Today we talk to a Netflix famous ATA master and our athlete of the week.

Let's get started.

Welcome to the Ata Nation podcast.

Masters, instructors, students, parents, family members of Ata Nation, welcome back to the Ata Nation podcast.

This is episode 176 and and I am your host, Senior master Zach Hayden.

It is a joy and a privilege to be back with you.

Hopefully you are subscribed.

Speaking of those of you who are subscribed, have you hit the subscribe button on YouTube?

You might be watching this on YouTube, but I know a lot of people watch or listen on their favorite podcast feed, which is the way I like to do podcasts, but lots of people like video.

And let me tell you just before we get started, we've got some great guests today, but I just thought this was interesting.

Obviously, the number one listeners to the at Nation podcast by region is the United States.

This is in the last 90 days.

But number two, can you guess?

The United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom coming in second maybe because I mentioned them so much because I want to to go there again.

Third place is Brazil.

Brazil is third place in listeners to the ATA Nation podcast.

Then we have India, Ireland, shout out to Mango Martial Arts, Germany, Canada and Singapore.

Ooh, you know what?

You know who's not on here?

It needs to be on here.

Portugal.

Portugal.

What are you doing?

Well, you got 11 downloads in the last 90 days.

That's it.

Portugal.

And this week, the athlete of the week is from Portugal.

So come on now, Come on, you got to do it.

But maybe they're watching more on the YouTube.

I am on a mission.

You've heard it before.

I want to get the ATAs YouTube channel on Revan roaring I want a hundred thousand subscribers.

That's the goal.

100,000.

We have 33 or something like that.

And that's crazy.

We got so many awesome ATM members.

All I need you to do is go out there, hit the subscribe button on the ATAs YouTube.

We're ramping some stuff up.

We've been putting a a fair amount of shorts out there on YouTube.

We're getting some more of those from the ATM brass ambassadors that we're going to be sharing on there as well.

So make sure you head over to YouTube and check that out.

Now, at the end of the show today, we'll be going through some upcoming events that you don't want to miss out on, but we've got two great interviews.

We're going to start today with our athlete of the week right now.

ATA Nation.

I'm excited to have with us another international athlete of the week.

Hey, sir.

Can you introduce yourself to us?

Yes, sir, of course.

I'm Tiago Clangella.

I'm four years old.

I'm from Portugal.

Lisbon, Portugal.

From Lisbon, Portugal.

You guys just.

The European Championships were in Lisbon.

Is that right?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

In May.

In May?

Yeah, in May.

Excellent.

Okay, so what.

Who's your instructor out there in Portugal?

Mrs. Russia.

Okay.

Excellent.

And okay, here's the real question.

How'd you get started in martial arts?

I started martial arts when I was nine years old.

I started in judo, and then a few years later, because of an injury I had, I started doing Olympic Taekwondo.

I was around 16, 15 years.

16 years old until I reached my first degree black belts.

Then I stopped.

And then I met Songam Taekwondo because my sister started practicing in a smaller school at the time, and I got into it, and so I started all over.

I started as a white belt and started all over, and it was really fun.

Oh, so what was the.

How long was that break between getting your.

Your taekwondo black belt?

The first three, and then starting back up again?

I think two, three years, probably max.

Yeah.

Cool.

I think.

Okay, so what was it like?

You know, you'd done martial arts for a long time.

Then what was it like to.

To start back at white belt again?

Were you a little like, I know this stuff.

I don't need to do this.

Start.

Yeah, at start.

Yeah, I started.

I'm already a black.

I did all the process.

It was really hard.

A lot of injuries, a lot of difficulties.

But then I started speaking with my instructor at the time, and he really wanted me to know Songam Taekwondo from the beginning, and I got the challenge.

I accepted.

And I think I got to love even more Songam Taekwondo now, because I did all the process from the beginning, and I'm real proud of it.

And, yeah, it is what it is.

Yeah.

What.

So what is.

What is a difference in song on Taekwondo that.

That you have appreciated or.

Or.

Or maybe has been a challenge for you when you switch to song?

