Not one, but two great interviews this episode.

Let's get started.

Welcome to the Ata Nation podcast.

Welcome back to the Ata Nation podcast.

This is episode 168.

It is a pleasure to have you with us all students, instructors, parents, fans of ATA martial arts.

Thank you so much for tuning in.

I am your host, Senior Master Zach Hayden.

And today we have an amazing show ready for you.

I've got a fantastic interview with my friend Senior Master Burns to start out with.

And then we have, of course, our amazing athlete of the week, picked by the ATA brand ambassadors.

Lots of cool stuff.

Don't forget, fall nationals is right around the corner.

There's still time to register.

I think we're.

We're past the deadline for the, you know, the regular price.

I think it's on to late or higher price.

I don't know what the name of the pricing is, but that doesn't mean that you can't still sign up and attend.

We would love to see you in Pittsburgh.

And then there's lots of other events coming up.

Just a couple episodes ago, we talked with director of Training Chief Master Skiles about all the different things coming up across the country over the next couple of months, from virtual trainings to Camp Jong Su to the Huli classic, all kinds of awesome things.

So make sure you're subscribed to the YouTube page for ATA martial arts and of course, all of their social media channels.

So you're getting the information as it comes out.

You're not missing anything.

Make sure you're subscribed to this because we want to make sure that we inform you as well of all the cool things going on.

Now, let's get to our first interview.

Okay.

ATA Nation.

I have with us a great friend of mine, Senior Master Burns.

How are you, sir?

I'm great, sir.

Nice to see you.

Yeah, always a pleasure.

Yeah.

So I'd like to just get a little background on how you started martial arts.

You want to be a Ninja Turtle, right?

That's where it started.

No, no, I didn't want to be a Ninja Turtle.

It was.

They weren't.

They hadn't started yet, you know, now you're aging yourself.

Yeah, no, it was kung fu theater on mornings.

Okay.

And Sunday mornings after church, I come home, and Kung Fu theater would be on USA Network.

Is that even still a network?

I don't even know.

I don't know what are networks.

So I would see all these, like, really crazy kung fu movies, and they're just doing all this, like, awesome stuff.

And this was back in the 80s, right.

And so then in 89, my mom was working at a Chinese restaurant and there was an ATA school that opened up in the basement.

Okay, Chinese restaurant.

And so it sounds like a movie itself, right?

Yeah, that's how I started.

That's how I started.

But the school was not run by an Asian in the basement.

No, no, it was Clyde Presley, actually, his brother, Ray Presley.

But Clyde was the one that.

That ran that school.

And the late Kathy Calver, she just passed away recently at the beginning of this year.

So.

But yeah, that's how I started my ATA journey.

I've been in the ATA ever since.

Ever since.

Yeah, all ata.

I've seen it all.

Well, I've seen it all, but I've seen a majority of it all.

Yeah.

And you.

Have you started your school owner career.

What did you.

How early in your martial arts were you like, man, it'd be cool if I got to teach this?

You know, this is the funny thing is, like, everybody this week I've had a conversation with.

It's gotten to that, when did you decide or how long have you been doing this and why did you do it?

Right?

And it's the same thing I tell them.

I go.

It was when I got my orange belt, I was sitting and Mr. Presley at the time was like talking, like into us, right?

He was like just speaking great values into us.

And it was that moment I was like, I want to be him.

Not him as the martial artist that could kick really high, super fast, really good.

I mean, this is a guy that came to my.

Brought me home one day after class and jumped up and kicked the backboard of my basketball hoop.

I mean, just standing under.

He's amazing athlete.

But it was how he empowered me, how he gave me purpose.

And it was that moment I said, I want to be him.

I want to do that for other people.

And so that's always been my dream.

And then, you know, I worked for Master Beisel at his school, came up through his throughout the years, and then in 99, started the process of.

Once I got certified at the last certification camp.

I know I was jealous I didn't make that one.

I was too young.

I was.

But then opened the first school in Kalamazoo, 2000, so.

And now you are in Tennessee.

Yes, Franklin, Tennessee.

Franklin, Tennessee, Just outside of Nashville.

Yeah, I know.

I was.

I was down in Tennessee on vacation.

Yeah.

Not that long ago.

A couple weeks ago.

And I was like, how far could I go?

Dang it.

I can't take the day to go Over.

We were in.

I don't even remember now.

No, we were just in the hills somewhere.

Just in the hills.

In the hills.

We were just.

We were just sitting by ourselves.

There was a Buc ee's nearby, so.

Oh, yeah, that's great.

So I didn't make it to the BUC EE's this time.

I've been there.

