Mario Contacessi Owner/Manager I was born in Molfetta, Bari Italy in 1962. When I was 10 years old, my family moved to Connecticut for a short time, before settling in Hoboken, New Jersey. My mother didn't speak English or drive a car, so city life in Hoboken, where one did not need a car and where there were plenty of Italian Americans, provided a welcoming environment for my mother and for me as a youngster. At 13, I began my first exposure to martial arts. My first experience was with Tae Kwon Do. I studied this art for a year, coupling it with the study of Jiu Jitsu a year later. My family moved back to Italy in 1977, so for a time, my martial arts studies were interrupted. I enrolled in the Istituto Albergherio Armando Perotti hotel and restaurant management school and graduated in 1980. After a two-year stint in Aachen, Germany pursuing my new career, I returned to Italy to join a special Italian military force called the "bersaglieri." I returned to Aachen after this duty, opened my first restaurant, and for the better part of a year (until a severe river flood swept it away) enjoyed my new life as a restaurateur. 1987 brought new opportunities in the USA. I returned to this country and, while continuing my career in the restaurant business, resumed my martial arts studies, but this time with Calasanz and his unique system of physical arts and martial arts training. In 1991, Calasanz (who was born in the Dominican Republic) took a number of his students there to demonstrate our system and tour the country in a series of exhibitions. We were received with great enthusiasm by that country. It was an exciting time, one that solidified my commitment to Calasanz' training method and philosophy. In 1992 I began to actively teach at Calasanz dojo in Norwalk, Connecticut, focusing on developing skills in young athletes and children. I also assisted in adult training. I continue to teach at Calasanz' home dojo today. Throughout my life, midst all manner of changes of country and community, I've always centered myself in the knowledge and discipline that martial arts has provided me. It was Calasanz' system that, for me, encompassed the full sphere of my physical, mental and individual spiritual nourishment, for it is the merging of these elements that truly represents the full scope of martial and physical arts understanding. It is not merely to develop fighting skills or strengthening skills that martial arts exists. It is to provide the student with a sense of place and purpose, with a respect for and understanding of the temple that is our own body, and an inner peace that comes from knowing that the ground upon which one stands is a space that one has a right to stand upon, while respecting the right of others to their own physical and mental space. In Calasanz' system, I have found the culmination of all my previous training, a unique inclusiveness of all skills in the physical arts. It is my sincere desire to impart the same depth of knowledge, the same respect for and dedication to developing a breadth of skill and understanding of the physical - and mental arts - that Calasanz' system has provided me throughout the course of my life. I hope that, after reading this brief story of my journey, you will embark upon your own exploration of our system and the benefit to mind, body and spirit that it represents to old and young alike - no matter your current physical ability. We welcome your visit to our new dojo. Yours sincerely, Mario Contacessi |