In his gym of Forio located in Monterone in via Provinciale Panza and that on the island ofIschia represents a true Temple of martial arts, Master Patalano tells his story openly. How his passion for martial arts was born when he was very young sport combat and for Bruce Lee. His career, the international successes of his students and much more. With the enthusiasm that despite disappointments and betrayals, increases more and more with the passing of the years. And next Monday, September 11, between glorious past and future ambitions, his gym reopens its doors for the 2023/2024 sports season. Interview by Gennaro Savio.
Contents
- 1 Master, when did you start practicing? Tell us your story
- 2 What disciplines do you practice and teach?
- 3 What is karate for you?
- 4 Is kickboxing a violent sport?
- 5 What sporting results has he achieved?
- 6 Do you think you are a successful teacher?
- 7 What is your relationship with defeats?
- 8 What motivated you to dedicate this facility to Bruce Lee?
- 9 How does a combat sport, a martial discipline become art?
- 10 What is passion for you?
- 11 Have you ever burned yourself out of passion?
- 12 Have you ever thought about giving it all up?
- 13 How have martial arts influenced your professional life?
- 14 Lately he discovered a passion for rap music…
Welcoming us is the first life-size statue of Bruce Lee posed in Italy, which in its aesthetic beauty welcomes us to the historic Forian gym. Crossing the threshold of his dojo (gym) you are enchanted. Giant photographs of Bruce Lee, traditional oriental weapons, wooden and ceramic reproductions depicting martial figures, diplomas and souvenir photos of won trophies adorn its walls.
The martial atmosphere that you breathe passes through our spirit. You are immediately struck by the iron discipline, the incredible seriousness, the respect towards the master, the control of the body, the mind and breathing, and while with naturalness, dexterity and fluidity young students bring the martial techniques to the target, you realize that you are not watching a sporting activity, but that you have crossed the threshold of art.
The Karate and Kickboxing Master Raffaele Patalano, a Physiotherapist by profession, Federkombat technical manager for the island of Ischia, Point Fighting and Light Contact sectors, is the host and opens the doors to our notebooks. A Master with over forty years of experience, he has made martial arts his philosophy of life and the karate gi (uniform for practice) his second skin.
From his humility shines all the love for teaching, the light of enthusiasm and passion shines in his eyes and he answers our questions with the wisdom of the great masters by telling his life experiences, with a pinch of amarcord.
Master, when did you start practicing? Tell us your story
“Memory runs in the past. It was the 70s and I played soccer, but I was fascinated by Karate, by the myth that the weakest could defeat the strongest, until one day while watching a Bruce Lee film, where kicks and punches, parries and counterattacks were carried out with skill and speed, I was enchanted by such mastery. I was not yet aware of it but that was the first step on the road to a great passion that I still carry in my heart today”.
“Eager to learn, in the absence of internet, social media, gyms and so on, I began to read books and specialized magazines. Fate wanted that at the time, working as a lifeguard at the Hotel Splendid, now Eden Park, I met the judo champion of Bavaria, who introduced me to martial arts. The joy of discovering and learning, I remember, pushed me early in the morning several hours before the start of the working day to follow his training sessions”.
“He gave me a book with a signed dedication dated September 25, 1979 that sometimes awakens nostalgic memories of youth. Then he left, but by then this passion had entered my blood to the point of becoming my life. At that time on the Island there was nothing martially serious, not even a gym. I met the master Pasquale Dragon Di Costanzo, a pioneer of martial arts in Ischia, in 1981 I became his student in the first Ischian gym in via delle Terme in Ischia (San Ciro)”.
“Our performances in the various discos on the island (Area di Forio, Charly and Ciao Mare di Ischia), in the island squares, in the Cinema delle Vittorie during events and demonstrations, not to mention the countless television appearances on sports programs on the then private TV channels Telelacco Europa TV, Telestella del Golfo, Teleischia were memorable”.