But the.

So you've got honor martial arts there.

Yes.

And relatively new Ish school.

I mean, depends on how you categorize new year.

A year.

Okay.

That is newer than I even was thinking, which is.

And kicking butt.

I mean, I've seen your people here.

Really good.

How would you tell somebody right now?

Like.

Like your instructor did originally.

Like, if they're interested in this, what do they do?

What are the.

How can you inspire somebody to go.

Like, maybe the next step for me is becoming an instructor.

So when it comes to that, it's how they feel they can utilize their purpose.

Right.

If they don't even understand that their purpose is whether it's in a martial arts format like ours, there's basically two purposes.

You either become an instructor or you become a competitor.

Right.

Other than that, you just.

You train to become a black belt.

Yeah.

Or.

And then it just kind of peaks at a certain point.

And then even in the athlete realm, that kind of peaks.

So it's like, well, what do you want to do with all the knowledge you have?

Right.

And do you want all of that knowledge to stop with you?

And so it comes from.

From us as the chief instructor or the instructor, for our students to empower them with understanding that the culture is about expansion.

Right.

Expanding all of the knowledge we have.

Right.

If we gain knowledge and we don't give it to somebody else, that's a very selfish way of looking at it.

And it stops the flow like a.

Candle just to myself instead of lighting somebody else's.

Right.

And it's like, if you have something good, why would you not want to give it to us people?

Right.

And create an opportunity or an environment for others to experience the greatness that you are.

And so when we are able to instill that into the students, especially in that teen demographic from 13 to where.

You feel a little lost anyway, and have that.

Find that purpose to be able to share with others and something bigger than yourself.

I mean, think about all the things that get thrown at you.

You're.

You're going through, you know, just hormonal stuff at teens.

Right.

And then you're going into high school.

You're.

You're you're transitioning through different friends.

You're.

Now, maybe you want a job, maybe you want a car.

Oh, now you got to start thinking about college or you.

All these things are getting thrown at you.

It's like one of the most pivotal points in a child's life for, and, and.

Or a pre adult life.

Right.

So if we as instructors don't give them another option of being like, look, you've been doing this for 10 years.

Look at all you can do with.

This and how it's.

There's so much in that, the, the teen years especially, that ends up being this.

Like, once you're done being a teen, all the stuff is gone.

You don't get to do any of these things anymore.

Right.

And so they, you know, you have these people who are like, it's the best years of your life or whatever, which, if my teenage years were the best years of my life, like, what a horrible life I would have had.

But they.

You can give them a vision for something that is something that you can carry on for another 20 years, 30 years, where there's so much in that time that is fleeting as a teenager.

Also, I see your crew, you got a bunch of teenagers that have been here, that have been around, I've been seeing.

So you're really making an impact there in that age.

And it's from speaking into them and giving them other options.

Yeah, we have so much more ability as ATA instructors, especially because we have the resources that help us sharpen our saw, like our life skills book, our Legacy Pro book.

All of that information is there.

Now, if you only take that information and you only use it as it is, it may not be enough.

You have to go and research more.

You have to go outside of that box, outside of your comfort zone of what you were just given and expand on it and make it make it better.

But the thing is, is that, you know, some of these kids will come to you and they'll be like, well, I just don't feel comfortable in front of people.

And you go, well, don't you do X amount creative?

Well, I don't have the charisma.

Don't you do creative and extreme?

You've got charisma.

Do you.

Okay, maybe it's not the ones that compete, sir.

I don't know if I have a commanding voice.

All right, do your form.

Yes, sir.

And then all of a sudden they answer yes or really loud.

Even if they have one word that they say really loud, they have the ability to build the charisma and the behavior they need.

And it just takes four key things.

Right.

Confidence, which we give them, connection, which is our community.

Right.

Compassion.

To know that not everybody's going to be you, but can learn from you.

Right.

And that's probably the.

Do you think that's the harder one to, to teach in that age group?

Yes, because it's just at that age, you're just full of you anyways.

I mean, what's your.

Try to figure yourself out?

I don't know, Getting them that compassion to go look at this through other people's lenses, through, you know, how, you know, give them a little grace.

That kind of thing is probably a tough one.

Well, and one of the, one of the.

My, one of my pressure points I put on my teens is they're getting.

They want acceptance from their peers and from outside, but when they walk in the school and they hear, Mr. Perez, you're here.

I'm so glad you're here, and they're hearing it from these kids, they forget that that's more powerful.

That's more powerful.

And that's what I try to get them to see and expand their, their focus.

Right.

Because I'm like, if you want to sharpen your focus, expand your view.

