Jorge Manrique Koo Self Defense

This is my history of martial arts. Everything starts when I was thirteen years old. I was living in Mexico and I had too many problems on the streets, always getting into fights. When I was fifteen, I had a big problem with two boys who beat me up so bad that I never will forget. After that, I started watching movies about karate on t.v. and I wanted to come back with the same thing that those boys did to me, unforgettable! After that event, I continued with my life, I started working in a store. All the time I work lifting heavy things.

Then I met a girl and we became friends. One afternoon I asked her if I can walk her to her house and she told me yes, but first we had to go to her school where she was doing Kung Fu. I ask her myself how is the training in that school, and then she asks me if I would like to go one day. I do not have time to go because of my job always finishing late. I quit my job, and I start working in another company so that I could have finish earlier. So I said right now I have more time to go to that school and then I decided to go. After two months of training, I started having problems with other students. I had two fights and I won. I can remember that one of the boys, I knock him down and after that I was the best for fighting in that school. I completed five months of training in Kung Fu. We went to a tournament and I had to learn how to move cautiously and with good personal defense. I stayed almost nine months in that school. I started getting into boxing because nobody can get in a fight with me, they were scared of me and they really know that if I want to I can kick their ass.

I quit going to the Kung Fu school. I started hanging around with cliques and a lot of different gainsteos (gangs), in the bars when I was drinking a lot and I was doing drugs. I had too many street fights where I was knocking out a lot of people. After that I had to come to the U.S.A. I wanted to come back so badly to a martial art school to continue my training. I started working here in Cartersville, Georgia. I meet a good friend in my job. He always was there for me, giving me rides for anywhere. I found a Master Roger Koo's studio in downtown Cartersville very close to where I live. I start saving money, and one day rode my bicycle and observe an entire class from the window sitting on my bicycle. The next day I did come back, I was afraid when I was inside the studio because I didn't speak English. But I can understand what Master Koo explained how different Koo Self Defense was in comparison to all other martial arts in the world. That same day I started my training. I saw people from different nationalities doing the Koo Self Defense training. During that first week, I realized that Koo Self Defense training is very different compared to the Kung Fu school in Mexico.

I start training with Master Koo on Augst 27, 2001, and immediately like the way that Koo Self Defense trains me. It is like being a soldier, being drilled to do a certain task. For me it is like full power knockout kick boxing without the sparring, and Koo Self Defense training resemble all the streets fights that I had in Mexico. My opinion is that one of the best things is that all the people at Koo Self Defense are very nice. Everybody has respect for each other and they have great respect for me. I respect them a lot like they do respect me. All the time I come to this school I feel healthy and very strong, my hitting power has improved tremendously since I have been training with Master Koo. If I had learned Koo Self Defense before Kung Fu in Mexico, my street fighting would have been much more explosive. My street fighting days are over and right now I take this like just to exercise, it is my hobby and passion. I train two and sometimes three classes a day with Master Koo, Monday through Friday and one class on Saturday morning unless my job stops me from going as on some occasion I have to work late. I have been in the U.S.A. for eight months. One day, my dream is to open a Koo Self Defense studio like Master Koo in Mexico.

I wish that whoever is reading my history likes it. Goodbye my friends, and Viva the sports! I'm sorry, but the last thing, I say hi to my family Martha, my brother Alfredo, my brother Steve, my brother Alex.

Video Clips Taken April 2002. Started training at Master Koo's studio, downtown Cartersville, Georgia, USA on August 27, 2001 and has done 236 classes to the day of photos and video clips.
Power Drills Class - Orange/Green/Blue Belt level 15 movements COMBO
Power Drills Class - Hand/Feet
Power Drills Class - Hand/Feet
Power Drills Class - Hand/Feet
Power Drills Class - White/Yellow Belt level Hands COMBO 12 movements Hands executed in 4 seconds
Power Drills Class - Yellow Belt 8 Kicks Feet COMBO
Stamina Power Drill Class - Moving 100 Nonstop Jumping Kicks
Power Drills Class - 1800+ Non Stop punching/striking, at this class I did 2520 hits in under 20 minutes


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