#6: Graciela Casillas - Trailblaze Your Own Style

The Black Belt Podcast

“My goal in training is to build a student’s reflexes not just memorizing a technique. Building reflexes by discarding the drills, and eventually being able to free flow, so you can react to any angle of attack, if you train that way you will never be caught off guard because you are prepared for any line of attack, it doesn’t matter the trajectory of the weapon because you have already trained it, as opposed to set techniques that may not fit the situation.” – Graciela Casillas

My guest this episode is Graciela Casillas who is a former Boxing and Kickboxing World Champion. She was the first athlete to simultaneously hold both titles. She was originally a student of Taekwondo and full-contact Karate and a 3rd degree Black Belt in Kenpo and Kodenkan Jujitsu. She was trained as an instructor by legends like Guro Dan Inosanto and Grandmaster Angel Cabales and is currently a college Academic Counselor and Educator. She was awarded Black Belt Magazine's and Inside Kung-Fu Magazine's "Woman of the Year" in 1989 and inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame.

This episode is all about trailblazing your own path in this world. My key takeaway is that as martial artists we should all evolve and develop our own expression and style of movement. We begin our training by imitating and emulating our teachers, but we must continue the path of exploration and discover our strengths and weaknesses, and from their look for our own unique opportunities for growth. From this growth we will learn valuable lessons that will lead to the creation of a better version of ourselves. We also dive deep into teaching and training philosophies and how to discover your own truth. Graciela Casillas is an educator and true martial arts pioneer who inspired paved the way for women in combat sports. Tune in and enjoy a fantastic episode.