Right.

And so I'm like, look at it in the bigger picture and you're going to see where you can put your focus better.

But that last component is conviction.

Giving them the conviction, which is hard.

Teens don't have a high level of discernment.

And so we want to help them with that, you know, as well.

And you know, I, I don't want to.

I want to.

I don't want to super speak or pre frame too much, but there's a high probability we have something super exciting happening in Pittsburgh that's specifically for that, that, that group, that demographic.

Excellent.

And I think it's.

It's been long overdue and needed in our organization, and I'm really, really excited to be a part of it.

That's exciting.

And I think if I can give anything, it's to build a stronger community in that group.

Awesome.

It's going to help with that.

Very cool.

Well, I'm going to leave it at that teaser then, because that's a good place to end.

You don't want to miss Pittsburgh, then make sure you head out to Pittsburgh.

Master Burns, always a pleasure.

Love it, sir.

Love what you're doing.

Thanks.

Thanks, Hea nation.

Thank you, sir.

Well, it was great to sit down with my friend, senior Master Burns, at world championships and just get to talk about all the awesome things, you know, ata, what we get to do, where we start.

Anyways.

Always a blast.

Looking forward to seeing all my ATA friends out in Pittsburgh.

You know, we haven't signed up.

You know, there's still time.

But let's get to our athletes of the week.

ATA nation.

We're back with another awesome athlete of the week.

Ma', am, can you introduce yourself?

Yes, of course.

I am Bailey Legler and a third degree black belt, and I go to an academy in Buckeye, Arizona.

Oh, and who's your.

Your.

Who's your instructor down there in Arizona?

Mr. Delgado.

Excellent.

Okay.

And hey, how did you get started in martial arts?

I actually started in Louisiana.

I go to visit family every summer break and I visit my grandparents in Louisiana.

And while I was there, she had asked me, like, do you want to do any sports?

Are you interested in anything?

And I had said just for fun, like karate.

And we found a taekwondo school out there, and I started there for.

I only did for like two days.

And then I came back and I was like, I want to continue this.

So we found a school that was just 10 minutes away.

That is awesome.

Well, thank you.

For grandparents, right?

Like that, That's.

And so how long have you been doing martial arts now?

Seven years now.

I just hit seven years.

Seven years.

Congratulations.

Very nice.

Well, it seems like that summer trip turned out well for you.

You.

You're one of these athletes that the brand ambassadors have picked.

We love interviewing these athletes for you.

What's one of your favorite things you like to do in martial arts?

Just as a whole, and then we'll talk about tournament.

I love xma, mainly extreme forms.

That's definitely my category.

Um, I love tricking.

I love creating forms to music.

It's just.

It's so much fun.

Very cool.

Okay, so I'm gonna guess that's your favorite event for tournaments then.

Yes, sir.

Okay, what's.

What would be your.

I don't like to say, least favorite because we all, you know, you know, everything's great.

We love kicking people and doing all kinds of things.

But what would be the event that would be maybe at the.

Maybe not at the top of the list.

Maybe traditional weapons.

Okay.

Okay, interesting.

Do you do extreme or creative weapons at all?

No, sir.

I just do open hand.

You like the open hand weapons?

Yeah.

Too much.

You.

You can't drop your open hands.

You know, I mean, that's.

It's much easier to hold on to those.

Cool.

Now when you are creating a form, an extreme form, actually hold on before I ask that.

Any titles.

Do you got any titles so far?

I do.

I have state titles and district titles.

Very good.

So I'm guessing one of our goals is going for one of those elusive red letters.

Yes, sir.

I'm trying.

Yeah.

No, it's tough.

What.

What age division are you in?

I am in.

I'm 15, so I'm in the.

15 to 17.

To 17.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

15 to 17.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, that's a tough one.

Yes.

That's not an easy division.

Yeah.

Okay.

So you create your form.

You.

I was talking to somebody, actually, just last week.

Do you do music before?

Do you do music after?

Do you do a little mix?

How do you.

How do you do your music choice?

I prefer to have my music before I start creating the form.

That way, when there's, like.

Especially for the intro, that's really important for me because there's all the, like, more dramatic parts of the form in the intro, and it's easier to create whatever I have to when I have the music and the beats already.

That makes sense that.

That I've heard people do it both ways, and I'm always a little interested in being like, ooh, what's your process?

And how do you do that?

And how do you pick music for your extreme?

I'll just find a song that I really like that I think has a good upbeat that people around my ring would like vibe to, and then I'll ask to get it mixed.

Cool.

And when you.

When you plan your extreme form, are you.

What kind of vibe do you like to do?