I'm Taekwondo kind of a difference or something that might have been challenging.

There are some nuances in techniques.

Like when we do blocks, we started inner, and in Olympic, we started outside.

Um, that was some small changes that I need to.

It was already automatic, and so I. I needed to fix it.

Um, but the free.

The.

The main difference is the competition.

In.

In combat, in sparring.

Um, yeah, first.

The first sparring that I did, I was hitting the opponent, and I. I thought I Was winning because they don't stop.

They.

They make the point and they don't stop.

And when I, the, the, the match ended, I, I was losing five, three.

And so.

Yeah, and so I was hitting and spinning and do all the things that we did in Olympics and then I lost.

Oh, need to learn.

Yeah.

But the thing I, I love the most about Songam that motivated me was the weapons.

In Olympic Taekwondo, we didn't have the weapons, and so it was really fun.

Okay, so let's talk about that competition.

Your.

What is weapons?

Your favorite event?

What's your favorite event to compete in when you're competing?

I love traditional forms and traditional weapons and I started competing in creative as well last world and was.

It was really fun and I got to.

To love that competition.

But my favorite are the traditionals, the forms and weapons.

Yeah.

What, what weapon is your go to weapon now?

The gumdo.

Gumdo.

Excellent.

Two years ago it was the.

I don't know how to say in Korean.

No.

Nunchuck.

Yeah, excellent.

Well, so that's interesting.

Do you think is, are those your favorite?

I mean, just because you never got to do weapons before, you know, I would have guessed from coming from Olympic style background that sparring would have been your favorite.

Is part of that.

Because it's such a difference that it.

No.

When I started in martial arts, it was because of my influences at the time.

When I was a kid, I used to watch shows like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Power Rangers, Dragon Ball Z and stuff like that.

And most of it, I really loved the technique.

I always loved the technique.

Even when I was competing in Olympic Taekwondo, I was part of a big club here, the sparring team from a big club here in Portugal.

But I always preferred the part of the traditional techniques and so on.

And so now I do love sparring.

I do love combat.

Combat is really fun.

It's something different that I really start to appreciate and it's really fun.

But as time goes by and I'm getting older and I need to focus on one thing at a time, and I think traditional forms is better for me to continue to compete at a higher level than sparring.

Injuries.

Injuries.

And.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The recovery, the recovery from sparring is a little.

Takes a little longer than forms.

It does, it does.

Especially at 4 years old.

It does.

Yes.

I hear you.

I hear you.

Okay, so how fascinating.

So what for you has been you, you mentioned, I think you mentioned world championships.

What's it been like for you to be part of this international organization that's kind of, you know, more of it is in.

In the U.S. obviously.

Yeah.

And being part of this international organization like the ata, what's that been like for you?

At first, when I started Songam Taekwondo, I didn't know the.

How huge the ATA was.

I think I only got it.

I think I'm doing Sangam now for about nine, 10 years, something like that, because I did it and I stopped because I had.

My second son was born, and then I stopped a little period, six months, one year or something like that, and then I restarted again.

But I only got to see how huge the ATA was when I went to my first world, which.

Which was two years ago, not this July, the previous year before.

And when I got there, I got to see the.

The master ceremony and how huge it was.

And I love these kinds of things.

Yes.

I love the suits, I love the rings.

I love the ceremonies.

I love everything.

And so.

So I got.

I really got in love with it.

And it got me even more.

More motivated to.

To compete and to go again.

So I went this year, and I got better results than the previous years, and so I'm even more motivated to go again.

And then when I arrived at Portugal, I didn't realize at the time, but now seeing the difference and how good we are now, and I'm fortunate enough to be part of a group the.

With master, senior master inductee.

I think that's how we say it.

Tanger, which who is the president of the.

The Portuguese Federation.

Yeah.

And he invited me to a group called the Renegades.

And I got to see how the Portuguese team is really evolving and really.

And I think they are doing a wonderful job here in Portugal to bring the song of Taekwondo in a higher level.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Portugal is, you know, like the.