“Everywhere we got applause and approval. It was a pioneering era, a handful of friends tried to spread martial arts in Ischia. A historic group in which the cream of the current island masters Di Costanzo, Patalano, Di Paola, Giorgio Lauro arrived from Canada, Franco Migliaccio took their first steps, today all established professionals in their disciplines”.
“During my military service I trained with Maestro Baldiotti in La Spezia. Later, my boundless desire to learn, understand, and perfect myself led me to train in Naples with Maestro Gianni Di Bernardo, the current regional President of Federkombat. Those were years of intense sacrifices where I had to reconcile my job as a night watchman at the Grand Hotel Regina Isabella with the lessons I was given in the morning.”
“Get the qualifications of Trainer, Instructor, until you become a Master. In 1997 I taught at the Oxygen gym in Lacco Ameno. In 1998 I realized the dream of my life with the foundation of the asd Bruce Lee's Fighting Method, a sports club that transmits the ancient educational values of martial arts and that over the years has achieved sporting results never achieved before by any sports club on the island”.
What disciplines do you practice and teach?
“KARATE SHOTOKAN, One of the most practiced styles in the world, KICKBOXING, in its different disciplines combat sport born in Japan and developed in the 70s in America. I also teach Personal Defense”.
What is karate for you?
"It is a lifestyle, a philosophy of life that promotes the educational and formative aspect. Karate strengthens the spirit through physical exercise, it does not only teach how to fight but gives the practitioner education, respect, self-confidence, inner peace, psychophysical balance and self-control, virtues and values that once the student has made his own, will accompany him on the right path for the rest of his life, making himself a better person and an exemplary citizen for humanity and moral caliber".
Is kickboxing a violent sport?
"It is certainly a physical contact sport, those who practice it are physically and mentally prepared to take and give blows, but it is absolutely not a violent sport. Statistics show that you get hurt more playing football than fighting on the playing fields, in the ring by virtue of special protections that safeguard your physical integrity".
What sporting results has he achieved?
“As a teenager I dreamed of becoming a champion, I had the technique and the physical means to become one. Unfortunately, a ball to the face, with consequent fractures and subsequent operations to facilitate breathing prevented me from realizing my dream. The doctors strictly forbade me from fighting. At that time there were no helmets with protective masks, they were all open and the risks were serious. Knocked down by bad luck I did not give up, I got up and swore to myself that what fate had taken from me as an athlete I would take back as a technician. Deep down I knew I was not a fool and the great wealth of experience acquired could help other young people to realize that dream. In the years that followed, a growing number of successes achieved made Ischia jump to the honors of the martial chronicles. There are countless titles won between regional championships, Italian championships, trophies that came to Ischia for the first time such as the President's Cup, Italian Cup, International Trophies such as Golden Belt and World Cup Best Fighter, calls to Nationals with participation in two Wako World Championships (Italy and Croatia), and a WTKA World Championship in Viareggio, a Wako European Championship in Portugal, winning world championships and a European championship. My lucky star wanted to reward my commitment and my passion by giving me what fate had taken away from me. Results achieved with blood and sweat that made my school the most titled on the island of Ischia. And in light of what was won, the betrayal of the islanders, who have always loved foreigners, hurts today, and while respecting their choice, in some cases they preferred other martial disciplines, going from my international victories to insignificant medals and placings exalted as Olympic victories. However, time is a gentleman and a severe judge, in the end it will say with certain data in hand documented and witnessed that martial arts without presumption in FORIO are called RAFFAELE PATALANO”.
Do you think you are a successful teacher?
“Winner is a big term that lends itself to different interpretations. Winner is not a status that is acquired in relation to the number of trophies won, winner is someone who, knocked down by life, has the strength and courage to get up again. You are a winner to the extent that you are loved by the students in whom you have deeply influenced their psychophysical growth, even if human nature is diabolical and betrayal is always around the corner. In practice, one may never have won anything, but be a winner for the nobility of spirit that distinguishes him”.
What is your relationship with defeats?
“Defeats are a process of growth both internally and athletically, they help you look inside yourself, to understand why you lost. It is an almost obligatory step. In Japan they say: “If you don't taste the bitter, you can't understand the sweet”.
