the girl. So if you’re a nice guy and dating someone, hide it for a few months, then let it come out gradually. She’ll love you more believing that she was the one that made you that way.  (I’m really bad at following this rule. As the author, you’d think I would be able to follow my own advice.)

I’m just now getting my energy back, after literally giving everything I physically had at the ‘No Excuses Summit’ in Las Vegas this past weekend. I’ve literally been physically sick, from having over worked (and over partied) my body, to help make the biggest event in the history of this industry truly magical and life altering for those who attended.

My business partner Raymond and I were truly humbled by the roaring standing ovation we received after 3 days of powerful teaching, networking and masterminding the 900 people in attendance got to do with our POWER line-up of speakers, which included Mike Dillard, Brian Fanale, Jonathan Budd, Mark Hoverson, Todd Falcone, Cedrick Harris, Jim Yaghi, David Schwind, Jimmy Davis, Katie Freiling, Tim Erway, Jairek Robbins and many other industry giants.

The fact that this was our event, still seems surreal to us.

No home study course in the world will change your life more, than to personally receive advice and mentorship based on your unique situation from people who have what you want. The Q&A by Mike Dillard, the breakout sessions and even the conversations with our leaders at the Venetian bars a was once in a lifetime opportunity for the people in attendance.

Bicycling in 110 Degree Desert for 150 Miles…

After the first night during the breakout sessions, I met this woman who was wearing biking shorts and was walking her bike around the breakout rooms. She looked at me with a big smile, super excited about being there… then she proceeded to tell me her story…

She had biked 25 miles in the 110 degree Las Vegas heat to the Venetian, with $70 in her bank account, no job and having to borrow money to purchase her ticket. My jaw dropped! I was like “Holy %#it, you did what?”

That night she would also have to bicycle another 25 miles home and then again in the morning back to the event for 3 f-ing days! (That’s 150 miles!) For the rest of the conference, she didn’t even sit in the chairs, she sat on the floor, against the wall, right up close to the stage, taking notes ferociously and not missing 1 second of the teaching from our speakers.

Talk about No Excuses! Geez!

But simply put, that is the difference between those that succeed and those who don’t. She had no money, but was willing to do whatever it took to make it to this historic event and learn everything she could. What she lacked in money to travel, she made up with blood, sweat and tears… literally!!

On the 3rd day of the event right before I was scheduled to speak, my body had hit “the wall”. Going on 10 hours of total sleep for 4 days of prep and running the event had done me in. My body was going “no mas”. (I admit, not quite like bicycling 150 miles through the 110 degree desert, but close

But my mind said “you must”. My mind was the general and my body was the soldier. I marched up on stage with my business partner, Raymond and we gave one of the best speaking jobs we’ve ever done at any live event.

That woman who bicycled through the desert had inspired me to put on the best event possible. I was NOT going to let her down, nor the 900 other people who had made sacrifices – financial sacrifice, time away from family, time off from their jobs, traveling from as far away as Thailand, etc.

Putting on anything other than the best event in the history of this industry, was unacceptable because everyone there had set aside the excuses to make it there.

So how’d it go you ask? Well, 900 of our closes friends seem to think it was pretty freaking awesome! (View No Excuses Facebook Page)

Still Got Excuses?

Recently, what excuses have you made for not moving forward in your business? Would you be willing to bicycle through a 110 degree desert for 125 miles, to meet and learn from the people that have the knowledge you need to be successful? Would that be the point where you would say, “Ok, I don’t want it that bad…”

Regardless of your situation, in order for you to get the results, knowledge and mentorship you need, you’ll have to sacrifice and pay whatever price you have to pay – whether its with money or through sheer grit and determination.

Everyone pays a different price. By the time I had my first big success online, I was $50,000 in debt and spent 2 years going through trial and error to finally “get it”! I was willing to do whatever it took and I did – it’s the only way you will make it.

Now if you are in the financial situation to afford this, I am going to provide 2 people the opportunity to skip the $50,000 credit card tab and 2 years of trial & error to learn what I know, personally from me.

Here’s the situation:

• You and me work together 1-hour per week via phone for 12 weeks
• At some point in the middle of those 12 weeks, you fly into Los Angeles and we spend a day together masterminding and working on your business
• I help you build every single part of your business and create a front-end product with you

If this sounds like it’s for you, click here for more details on this 12 week program being offered at a 75% discount!

For everyone else, if you are not in the financial position to take me up on this opportunity, then my advice is to remember the story I just shared with you about this woman.

A few years ago, there was this sign over the martial arts studio I train it. It said, “When you’re not training, someone else is”.

I guarantee that the woman in this message is real and you will hear about her again… only next time she will be at the top. Will you be there to join her?

Wish You the Best,
Ferny Ceballos