The hub of song.

I'm Taekwondo in Europe these days.

Yeah.

You know, it's.

We're just.

I know Chief Master Shriver trying to grow it out of just Portugal, but Portugal is such a powerhouse.

Yeah.

In song, I'm Taekwondo, which is fantastic.

I think we are the country with most schools here in.

Here in Europe.

A few years ago, five, six years ago, there were probably five, six schools, and now we have 10, 12.

I'm not sure how many, but yeah, the work here has been wonderful.

It's been fantastic to see the growth there.

What.

So thinking about competition, Maybe not competition, but maybe just training or whatnot.

What kind of goals do you have that you are looking at for the future?

I really wanted to be a world champion.

I think that's what everybody says, but.

It'S a good goal.

Yeah.

It wasn't a goal that I had, but when I got there the first time and I got to see.

I really want those red letters on the sea, you know, and it's a motivation for me to be.

To be able to be there.

But if it won't happen, it won't happen.

I'm just.

I have that goal, and I focus on training every day more and more and more to be able to get that achievement.

And then, like I said, I'm fortunate enough to have a lot of people helping me.

My teacher, Mrs. Russia, the renegades, even Senior Master Barry, who is a wonderful person and helped me a lot before Worlds, and I'm pretty fortunate.

And I'm really living my dream as a martial artist now and focus every day, training every day, and I'm really happy about it.

So that's awesome.

I'm guessing after having seen the Master Ceremony, maybe a goal to be a master.

Yeah, Yeah.

I really want that white suit first.

Yes.

Yeah.

You got to start with the white.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I was not a.

You know, when I. I.

Master ceremony was one of the.

The things that is my absolute favorite when I go to World Championships, I have to go to the Master Ceremony.

It's just so motivating.

And I was the same way with that white suit.

And then I was like, man, I don't love blue.

But then after I got the white one, I was like, okay, maybe that blue one looks kind of cool.

Exactly.

Exactly.

Awesome.

Well, okay, final question here.

Before we wrap up, we like to ask, what's it mean to you to be a champion that goes beyond the belt.

For me personally, from my experience, the belt is just something you have around your waist.

I started all over again, and I would do it again if I go to another martial art.

And so for me, it's not.

It's not about the belt.

It's about how you train and how you do stuff after practice.

The belt is something that you achieve, first degree, second, and so on and so on.

If you continue to practice, you will eventually achieve higher ranks.

But the way you choose to live outside the tatami, when you undress the suit and the belt, for me, that's the most important part.

And I want to be an example for.

For my students.

I give a class at Mrs.

Rush's school, and I want to be an example for them, and I practice every day to.

For them to see me as it.

As an example.

So for me, that's excellent.

Yep.

Yeah, that's, you know, that is.

That's the way you, you know, get to go into that cool master ceremony someday is be an example, you know, you know, doing.

Doing what we talk about outside of the school, not just in the school, so.

Well, sir, congratulations on being one of the athletes of the week.

And, you know, thank you so much for your time today.

No, thank you.

I. I will.

I, I thank you.

And I would like to invite everybody to come at Euro.

It's a wonderful experience.

It's a wonderful country.

We are very, how we say, harm, Welcoming.

We are very welcoming people.

And so it would be wonderful.

Yeah.

What are you guys out.

Is the.

The European Championships gonna be in Portugal again this year?

I think it usually is.

It usually is.

It usually?

Yes.

Well, you guys got all the schools.

You gotta.

Yeah, they gotta.

Yeah.

And I. I made a few great friends from America thanks to the Euro, and I would love to make even more, so please come.

I keep.

I keep talking to my wife, and I'm like, once my kids are just a little bit older, we're gonna hit the European Championships.

We're gonna go to the Pan Am Games.

Will go everywhere.

And you'll be all the international guys.

You will love it.

So awesome.

Thanks so much.

Thank you.

Always great to have another international athlete of the week.

Super cool.

Can't wait to meet him at World Championships or maybe, you know, heading out to the European Games one of these days.

But one other interview for today.