What motivated you to dedicate this facility to Bruce Lee?
“It was an act of gratitude towards my youthful idol, the legendary Bruce Lee, the greatest master and martial actor of all time. He lived in the myth of his invincibility and his earthly incarnation of a dragon and died in the legend of his eternal immortality, he continues to live in the hearts and memories of all martial arts practitioners around the world. A unique source of inspiration, I grew up with his films, his magnetism and charisma pierced the screen, he had a sincerity and an expressive intensity that at the cinema I remember enthusiastic children jumping from their seats and men getting excited because he was an action hero with whom they could identify. I jealously collect all his films and books, my martial path from the beginning has been inspired by his training methods and his philosophical thought. Dedicating the name of the gym to him, and placing the first statue in Italy dedicated to him, located at the entrance to my gym, represent my contribution to keeping his memory alive".
How does a combat sport, a martial discipline become art?
“Art is the outward expression of inner beauty. It is everything a man can achieve by elevating his spirit. There is essentially no difference between a ballet and a karate form, as there is between a painting and the harmonious and fluid trajectories drawn by our kicks. In both cases there is the spiritual elevation of a body, whose movements, a joy for the eyes and music for the ears, express emotions and joy of life. Kicks and punches in their outward beauty become the mirror of your soul and an expression of your art”.
What is passion for you?
“Passion is the fire that burns inside you, the lifeblood that nourishes your dreams, the energy that allows physical and mental self-realization. Passion leads you to give body and soul to art, to overcome insurmountable obstacles to fulfill a dream, to experience joys, bitterness, victories, defeats, disappointments; a path made of strong emotions. A passion can also be destructive. SHAKESPEARE said: “Destroy what you love, or what you love will destroy you” almost as if to say that passion must be well managed otherwise that fire that burns inside will end up burning your life”.
Have you ever burned yourself out of passion?
“Like all passions, by virtue of the fire that burns inside, in the end you get burned. Specifically, I got burned every time my teachings went unheeded, feeling betrayed in the depths of my being, almost as if that fire turned against me. A karate master is not a master of kicks and punches, he is a master of life, he must be an example for his students. I would have liked to teach many students that it is more important to win in life than on the competition squares, that all the trophies raised to the sky, however important they are, will never have the same value as friendship, respect and love. And more than anything else, I would have liked to teach them to fight their internal adversaries, who do not fight with kicks and punches but who are real psychological ghosts that can take various forms such as exaggerated pride that pushes you not to accept the life lessons of the master, the criticisms of the technician, to challenge him verbally without any respect and to judge his teaching methods by giving credit to false illusionists. Many times I have not been given this opportunity, especially when parents do not row in the same direction as you. And this is a weight that I carry inside me heavy as a boulder, an open wound on the altar of passion, by virtue of which, the price to pay is that of "Suffering and being great" in the silence of one's solitude.
Have you ever thought about giving it all up?
“More than once, but it would have been like denying oneself, one's ideological beliefs and by virtue of this little flame that remains lit under the ashes, one is called to rise again like the phoenix”.
How have martial arts influenced your professional life?
“I owe everything I have achieved in my life to martial arts. Martial arts have influenced my studies, my professional and work choices. In reality, the study of martial arts involves an anatomical study of vital points, so I realized that some points of the human body touched in a martial way can cause death, while touched according to oriental therapeutic methods they give life, healing. Today, thanks to martial arts, I am a rehabilitation therapist, a job that makes you look other people’s suffering in the face, absorbing a lot of negativity, but that gives you great moral gratification in seeing a sad face smile again”.
Lately he discovered a passion for rap music…
"Nothing, I've always liked writing. Under the artistic pseudonym Sensei Raffy, through my rap songs I rhyme my passion for sports and martial arts. My latest song is called Enter the dragon Bruce Lee, the first Italian rap song about the little dragon". So far the statements of Maestro Raffaele Patalano who next Monday 11 September between a glorious past and future ambitions, reopens his gym for the 2023/2024 sports season".
Article published on 8 September 2023 - 18:30
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