Back

Kris Acevedo: Staff

  I was born on April 21,1988 in St. Luke’s hospital and little did I know that life was going to be a roller coaster ride. It was 1993, I was around the age of six and I experienced the murder of my brother, Wilkins. He was killed at a grocery store at 108th and Manhattan Avenue.
 

My state of mind changed and I became angry which allowed me to disassociate from other people. I was relocated to Chinatown where my family was placed in a witness protection program. Something happened there and everything became peaceful and soothing. The thoughts running through my mind about my brother did not matter.

By 1996 one of my five brothers was caught selling weed and other miscellaneous stuff and was sent to prison for five years. Three years after he got out he did another bid for a similar crime.

In 2002 I enrolled into Manhattan Center for Mathematics and Science and it was sure the worst four years of my life. I walked in the door and the feeling of being trapped set in. By 2006 I graduated with an advanced Regents diploma with a sigh of relief and freedom. Life was not an American dream and learning that my family was dysfunctional wasn’t all too pleasant. Realizing that all the lessons in life that were coming my way wouldn’t be easy, but hey what cannot kill you will make you stronger.

It was towards the end of my last year in high school that there was a postering for a free street fighting demo by Ultimate Karate. Filled with enthusiasm and anticipation, I participated in the seminar waiting for surprises to come as I entered a vortex of positive energy and new thinking. I was drawn to this kind of fighting like a drug and looked for the source so I could up my habit. The next day I went to the dojo and participated in the free class.

 
  Ultimate Karate is a non-profit school that provides a variety of programs and martial art styles taught by a sensei that has a very strong back ground; not to mention a genius in the martial arts. He gave me the confidence to be an excellent fighter. I knew I could kick anybody’s ass even if it was a demon. Even better, he had an Ultimate Challenge cage built for fighters like me.
 
There was dilemma; I didn’t have money to pay for the classes. Sensei proposed the idea that I work for it and so I did. After working for a couple days in the dojo, I advanced so well that I gained knowledge beyond what anyone expected from me. I learned some marketing, communications and most of all how to maintain a new state of mind. New worlds were opened to me and exploration has taken me to higher levels of understanding.

While my status at the dojo was growing, I was running into obstacles in high school. The counselors said that I had a slim chance of graduating. With Sensei and my Zen teacher’s guidance, I began attending all my classes. They also provided me with tutors to pass the exams that I needed to graduate. With the focus and the determination I got from their support, I managed to pass the Regents with very high 80’s. Having the feeling of control and victory on my side felt very satisfying.
 

  My path didn’t end there. I wanted to learn more and Sensei recommended me to go to the Mankind Project Warrior Weekend. I did the weekend in May 2006 and I awakened a side of myself that I never had a chance to embrace. I learned and experienced the four male archetypes that reside in every man that we are unconscious of. Having the feeling of this made me feel more powerful than I was before and gave me a better understanding of who I am and what my place in this world is.
 
During the time I have been in the dojo, I’ve learned to fight and have recognized the battle within myself. I learned to use the most powerful weapon of all, the mind. I started taking the meditation classes that was part of the school and was began experiencing the moment when form is nothingness and nothingness is form.

Basically I began to learn how my awareness could be separated from my thoughts. I call this state “No Name”. It made it possible to manage stress and anger, which was a big part of my life. I learn to see situations in life where I’m programmed to do stuff unconsciously. I was able to experience life/drama like a movie were I am witnessing but not trapped. Using the protocols helped me to learn how to manage my state of mind and just enjoy life.

As for now I am an assistant instructor at the school and do some marketing, but most of all I maintain the cage room. As much as I love the working environment, I sure do love the people I’m surrounded by even more. I’m also attending B.M.C.C. with a temporary major in liberal arts. I plan to transfer to Hunter for a marine biology major eventually. At the moment I’m training to be an excellent cage fighter with a bachelors or master’s degree in whatever leads to adventure.