This is exciting.

As soon as I saw this online, I was like, hey, we have to do an interview.

So we have with us Master Tavani.

And she.

I don't know.

Have you guys seen this on the new Netflix?

I almost said.

I almost said Hunger Games.

What am I thinking, guys?

That's.

That's insane.

Squid Games, the challenge season.

Super cool.

We're going to talk to her about that right now.

ATA Nation, we have a return guest with us, and might I say, Internet famous Master Teavani.

How's it going?

It's going great.

Thank you for those kind words.

How are you?

I am wonderful.

I saw you post something about.

Actually, no, it was Mr. Skelner.

He posted like.

He was like, hey, I think I see an ATA person in this picture.

Yes, he found me.

Yes.

And then I was like, holy moly.

I got to talk about this.

So for sure, before we get into the whole Squid Games thing, give us.

You've been on the show before, but just give us a quick recap.

How'd you get into martial arts?

Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely.

So I got into martial arts at age 5 because I wanted to be a ninja Turtle.

And also I of course have ADHD like many of us do in the martial arts world.

And my mom was, you know, looking for a spot for me to gain confidence and focus and all that good stuff.

So we started with ata.

That's awesome.

And it's, it's been history since you're a successful school owner.

Two time school owner, if I'm not mistaken.

Now.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, sir.

You know, and all over you've got, you decided us northern people, it's a little too cold and had to go south, is that right?

Well, I'm in Pittsburgh right now and the squid suits.

Squid suits keeping me warm.

And so, yeah, you know, I love the north, I love the south.

I think as a kid I always wanted to be a snowbird.

Like I used to tell my grandparents, that was my goal.

So, yeah, so just being able to live the lifestyle I want through martial arts and through my passion and through giving back.

And so it's pretty cool that I can have this opportunity to live, live the life I've always wanted to.

That's awesome.

It's great.

And it's, it's great to hear stories of people doing that through their, their, their passion.

Martial arts.

Something to love now.

Passion and purpose.

You know it.

Yes, sir.

Martial arts isn't the only thing you're known for.

So you've been on American Ninjas Warrior, you've done some modeling, some commercial stuff.

What other.

And then now squid games.

So before we get into the whole squid games thing, did you stumble into television and those kind of things or did you like purposely go out and like, this is what I, I want to do this extra thing as well.

Right, right, funny.

So when I was a kid, my mom always, she had me in modeling and I was like, I don't like this.

I don't want to, I don't want to, you know, just like dress up and act like someone I'm not, you know.

And so as the years when I was in college, I was like, oh man, I kind of need money, right?

Struggling college student, you know, working three jobs.

I was teaching martial arts for Master Kaminsky, I was bartending, I was doing all these extra things just to get by and pay my college tuition.

And so that's when I got back into it and I started modeling and acting here in Pittsburgh at the talent group.

And so, yeah, I was like, oh, this is fun.

And then I realized, like, oh, this is helping me get by financially, actually really great as a college student.

And so after that, I just realized, like, this is fun.

I love to do these things, and I have a passion for it.

So let's keep doing them.

So, yeah, that's how I kind of got into it.

And then after I did, I did the ESPN3 special, the 360 challenge in 2016, and I had always wanted to do that in Orlando, right.

At the ESPN Wide World of Sports.

And so once I did it, I was like, ooh, what's next now?

Like, I can't just end on this.

And so that's when I did Ninja Warrior.

I submitted to be on the show, and I got casted for that for the first season in 2018.

Very cool.

And now Squid Games.

I mean, this is kind of a big deal.

I. I have not.

This is.

I'm such a.

Like an old man or something.

I don't know.

I haven't watched any Squid games.

I'm a reality show guy, but I'm like a. I'm like a survivor.

I'm a huge Survivor.

Traders on Peacock.

Like, those I'll watch, but I haven't watched this yet.

So tell us a little bit about, one, what it is, and two, how'd you get on?

Yeah, for sure.

So if you've ever watched, and I know you said you didn't, but anyone out there listening, if you've ever watched Squid Games, the Dr. Series that is Netflix's number one of all time, biggest rated show.

