"If you take away the traditional spiritual part of
martial arts you’ll find a work of God."
By Sandy Reynolds
Special to ChristianWeek
GEORGETOWN, ON—Carlos Godhino came out the victor in the tournament billed as "the most brutal event in fighting history," a showcase for his coaching and training expertise based on three decades in the martial arts. It was another triumph for this Georgetown resident, recognized by the International Fighting Commission as a trainer of champions. He is a master of 49 different styles of martial arts, has 17 black belts, and is honored with the title of Soke—the highest title in the martial arts.
But the real battle was being staged in Godhino’s personal life. It was there that he learned a deeper meaning of the concept of fighting.
Separated from his wife and penniless, Godhino found himself living in the back of his studio about four years ago on the verge of losing everything. Disheartened, he looked over his life and realized that everything he was living for was a lie. Several students reached out to him. One was a Christian counselor. "He woke me up to a lot of things. He helped me change my self-centred focus and break down the walls," Godhino recalls.
"I had never been a spiritual person, the type of person that thinks about God. But one night after I had been sleeping in my studio for three weeks I broke down. After many tears I started praying and I realized what it was all about. It changed my life. I started seeking God more and more."
Out of the pit
Godhino quickly discovered this new faith required the perseverance and discipline that he had previously applied to martial arts. "I lost my school, God stripped me of everything that I held in highest esteem. I call that experience the pit—and he helped me climb back out."
His pastor helped him get on his feet again. Godhino began teaching at a community centre where he instituted Siku’s Corner as part of his training. Siku is Japanese for teacher. After class he would sit down to discuss every-day issues with his students. He would talk about how to get through the conflicts that kids and teenagers face at home and school. He taught them how to resolve these conflicts using Christian values. They were the same lessons Godhino had learned through his own reconciliation with his wife. To his surprise, a lot of youth started coming out just for the talks.
"There is a great mysticism behind martial arts," he admits. "If you take away the traditional spiritual part of martial arts you’ll find a work of God." Martial arts teach discipline, self-respect and self-protection, he adds.
"I have a different approach from more traditional studios," Godhino adds. "I never consider myself the master above my students. I try to have a relationship with them. My door is always open if they want to talk. If they are having problems at home they can come and talk to me. I see a lot of brokenness. I use my gift to help others with their pain."
Relationships important
Godhino realizes that what is important is not how many techniques he knows. Or how many belts he has. Or even how many fights he’s won or how many times he’s gone into a ring. Those things are only of value because they can be used to attract people.
Carlos tells the story of 22-year-old "Tony," a street kid who had been in and out of jail all his life. He was drawn by the fighting aspect of martial arts. "He wanted to sign up because he had a lot of respect for what I did. He told me he had never seen anything like it and this was going to be his thing," recalls Godhino.
"I told him the first rule is no swearing in my school. So he stopped immediately. Over the next three or four months of training he started to change, but he always wanted to go into the ring and fight. So I got him into one of the International Fighting Champions tournaments. He won his fight in about 37 seconds after four months of training.
"After the fight was over he said, ‘This is the first time anyone has ever believed in me.’ It was one of the most heartfelt moments of my life. Today he has turned his life over to God. He’s a Christian.
"The martial arts is an amazing tool. I have a long term goal of reaching kids all over the world by providing an alternative system to the traditional eastern mysticism found in martial arts," Godhino concludes.