Like, how did you pick?

Like, you know, you have some people who are very.

Like, the intensity is just so high, and then you have some that are a little more on the playful side and, you know, these different vibes.

First of all, how did you, like, decide what works for you?

And do you.

Do you ever changed?

I definitely started off a lot more serious.

My songs were very intense and slow with, like, a lot of big beat drops, I'd say.

But I think I've started to get more into that, like, fun vibe recently.

Just so that I feel like the more fun that your song is, your mix is, the more the crowd recognizes you.

And it's just.

I think it improves your score overall.

I. I think it's fun to watch these different forms and just the different vibes that people have with it.

And I think you're probably right.

Like, I think the intensity is easier to start with because you can, like, just push the intensity, and the fun might be a Little harder, a little more vulnerable.

It's a little different that way.

So have you new tournament season started?

Do you start with a new form?

Do you take your old form and just keep using that or tweak it?

What's your process as you enter a new season?

Yeah, I have changed my formula.

I keep the same form.

I'll just take like certain segments and I'll switch them up a little bit, make certain hand combinations different, certain kicks or add things, or I'll swap out flips for harder tricks that I've learned.

Just make the form more complicated but not too tiring for me to perform.

That's good.

Yeah, that's good.

I've seen some people gas out in the middle of their forms before and it's not good.

Yeah.

Now tricking, what.

What's like your favorite trick kind of to throw?

I'd say I just landed my cart full a few times, so I'd say definitely that one as of Right.

Other than that, I really do like flash kicks.

Those are cool.

Those look great.

They're just such a cool kick.

Okay, what kind of goals are you looking at for maybe this season as a.

As a tournament competitor or just in your martial arts career?

All around.

Yeah, of course.

World champion is definitely up there.

I say every time I go to a tournament, I want to at least place in extreme forms.

Of course, if I don't place in the other categories that I do compete in, it's still.

I still want to train harder and like, improve myself for those.

But extreme forms is definitely like my main thing.

I always reach to get first at every tournament for that and then just rack my points up and hopefully take it to worlds.

Smart.

What if you had to pick one of the traditional events?

That's your.

Your top traditional event.

What event would that be?

Probably traditional forms.

That's.

That's cool.

I. I was interviewing one of the athletes just recently, and he was talking about how traditional forms is like, one of the things he doesn't like at all.

And I was like, that's such a.

Just such a disconnect.

But he likes being creative so much that creative form or traditional forms is just too much in a box.

And like, I get that, but I kind of.

Yeah, go ahead.

I'd say that traditional forms definitely helps your creative form or extreme form a lot because once you know all the techniques and everything, it just transfers over so much easier.

I see.

I'm with you there.

I think it's that and making sure you have the clean technique on your traditional form just goes to the extreme form.

If you don't have a clean, traditional form, like, your chances of having a clean, extreme form are probably not great.

Yes.

I don't know.

I don't have a title on extreme, so.

Okay.

Hey, what.

What's it mean to you to be a.

An athlete that goes beyond the belt?

To me, I say going beyond the belt means remembering that the belt, each belt, is a milestone and not the finish line.

I feel like a lot of kids think like, oh, I can't wait to get this new belt.

Or like, it's not about collecting belts or ranks.

It's more so like, each belt shows your progress and like, you get stronger both mentally and physically along the way.

I love that.

Yes.

Yeah, it's not a, you know, belt aren't an end goal.

They're just a marker on the way.

So, ma', am, thank you so much for your time today.

Thank you for being an inspiration for ATA nation and congratulations.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you for your time as well.

I hope that athlete was just as inspiring as all our other athletes to you.

So cool every week getting to see these amazing athletes.

Make sure you guys are following all of the brand ambassadors on Instagram, putting some really cool things out there.

Not only, obviously their ambassador corner that comes out every Thursday.

And you can watch that ambassador corner.

As a short, if you are subscribed to the ATA's YouTube channel, we would love for you to head over to YouTube, go to ATA Martial Arts, and make sure you hit the subscribe button.

We right now we've got something like 33.5 thousand subscribers.

And to me, that's.

That's silly.

We should be having way more than that with all the students in the ATA.

100,000.

That's what we want.

A hundred thousand subscribers.

Go over there, hit that subscribe button.

You'll get this podcast episode video every week on there, you'll get the athlete.

Excuse me, the ambassadors corner as shorts, other clips, things going on.

And then later, we've got some other stuff we'll be putting out there as well.

So head over to the YouTube channel.

Make sure you hit the subscribe button, and until next week, get out there and go beyond the bell.

Be sure to subscribe and share with your ATA family.