Okay.

And so that was.

That came out in 2020, and it really became a phenomenon, and people started loving it.

It's.

It's a little dark.

Right.

But it's also very captivating.

And so from that emerged the challenge.

Because that was such a success, they said, let's turn this into a reality show.

And basically what you do, the whole premises is based on people that whether you're wealthy, whether you're, you know, po.

Like maybe you're just down on your luck because you got into some financial situation.

And then they.

You get selected to go into the Squid Games and play Korean children's games to have the opportunity to win $4.56 billion on the drama series.

Holy moly.

Yes.

So that.

That's kind of the premise of the drama series that they did the same thing with the reality show, but instead of 4.6 billion, they just cut it down to million.

So just no, baby, just for.

Why even play if it's just for that, right?

I mean, just chump change.

Not really.

I'm sure.

That would change everyone's life here.

Certainly mine.

It would change my life as well.

But yeah, so.

Yeah.

And then the reality series does essentially the same thing, but, you know, no one gets actually shot or anything like that.

Everyone stays alive, but they get the opportunity to play the games and they are like Gongi.

All these amazing Korean children's games that are pretty cool for.

For the big price.

Well, I know people have been watching.

There was a vote just yesterday to see if you could get on the.

The next season.

Yeah, I.

They.

They haven't announced or anything yet, have they?

No.

So literally, I just.

There was like the.

The.

On Tuesday, the second set of the new episodes just came out.

Right.

So they started that on Tuesday, a fan vote.

And so I think it goes from like the.

The.

The 11th or, sorry, the 12th and through like the 17th.

So it's only five days.

So if anyone's out there watching and you want to see me back, I don't want to say too much because if you watch the first episode, you'll see me on it and you see.

See kind of what happens.

But if you want to see me back, we got these five days to vote and vote me back on.

Okay.

ATN Nation.

You got to get out there.

You got to vote for Master Tevani.

She's got to be on again.

So we can see that.

That's.

That's super cool.

What was the.

Just the process of doing this?

You know, were you.

Where'd you film.

Did.

Were you there for a long time?

Was it a short, you know, in and out?

Yeah, so I was in London.

We filmed in London.

And so that was pretty cool.

They flew us over all that good stuff.

The first.

Basically it was three weeks that they had sectioned off that I was in London the first three to four days.

We were basically like segreg in a hotel by ourselves.

No phones, no computers, no electronics.

We each had our own room.

But very much school games is a mental challenge as well.

And so they really wanted to put us in that same scenario as the players from the drama series.

Right.

And so, yeah, we basically were in a room with nothing.

We were allowed to bring some books, you know, maybe some writing utensils, and that's it.

Each day we only got 40, like, 45 minutes to socialize.

They would knock on the door.

We didn't know what time it was.

All the clocks were taken away from us.

Anything with.

Yeah, it was kind of crazy.

Anything with time.

And so you're just in this room for hours on end.

And then you hear a knock, like on the door.

And then it's like, okay, it's time for dinner, time for breakfast.

And that was kind of the only way we even knew what time it was.

And that was our moment to socialize with our cohort, which we were divided by colors.

So you could only speak to your color cohort for 30 minutes a day, basically.

Wow.

That.

What, what do you think your background in martial arts and things was?

Did it give you any advantage in the competition?

What, you know, was there anything that you were like, ah, I'm so glad, you know, I've kicked people in the head for this, or I've had to deal with, you know, fasting for mastership or whatever.

Right.

That helped.

I mean, honestly, I think probably one of the things that really prepared me that I've done throughout my martial large career.

I went to Africa in 2022, I lived there for a month, and I taught self defense to women and children.

I created my own program.

And when I was in Africa, I had to really learn how to live a different way.

You know, no ac.

I could barely drink water, you know, the food, everything was different.

Like, it was a whole nother lifestyle.

And that really mentally pushed me through, like, taught me a lot.

