Martial artists ring in Chinese new year
By Ben Frumin
Staff Writer - Coast News

ENCINITAS – Eight young martial artists got a taste of Eastern culture when they celebrated the Chinese New Year Feb. 1 with a traditional lion dance outside West Coast Martial Arts Academy.

“Tommy had never seen anything like this,” said Marcie Carey, whose 6-year-old son, Tommy, participated in the lion dance. “It’s very interesting. It’s nice to see something from a different culture.”
“It gets the kids really involved and into it and gets them learning about another culture,” said Leann Rytz, whose 3-year-old son, J.J., took part in the celebration. Cheryl Rochelle said her daughter, Rachel, also expanded her cultural horizons by performing in the lion dance. “She’s exposed to a different culture, besides what she learns from school and her church,” Rochelle said. “There’s this culture that is so far removed from anything that we do or connect to in our daily life.”

“I don’t think you see it so much here on the coast,” said Kim Cespedes, whose son, Cort, helped ring in the year of the monkey with the martial arts group. “It’s a big holiday for the East, so they’re doing a little thing here this weekend to honor them and bless it,” she said. “It’s terrific.”

Giuseppe Aliotta, a fifth-degree black belt master who owns the academy, said the lion dance is a 2,000-year-old Chinese tradition believed to ward off evil sprits and promote good luck, happiness and good fortune in the new year. Aliotta said the Chinese lion is considered a mythological creature that represents strength, wisdom and good luck. Legend has it that the dance originated in ancient times when the lion was believed to protect village citizens from a monster who would destroy their crops and homes. Upon seeing villagers masquerading as a terrifying lion, the monster became frightened, never to return.

Aliotta said the lion dance is still used in modern times to bring good luck and prosperity during the new year and at special events like weddings, birthdays and the start of any major undertaking. The lion is animated by two dancers. One handles the strong and light head, the other the cloth body and tail. The head dancer moves the lion’s eyes, mouth and ears via strings and levers inside the lion’s head to the beat of a drum and cymbals.

“The lion dance combines art, history and kung fu moves,” Aliotta said. “Normally the performers are kung fu practitioners. Every kind of move has a specific musical rhythm. The music follows the moves of the lion. “Lion dancing develops strength, flexibility and endurance as well as the ability to work as a team and overcome obstacles through group effort,” Aliotta said. “Not only do the performers display strength, coordination, agility and endurance, they also exemplify the martial spirit. “Doing the lion dance is going to bring the heart and spirit out of you,” Aliotta told his students. “That’s what we’re looking for. We’re going to get you to really put your heart, spirit and soul into the things you do in life, whether it’s martial arts, school work, wiping the window for your mom or cleaning your room for yourself. All these things are important.”

“He’s teaching the whole package,” said Tom Carey. “Not just the physical part, but the mental part, the discipline, respect others, respect yourself, all that kind of good stuff.”
“He teaches respect, integrity, discipline and how to focus,” Rochelle said. “A lot of it is spiritual,” Cespedes said. “A lot of it is mind, and then the discipline comes in.”

Parents and friends gathered at the lion dance were quick to point out the multifaceted progress they had seen in their children as a result of Aliotta’s instruction. “I’ve noticed a phenomenal change since he’s been training,” said Cespedes of her son. “He knows what his goals are,” she said. “He’s set in his mind. It does cross over. It crosses over in school, being more organized, being focused.”

“What we’re going to try and help do is make sure that you become a super person, and put your heart and spirit into everything,” Aliotta told his students. “And by doing that, there’s probably no way in the world that you’ll ever do something halfway.”

Aliotta offers martial arts classes six days a week for students aged 3 1/2 to adult at 463 Encinitas Blvd.
For information, call 760-942-KICK (5425).