So I think that experience particularly prepared me for being ready for this game and just totally taken out of my daily culture, my daily norms, and just thrown into, you know, being in a.

Locked in a hotel in London for hours on end with any socialization.

But I think, I think honestly, just like breaking a board, right?

You know, overcoming that challenge of like leveling yourself up with, you know, maybe a harder board break or, you know, those daily things we teach every day in class.

I mean, of course those all contributed to the mental strength I have now as a person that carries me into doing these new cool experiences and challenges.

That's awesome.

What has been the reaction from your students and just ata people who know you?

Yeah, so it's cool.

I feel like I've gotten reached out to, from students that I had from when I started teaching when I was like 16, back in the early 2000s.

And a bunch of people have reached out to me from my past, past students, past instruct instructors, all this good stuff.

So it's actually been pretty cool catching up with the people because I haven't talked to some of these guys in years.

So that's been like, really amazing reconnecting.

And my students at the school are, you know, just.

It's kind of funny because my students at no Limits Pittsburgh, They've seen me do American Ninja Warrior.

They've seen me do these shows and do these things.

So they're like, oh yeah, masters on another show, you know, and so it's kind of like normal to them.

But they definitely have gotten very excited about the squid suits.

We're doing some custom, some holiday, no limits game suits and they're definitely excited to do that.

Take some pictures and just kind of join the experience and get the behind the scenes information.

That's cool.

I saw some of the swag that you're doing there at the school online and it's pretty cool.

It's going to be sweet.

Yeah, yeah, no, definitely.

I mean, I figure the time to do it is now, you know, and it's like, why not do a little play on it and enjoy the.

Enjoy the ride.

Right?

Well, do you think, is this the last reality competition that we'll see you in?

Will we?

I mean, obviously we're going to vote for you to be in the second, you know, the second thing.

But yeah, you know, you got your sights on some other shows, maybe.

Sights on some other shows.

You know, right now there is definitely some other agendas.

I have some other goals coming up.

I don't, I don't think it'd be TV particularly, but it's definitely a different kind of genre than I've ever done before.

So I definitely have some cool new and exciting goals.

I would love.

I'll say this, maybe not right now, but maybe in the next, like five years.

I would really love to get on like an entrepreneurship show and really tell like my story thus far.

And so I think that that would be something that would be interesting.

So if anyone has some great entrepreneurship shows you watch, let me know because that's definite something that's in my wheelhouse that I love.

You know what have you ever watched?

It was on this year on Brand.

Jimmy Fallon did a new show on NBC where they were like a marketing company.

He had people come in and then they'd pitch these companies.

It was kind of like the old Apprentice show, but it was just marketing things.

You would on it.

You'd be amazing.

Oh, I. I've got.

Yes, I.

That's exactly what I'm looking at.

Something like that would be amazing.

Yeah, I know there's this one show and I think it's maybe it's called Legend, but.

But they basically like, you tell your story of how you started your business and then where you want to grow too.

And so I think something like that.

Telling my story where I could be authentically me and.

And you know, really put out what our mission statement is at no limits for everyone to see would be awesome too.

Yeah, that's awesome.

Cool.

Well, we look forward to seeing what more you do, what more is out there.

And then of course, you know, your awesome success in martial arts as.

As you continue training, testing, and these no limit schools are just kicking butt.

Yeah.

Thank you, sir.

I really appreciate it.

Yeah, definitely looking forward to the future.

And just thank you so much for having me on today and just getting to kind of give a little bit of behind the scenes of what Squid Games is all about and you know, how it incorporates with our challenges that we do every day in martial arts and overcome all these obstacles.

Cool.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's super cool.

And guys, make sure you watch and get out there and vote before the time is up so we can watch Master Teavani on there again.

Go to netflix.com 003 is my number.

That's all you have to do is click that link and put 003 and then maybe you'll see me again.

Perfect.

Thank you so much, ma'.

Am.

Absolutely, sir.

Thank you.

Have a great day.

Oh, man, do we have some cool people in the ata.

How amazing.

What a cool story pod.

Be sure to subscribe and share with your ATA family.